Local guitar heroes Brian Wheat and Frank Hannon from the Tesla showed up to see legendary guitarist Peter Frampton play to a full house of hard core fans Saturday at Thunder Valley Casino and Resort.

The audience was chanting “Frampton! Frampton!” in anticipation of the start of the show. Just prior to the start, William Shatner’s voice came on the loud speaker to explain the no photography or video policy, although even before the end of the performance, videos were making their way on to Youtube.

Some of you may recall Tesla’s “Modern Day Cowboy” making it onto Guitar Hero 6. Well, they followed their guitar hero, who was featured in Guitar Hero 5 with "Do You Feel Like We Do" off his “Frampton Comes Alive!” album. So it was quite a treat to see the boys from Tesla meet one of their favorite guitarists.

Frampton started off the set with “Something’s Happening” and “Doobie Wah,” both songs keeping the crowd cheering and on their feet. “Lines on My Face” had the crowd sitting down, but giving him a standing ovation at the end of the song.

Cheers broke out as soon as he started “Show Me the Way”. In classic Frampton style he started in with his signature talkbox which really got the crowd going. While Frampton wasn’t the first to use the talkbox, he’s credited for bringing it mainstream with “Show Me the Way,” which was record in the ‘70’s. He’s been using it in concerts ever since.

The gracious Frampton said, just prior to starting “I Want to Go to the Sun,” that a guy by the name of Carlos had asked if he could sign one of his guitars, which was the same model used by Frampton. Frampton said not only would he sign it, but he would play it. After the song, Frampton invited Carlos up on stage to give him back the guitar and gave him a big hug.

Carlos Pereda with Peter Frampton (Image by: Randy Miramontez) After the show I was able to talk to Carlos Pereda about how all this came about. Believe it or not, Frampton keeps tabs on his Facebook page. Pereda posted a message on Frampton’s wall and Frampton responded that he would love to sign and even play the guitar. Arrangements were made with Frampton’s management team, and Pereda was able to hand off his guitar just prior to the show.

Peter Frampton signing Carlos Pereda's guitar (Image by: Randy Miramontez) I heard Pereda telling the gentlemen to treat the guitar well because it was a special guitar that Frampton would be playing that evening. Pereda purchased the guitar used at the Concord Guitar Center several years ago and has always felt the guitar was something special. Well, Carlos, it is now!

The format of the night’s show followed the same format as the 25th anniversary deluxe addition of “Frampton Comes Alive!” including a 13-minute rendition of “Do You Feel Like We Do”. Frampton just recently ended his “Frampton Comes Alive 35” tour, where he performed the album in its entirety, with his performances lasting as long as three hours.