Cheap Trick Not 'All Washed Up' At Parx Casino Show: Review

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA — The name of the new album is called "All Washed Up."

But the band that put out the album is nothing like that, even after performing for nearly five decades.

Cheap Trick made another stop on its "All Washed Up" tour at the Xcite Center at Parx Casino on Friday night.

And while many bands stick with the same setlist throughout their tour, this legendary 1970s Classic Rock band changed things up at this show.

It's no surprise that Cheap Trick performs at such a high energy that most showgoers stood for at least the first four songs.

After all, this is the band that delivered "Cheap Trick At Budokan" — considered one of the greatest live albums of all time, putting the band on the map and creating a Beatlemania atmosphere for the band in Japan.

What might be surprising, though, is that original members — Guitarist Rick Nielsen, Singer Robin Zander, and Bassist Tom Petersson — are still rocking as hard as they are in their 70s.

The setlist included numerous "At Budokan" showstoppers: the opener "Hello There" and closer "Goodnight," "Lookout," "Clock Strikes Ten," and "Ain't That A Shame."

The band mixed things up, digging into deeper cuts like "Radio Lover," "I Know What I Want (featuring Petersson on vocals), "On Top of the World," and "Heaven Tonight."

One song, "Twelve Gates," was offered from the new album "All Washed Up," while two songs came from the band's debut: "Hot Love" and "The Ballad Of T.V. Violence."

While Nielsen's son Dex pounded away on drums, Zander's song Robin Taylor Zander took a turn on lead vocals with "Downed."

His father was in fine form vocally throughout the night, especially on the torch song "The Flame." Meanwhile, Rick Nielsen nailed every solo and provided some comic relief between songs. He also showed off his massive guitar collection and, of course, tossed numerous guitar picks into the crowd.

Every Cheap Trick show contains three heavyweight hits.

"The Dream Police" closed the show with its usual power.

And, of course, there are the two "At Budokan" classics: "I Want You To Want Me," and the encore, "Surrender."

Both songs sent the group into the stratosphere in the 1970s. And they were just as strong here, showing that Cheap Trick is still at the top of its game live and maybe even better.