Two longtime friends & guitar legends Steve Lukather & Mike Landau teamed up for three SOLD OUT shows at the Baked Potato in North-Hollywood, Ca. Backed for most of the night by Jeff Babko (Jimmy Kimmel Show, Doves of Fire) on keyboards, John Pierce (Huey Lewis, session ace) & Toss Panos (Steve Vai, Andy Summers, Mike Landau) on drums the show started with a Landau song I'm buzzed. This extended version let everyone know that this would be a special night. Next up was a song from Luke's solo effort Candyman , the Jimi Hendrix' classic Freedom. Emcee Bowser from Sha Na Na helped out on Hand jive.
Surprise special guests Doug Aldrich (guitar, Dio/Whitesnake) and Marco Mendoza (bass, Thin Lizzy, Ted Nugent, Whitesnake) wowed the crowd with their version of the Billy Cobham song Stratus. They won over the Baked Potato patrons within a few seconds. Both are currently touring with Whitesnake 2003. Doug is just as big of a fan of both Luke & Landau as anyone I know & he enjoyed the pair as much as the rest of the audience. Next up was another song from Candyman the James Gangs' The bomber. Roodid tones from Landaus' Tales from the bulge was the following song. The extended versions of the Landau songs is where these two guitar virtuosos' shined. When Luke & Landau play together jaws drop & heads shake in amazement! Later in the night lead singer Bobby Kimball & keyboard player David Paich from Toto jammed to another Hendrix' classic Red house. Steve Lukather told me 'This isn't about us it's about the kids'. He also added 'These are the same guys I've been playing with since Jr. High School. It's just cool that were all still able to do this for a living'".
Stevelukather.com, March 29th 2003
