By Lisa Burke
September 24th 2015, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: Tom Keifer, best known as the frontman for blues/glam/hard rock/heavy metal band Cinderella, performed his hundredth solo show last Thursday September 24 2015 at the Whisky-A-Go-Go. After the praise he achieved from his performance at the recent Cathouse show in Irvine, the expectations were high and the room was packed to capacity.
Direct support for this night was the Bluesy Rock quintet Madysin Hatter. The vocalist Madysin L. Hatter in her black sequined romper gave a very charismatic performance, and proved there is still life in sequins after the ’80s. Her songs span topics that include drinking and gambling, and there is no mistaking of intentions here with melodies or vocals. The tunes in general had a Melissa Ethridge vibe to me, yet much less countrified. My favorite was the cover of The Doors’ ‘Love Me Two Times’ which was done successfully in their own style. The vocal pitch was clear throughout, except the last song which was a ballad where it became slightly pitchy at times. All in all, a solid, confident performance that only could have been enhanced by a bit more originality in the rhythms of some of the band’s own tunes.
As the anticipation and temperature rises, the crowd gathers in, and Tom Keifer takes the stage. First, I must say that whether or not you’re a fan of Cinderella, this man can sing and play guitar better than ever. With age comes experience and peace within yourself along with strengthening of talent. Tom Keifer proves this theory to be true, and the intimate setting of the Whisky with spot-on sound enhanced every moment. They opened appropriately with Cinerella’s ‘Fallin’ Apart At The Seams’, and actually only played four songs off his solo album in total. While his solo songs are good, I have no complaints about all the Cinderella songs because of its nostalgia, and that it is a different part of him now. Songs like ‘The Flower Song’, and ‘Cold Day In Hell’ off of the solo album ‘The Way Life Goes’ really speak about where he is in life now, and his journey to get there. The solo songs are bluesier and mellower than Cinderella, and of course more modern. The solo songs interspersed between Cinderella hits broke up the set composition nicely, and mid-way through we reached the famous duet with his wife Savannah Snow, of ‘Don’t Know What Ya Got Until It’s Gone’. Interestingly enough, however, his wife got stuck in Nashville in the hospital because she had to have emergency appendix surgery, and so she was unable to attend this hundredth show. Tom Keifer, the gentleman he is, rather than get a backup singer to replace his wife, calls her on his cell phone during the performance so she could hear him sing it, and places the phone on the stool next to him near the microphone set up for her despite her absence. At this point in the set every female in the audience is kicking themselves for not marrying Tom Keifer when they had the chance back in the 80s. Also, on a side note, by the end of the show I may or may not have seen some girls having just danced their faces off, passed out in their own drool. Anyway, the duet sounded great, and mid-way through he switched from acoustic to electric, and kicked ass till the end. The backup vocalist who had to take a back seat for this song since she was not his wife, was back in action playing tambourine and singing backup to ‘Nobody’s Fool’ in her Wornstar apparel tank top.
Since I’m on a slight fashion tangent I’ll mention that Tom Keifer was sporting his black leather jacket with a vertical American flag back patch surrounded by studs, and while it was possibly over 100 degrees on stage he was not about to compromise his image. However silly you may think it is, image is an important companion in the message you convey in your music no matter how subtle or flamboyant, and always will be. Towards the end of the set he played two non-Cinderella covers, ‘It’s Only Rock In Roll (But I Like It)’ (Rolling Stones), and ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ (Beatles). It was actually really refreshing to hear the Rolling Stones cover as it was a completely enjoyable rendition, and so was the latter cover. Of course it all ended with a trip down ‘Gypsy Road’, and after an hour-and-a-half of this non-stop performance in a leather jacket in 100 degrees, all that was left was an introduction to the champion players he works with today, and of course another acknowledgement of the absence of his beloved wife Savannah. For as much as I was exhausted after this show, and couldn’t wait to perform my own version of ‘Coming Home’, I would have gladly braved another hour for this unique and inspirational man.
Set List:
01. Fallin’ Apart At The Seams (Cinderella cover)
02. It’s Not Enough (Cinderella cover)
03. A Different Light
04. Somebody Save Me (Cinderella cover)
05. Shake Me (Cinderella cover)
06. Heartbreak Station (Cinderella cover)
07. The Flower Song
08. Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone) (Cinderella cover)
09. Nobody’s Fool (Cinderella cover)
10. Solid Ground
11. Cold Day In Hell
12. Coming Home (Cinderella cover)
13. Shelter Me (Cinderella cover)
14. It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll (But I Like It) (Rolling Stones cover)
15. With A Little Help From My Friends (Beatles cover)
16. Gypsy Road (Cinderella cover)