Hair Metal Veterans Turn Up the Heat in Central Texas
Leander’s Haute Spot lived up to its name this week, with soaring temperatures making for a sweaty evening under the Texas sky. Fortunately, the scorching weather did little to dampen the enthusiasm of fans who packed the venue for a double bill featuring West Coast sleaze-rock pioneers L.A. Guns and former Cinderella frontman Tom Keifer.
The crowd was a true cross-section of rock fans, from those old enough to qualify for AARP (myself included) to younger attendees who weren’t even alive during the height of the Sunset Strip explosion. Some even showed up decked out in full ’80s glam-metal regalia. They came ready to relive an era, and both bands delivered.
L.A. Guns Fire the Opening Salvo
L.A. Guns hit the stage with the swagger of a band that’s spent decades proving why it’s still one of hard rock’s most reliable live acts.
I had to do a double-take to make sure the band didn’t have a new vocalist, but thanksfully it was original frontman Phil Lewis, with a new bleached blond hairdo and goatee.
He was the consummate showman, smiling and waving to the audience while his gravelly vocals proved they lost none of their luster.
Tracii Guns and Phil Lewis
Mid-set Lewis warmly referred to founding guitarist Tracii Guns as a “national treasure,” joking that all those teenage hours spent “using his hands” helped make him the guitar hero he is today.
The humor aside, the praise is well deserved. Before Guns N’ Roses became a household name, Guns was its original guitarist, and his playing remains as tasteful and melodic as ever.
His searing riffs and blistering solos were among the night’s highlights, none more impressive than his extended showcase during “Electric Gypsy,” where a cascade of perfectly phrased notes cut through the Texas heat. He also peppered the performance with playful nods to Ratt, AC/DC, and even The Rolling Stones when the band briefly launched into “Paint It Black.”
The glam-metal anthem “Never Enough” barreled through the crowd with infectious energy, while Guns and guitarist Ace Van Johnson offering an inspired twin-axe attack. Other standouts included the moody “Over the Edge” (from the Point Break soundtrack), the stomping “I Wanna Be Your Man,” and the barn-burning closer “Rip and Tear.”
Bassist Johnny Martin doubled as the band’s hype man, constantly encouraging the audience to crank up the applause before punctuating the set by launching himself backward off Shawn Duncan’s drum riser.
One of the evening’s most memorable moments came during the power ballad “The Ballad of Jayne,” when Lewis stepped back and let the crowd handle much of the singing. Judging by the smiles onstage, the audience didn’t disappoint.
Tom Keifer Hits the Stage Like He Still Has Something to Prove
Tom Keifer took the stage with the intensity of someone still determined to earn every applause break, opening with Cinderella’s “Night Songs” to an immediate roar from the crowd.
Any concerns about mellowing with age quickly disappeared. Keifer’s trademark feral wail and sinewy guitar licks remains remarkably intact, and his boundless energy never let up during a set that balanced his solo material with the Cinderella classics fans came to hear.
Backed by an exceptionally tight lineup, including guitarist Tony Higbee, drummer Jarred Pope, bassist Kory Myers, keyboardist Luis Espaillat, violinist and vocalist Savannah Keifer, the frontman rarely stood still. The group (known as the Kiefer Band) brought extra muscle and texture to the songs without sacrificing the bluesy grit that has always defined his music.
Solo cuts like “All Amped Up” and “The Death of Me” fit seamlessly alongside Cinderella staples. A heartfelt rendition of “Nobody’s Fool” prompted Keifer to ask fans to hold up their lighters, a charmingly old-school request that’s admittedly a little harder to pull off in the vaping and smartphone era. For longtime fans, “Somebody Save Me” was another obvious highlight, its punchy riffs and singalong chorus reminding everyone why Cinderella’s catalog has endured.
Throughout the evening, Keifer repeatedly praised the Texas crowd’s enthusiasm, feeding off the audience’s energy as the set built toward its finale. The yearning power ballad “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)” drew one of the night’s biggest ovations before the band launched into the hard-driving “Shake Me.”
For the encore, Keifer and company returned with a spirited cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Tumbling Dice” before closing the night with the road-trip anthem “Gypsy Road,” sending fans home sweaty, smiling, and thoroughly transported back to rock’s golden age.
More than four decades after their breakthrough years, both L.A. Guns and Tom Keifer proved they aren’t simply coasting on nostalgia. Their songs still resonate, their musicianship remains razor sharp, and perhaps most importantly, they still perform like they have something to prove.