Last Night: Yngwie Malmsteen At House Of Blues

Photos by Matthew Keever

​Two months ago, if someone were to ask us about Yngwie Malmsteen, Aftermath would have most likely responded, "Gesundheit," and continued about our day.

Yngwie who? Yngwie fucking Malmsteen, that's who! (We saw this very phrase on a shirt at the merch booth.)

Flipping his hair and guitar around his neck; kicking his legs high into the air, testing the quality of his skin-tight leather pants; and repeatedly dropping to one knee as he put his guitars strings to the test, Malmsteen and his band kept his fans' hands high in the air as they bobbed their heads to heavy metal for nearly two hours Tuesday night at House of Blues.

He even performed the Star Spangled Banner in such a way that anyone who might have forgotten how bad-ass American is was given a reminder.

​The crowd was sparse but enthusiastic, but they were clearly in attendance to see Malmsteen. The rest of the band, while extremely talented, were not the focal point of the evening.

Near the end of the show, the lead vocalist seemed to get a bit upset with fans. "Can we slow it down a bit?" he asked the crowd. "I want to play you something soft and melodic." But fans couldn't have cared less what he wanted and instead began to shout for Malmsteen, who had just walked offstage after a five-minute solo.

The vocalist pleaded with the crowd, but they didn't budge, and he eventually walked offstage as Malmsteen reappeared. The band went ahead and played a softer song next, after Malmsteen had placated the crowd with his skill, but we couldn't help but wonder why the crowd had been so uncooperative with the singer.