TESLA, POP EVIL, the Depot, Wednesday

During Wednesday night's Tesla concert at The Depot, the five-man band from Sacramento mentioned how they had been making records and touring now for 20-plus years and that they were shooting for 30.

If Wednesday's concert was any indication, why stop at 30?

Tesla showed why after two decades of rock, the band is still as relevant today as they were in 1986.

A packed house roared loudly as Tesla kicked off their entire tour in support of their new album, "Forever More," in Salt Lake City. The band opened with the title track, followed by the pounding rhythm section of Troy Luccketta on drums and Brian Wheat on bass on their new single, "I Wanna Live."

Tesla played a healthy selection of new songs in addition to the opening numbers, including "One Day at a Time," "Breaking Free" and "So What."

Jeff Keith's vocals were in top form all night as the crowd went into a frenzy for Tesla standards such as "Modern Day Cowboy," "Heaven's Trail (No Way Out)," "Love Song," "Signs" and "Little Suzi." In typical JK style, Keith was loose throughout the evening as he moved about the stage with a constant smile on his face, high-fiving the crowd and joking with other band members between songs.

If there was any small criticism to the 90 minute show, it's that the band could have easily played a half-hour longer mixing in both old and new material. "Forever More" is a great album that deserves to have more songs put into the set list. Likewise, the band could have easily played a few more deeper cuts. "Bust A Nut" has seemingly become the forgotten Tesla album, and surprisingly few songs were played from from "Psychotic Supper."

But with more than 20 years of music, it may be unfair to look at what Tesla didn't do Wednesday, and simply focus on what they did do, which was put on an outstanding high energetic rock show.

Frank Hannon and Dave Rude traded lightning guitar licks on "Comin' Atcha Live" as well displaying their high level playing on songs like "Hang Tough" and "The Way It Is." Other songs Wednesday night included "Into the Now," "What A Shame" and a magnificent cover of Led Zeppelin's "Thank You."

Tesla have been busy over the past year putting out cover albums, a live DVD and a new album of originally material. That hard work has paid off as Tesla continues to carry torch high for guitar rock.

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EMAIL: preavy@desnews.com