Tom Keifer at Whisky a Go Go 10/26/2014

by NATALIA BRITT

Famous for having such legendary bands as The Doors, Motley Crue, and many others, Whisky a Go Go seems to be the only appropriate venue in Los Angeles to take on the responsibility of hosting Tom Keifer’s show. This year’s music scene has seen its fair share of many notable ‘comebacks’, anniversaries, and reunions and Tom Keifer’s long-awaited and extremely emotional return to The Whisky this Sunday certainly outshines all of those happenings.

Embarking on The Way Life Goes Tour last year in support of his solo record, Tom and his band played many different venues all over the United States, and the anticipation of having them to perform on The Sunset Strip resulted in a huge crowd in front of The Whisky hours before the show.

Two opening acts including the charming Madysin Hatter and quite impressive guys from Vintage City Rockers were absolutely skillful at firing up the crowd before Tom Keifer finally took the stage sometime after 10 P.M.

In his performance, Tom demonstrated complete honesty and dedication to his fans. When the lights went down as the fans agitatedly screamed and cheered, Tom briskly ran down the side stairs greeting the crowd and starting off the set with Night Songs from Cinderella’s debut album. He confessed that the previous evening’s show in Arizona ‘F***ed up his voice’, but just a few minutes in, somewhere around the second chorus of Save Me, he finally let one of his signature growls out and erased any doubt about him not being to live up to everyone’s expectations.

Tom’s wife, songwriter Savannah Snow, shared the stage with the band to perform the iconic Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone). Released in 1988, it remains Cinderella’s most successful single. Starting the song as a gentle duet, Tom ended the ballad with a strikingly passionate guitar solo, pleasing the fans with another Cinderella hit right after that – Nobody’s Fool.

Having a somewhat stronger blues and country sound, material from new record proves that Tom is still a versatile songwriter who is able to create an album that embraces several genres. New songs Solid Ground, Cold Day in Hell, and The Flower Song were just as well received as the iconic Cinderella classics.

Wrapping up the set with Shelter Me, the band yet came back for an encore with two more songs – Little Help and Gypsy Road.

Stating only this much about this indisputably incredible performance doesn’t somehow seem enough.

Having gone to quite a few shows featuring some of the biggest musicians in the industry, I hardly see this much artist interaction with the fans. Tom Keifer is one of the few who is not afraid of showing his gratitude and affection to those who have made his dreams of singing again come true. His honesty and dedication was felt in every word he sang Sunday night at The Whisky.