The Tom Keifer Band and LA Guns played at The Palace Theatre last night, which happened to be my birthday, so I felt compelled to go. Tom Keifer was the singer for Cinderella. Years ago (I just Googled it, and it was 1989), I saw Cinderella, Winger, and BulletBoys at the War Memorial. That was 37 years ago! It boggles the mind.
LA Guns was the opening act. I never listened to them much back in the day, but I knew their bigger hits. They sounded great. Only 2 members remain from the 80s/90s lineup, the singer and lead guitarist. The Tom Keifer Band went heavy on the Cinderella tunes, and I was all about that. Tom’s voice sounded a little worse for wear, but it has to be tough singing in that style (just ask Axl Rose or Brian Johnson). He made up for it with his playing–he played most of the guitar solos, steel guitar, and piano. The band was tight.
One bad thing I’ve learned about metal shows is that you have to stand the whole time. I thought it was a fluke with the Geoff Tate show, but no, that’s how it goes.
A note on parking, for anyone who might be attending shows at The Palace…I always try to park in the lot behind The Palace, but it’s hit or miss. My second option was to park in the garage across the street. It used to be free to park there. But, they eliminated the free parking (it was too large of an expense for The Palace to continue with). Now it’s $4, which is quite reasonable, but apparently, this has caused a logjam when trying to exit the garage. It used to empty pretty quickly when it was free (because you didn’t have to stop and pay), but now I’ve heard it can take an hour to exit. So, the last time I went there, I tried to find street parking. I had to drive a couple of blocks down South Pennsylvania Avenue to find a spot, but it was well worth walking for a couple of minutes to avoid sitting in the parking garage for an hour.