Tom Keifer Live at The Emporium ~ June 6th, 2013
By SethM
Back in April, I reviewed an advance copy of Tom Keifer’s new solo album, The Way Life Goes. I ended that review with “If you were a fan of Cinderella, Tom’s voice, and straight forward blues rock, pick up The Way Life Goes on April 30th and check out Tom on tour where he plans to mix it up with his new solo tracks as well as Cinderella classics.”
John Corabi
Well FWounders, I did just that last night and I’ve gotta say ~ Tom fuckin’ rocked! His unmistakable bluesy vocals still have their power and range. But before I get into his performance, let me say that I wish I’d known in advance that John Corabi would be playing an acoustic set before Tom’s band went on. I arrived during John’s set and he sounded terrific (although he’s looking a little more like Kid Rock these days).
Back to Tom, who took the stage ready to rock. He looked good, and for the people there who were wondering how he would sound, he answered that question in about 30 seconds: G-R-E-A-T. Honestly, I wasn’t at all surprised, as I had seen him a couple of times over the past few years with Cinderella and he’d sounded as good as ever then, too.
With his raspy but powerful voice, Tom kicked off the show with “Sick for the Cure” from Cinderella’s Heartbreak Station album, followed by two songs off of The Way Life Goes. That’s when things got more interesting for fans of Tom’s signature gritty voice. He pulled up a stool, sat down and shared with the crowd that he was going to do a bit of a different version of “Shake Me.” I loved it, but I think some folks were a little disappointed, looking for the original, full-on rocking Aqua Net version they remembered.
Tom, still seated, continued on with acoustic in hand, inviting his wife Savannah Snow out to perform “Ask For Yesterday,” followed by “The Flower Song” and “One For Rock and Roll.” “Solid Ground” got the crowd rocking again and proved that Tom can rock solo just as hard as he ever did with Cinderella.
Savannah and Tom
Savannah returned to the stage while Tom again addressed the crowd in his genuine and emotional manner, seguing into “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)” with his wife sharing vocal duties. He followed it up with “Coming Home” and then ended the set with an all out, kick ass version of “Shelter Me.” If you don’t remember the song, find it and listen to it ~ and definitely add it to your iTunes library if it isn’t already there.
Of course any seasoned concert fan knows the show didn’t end there. Tom came back to the stage and belted out an incredible version of The Beatles’ classic “With a Little Help From My Friends” and then ended it all with Cinderella’s “Gypsy Road.”
If you’re looking for a good night out filled with with a mix of acoustic, electric, blues and rock (and a bit of nostalgia), then don’t miss Tom Keifer when he plays near you. And if you can’t catch him on the road this time around, once again I say, “If you were a fan of Cinderella, Tom’s voice, and straight forward blues rock, pick up The Way Life Goes.”
Full Set List
1. Sick for the Cure
2. Ain’t That a Bitch
3. A Different Light
4. Shake Me (Acoustic)
5. Ask Me Yesterday (Acoustic)
6. The Flower Song (Acoustic)
7. One for Rock and Roll
8. Solid Ground
You can check out the video for “Solid Ground” here.
9. Cold Day in Hell
10. Don’t Know What You Got
11. Coming Home
12. Shelter Me
Encore:
13. With a Little Help from My Friends
14. Gypsy Road
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