Everyone’s got their own special holiday traditions. Some like to build a snowman outside their house. Others like to watch It’s a Wonderful Life. And then there’s those who need their holiday cheer to with an extra dose of volume, because one can only take that Mariah Carey song for so long. That’s where Gary Hoey comes in. The superstar guitarist first gained notoriety as part of Frankie Banali’s Heavy Bones, before carving a lengthy solo career for himself, touching upon everything from hard rock and blues, to prog rock and surf music. Somewhere along the way, Hoey stumbled upon an unexpected niche: Christmas music. The rest, as they say, is history.
Hoey’s guitar driven, high energy renditions of Christmas classics spawned three albums (Ho! Ho! Hoey Vol. 1-3) and countless tours, the latest edition of which just came through the newly opened Des Plaines Theatre. Operated by Arcada Theatre mastermind Ron Onesti, the Des Plaines Theatre follows the same trajectory. It’s an old Vaudevillian theatre that has since been repurposed to accommodate the 21st century. The seats are comfortable, the sound is balanced, and there really isn’t a bad seat in the house. All of this and more made it the perfect venue for this type of show.
Throughout his 90 minute set, Hoey dug deep into his bag of tricks. Sure, he can shred like Yngwie (“Carol of the Bells”), but he can also lay down thick grooves (“Deck the Halls”), deep feeling (“The First Noel”), and flat out rock (“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”). His band for the night was a power trio, consisting of a bassist and drummer whose names I can’t recall (shame on me), but were equally as talented. At times they channeled Cream and 70s Robin Trower, with their tight musicianship and ability to jam without sounding disjointed. All in all, it was the perfect mix of Christmas and rock n’ roll, with Hoey playing the role of a musical Santa Claus. There were no lumps of coal to be found tonight!
Setlist
- “The Twelve Days of Christmas”
- “Deck the Halls”
- “The Little Drummer Boy”
- “Reminds Me of You”
- “Peace Pipe”
- “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”
- “Winter Wonderland”
- “Under the Rug”
- “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
- “Joy”
- “Frosty the Snowman”
- “Still Got the Blues for Christmas” (Gary Moore tribute)
- “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”
- “The First Noel”
- “Linus and Lucy”
- “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen / What Child Is This? / Carol of the Bells”
Encore
- “Hocus Pocus” (Focus cover)
- “The Star-Spangled Banner”
- “Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town”
Been following Gary Hoey since his Animal Instincts solo career in the early 90’s. Not only is he an incredible guitarist, he is a great person not afraid to go out and meet his fans ( though the pandemic kept him from doing so this time) The type of person that you could meet up in a local bar and buy him a drink, although knowing Gary he would probably tip the bill.