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<\/p>\nBy Christopher David<\/p>\n
Casual and diehard music fans alike tend to think of bands as belonging\u2014almost entirely\u2014to certain eras, maybe out of convenience, maybe out of nostalgia, maybe just because its easy.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing wrong with that, but often, it sells the artists themselves short.\u00a0 And while Friday\u2019s show at the Des Plaines Theater would have been a easy pigeonhole in that regard, the \u201cSonic Slam\u201d tour\u2014none other than Faster Pussycat, L.A. Guns, and the Tom Keifer Band\u2014showcased three bands in top form who are still killing it in 2022 against the backdrop of their \u201880s fame.<\/p>\n
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Faster Pussycat, one of the Sunset Strip\u2019s most infamous stalwarts, blew through a nine song set that offered plenty of audience interaction from the get.\u00a0 \u201cCathouse,\u201d \u201cSlip of the Tongue,\u201d and \u201cHouse of Pain\u201d still hit with gigantic hooks, and vocalist Taime Downe\u2014whose career as the frontman for one of the most classic \u201880s metal bands has seen some fascinating twists and turns\u2014hasn\u2019t lost an ounce of his stage appeal.\u00a0 Bassist Slim Tender and guitarist Ronnie Simmons kept the crowd in heat right through the final singalong of \u201cBabylon,\u201d Pussycat\u2019s trashy, glam-rock homage to L.A.\u2019s seedy nightlife.\u00a0 Faster Pussycat always had a great sense of humor about the rock scene and their role in it\u2014if you need further proof, check out their Instagram.<\/p>\n
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Founding member\/guitarist Tracii Guns and vocalist Phil Lewis led L.A. Guns\u2019 current lineup through a top-notch mix of old and new, focusing largely on the hits (the riff in \u201cElectric Gypsy\u201d remains as slick as it did on day one) but dipping into recent releases to great success.\u00a0 Opening with \u201cCannonball\u201d from their 2021 release Checkered Past,<\/em> Guns & Co. have consistently released underrated, solid rock records in the years since their heyday, and newer songs like \u201cGone Honey\u201d and \u201cSpeed\u201d (from 2019\u2019s The Devil You Know<\/em> and 2017\u2019s The Missing Piece<\/em>, respectively) were a perfect fit against the classic grooves of \u201cNever Enough\u201d and \u201cRip and Tear,\u201d both showcasing Guns\u2019 guitar work as Lewis mugged it up for the crowd.<\/p>\n Cinderella were arguably one of the greatest bands of the 1980s and perhaps showed more growth as a band over the course of four albums than their contemporaries, something that made Tom Keifer\u2019s set feel even more organic.\u00a0 His new band leans into the more bluesy, groovy aspects of his musical personality, which was always his foundation even in the days of big hair.\u00a0 Opening with the hooky crunch of \u201cTouching the Divine\u201d from 2019\u2019s Rise, <\/em>Keifer delved into that title track as well as a couple of highlights from 2017\u2019s The Way Life Goes <\/em>before revisiting most of Cinderella\u2019s hits.\u00a0 The seven-piece lineup of Keifer\u2019s new outfit offered plenty of opportunity for guitar play as well as a brighter, more expansive sound thanks to backup singers Savannah Keifer and Kendra Chantelle on the swaggering stomp of \u201cNight Songs\u201d and the melancholic \u201cThe Last Mile.\u201d\u00a0 Keifer\u2019s shift from the glam-rock bombast of his early days to more straightforward rock n\u2019 roll stylings have opened the door to what will hopefully be a long and enriching second act to an already stellar and influential career.<\/p>\n For more on the Sonic Slam tour, click here<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/beintheloopchicago.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/Sonic-Slam-Tom-Keifer-Cinderella-Des-Planes-Theatre-11-683x1024.jpg\")
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