Tom Keifer at the Mercury Ballroom

Pretty sure I just witnessed a modern day rock revival at the Mercury Ballroom in Louisville, Kentucky.

I am going with modern day rock revival here simply because it is the only fitting way to describe and sum up exactly went down at this show. For all the people out there still spewing that rock is dead garbage…I have a feeling you may not be getting out enough. I am pretty damn positive of that, actually. Sure, go ahead and come at me with the legacy artists touring on the same old back catalog, the singer can’t sing or hit the notes anymore and should hang it up talk that we all hear constantly. Go head. None of that applies here.

Tom Keifer and his band, simply dubbed #KeiferBand is made up of the man himself on guitar, keys & lead vocals, Tom’s wife, Savannah Keifervocals, percussion & piano, Tony Higbee lead guitar & vocals, Billy Mercer bass guitar & vocals, Kendra Chantelle vocals & percussion, Jarred Popedrums & vocals, and Kory Myers keyboards & vocals.  The band is currently out on the road in support of their latest album Rise.

For a man that has lost his voice so bad to the point of undergoing multiple surgeries which eventually led to the discovery that his left vocal was paralyzed, you would think that Tom Keifer may fall into that category of singer that I mentioned above. Nope. Touring on just the back catalog? Nope. The show was packed with the classic Cinderella tracks you would expect or even demand to hear, but the set list was a great mix of those classics along with tracks from Tom’s solo career.

The show kicked off with “Touching The Divine” which also kicks off the new album Rise. I am a big fan of the song for the simple fact that it is packed with that classic Keifer slide guitar playing that helped keep Tom and Cinderella from being lumped into that 80’s rock…dare I say, Hairband category. The first album cover is another story. After really diving into Cinderella music I never really understood that album cover but, I digress. You’re here for a show review not weird random shit that I’ve been pondering for 30 years or so.

“Night Songs” and “Coming Home” were up next and were a mix of #KeiferBand and a full venue of fans singing every word. At times the bands vocals dropped completely out of the mix so that the crowd could take over. I have been to a ton of shows in my lifetime and I don’t think I’ve heard a crowd sing along as intense as this crowd did. To be honest, I am not really sure what I was expecting to see when I first heard that the band was coming to town. Yes, I am a Cinderella fan as well as a Tom Keifer solo catalog fan but, for whatever reason, I never had the chance to see Cinderella in concert. That said, this was the first time I have seen Tom Keifer in the flesh and Holy Shit…that man is about as Rock N’ Rollas it gets. He bleeds, even sweats Rock n’ Roll….I know, my camera was literally drenched in the mans sweat in that photo pit. Clone a Rockstar, anyone?

The title track of the new album Rise was one of the highlights of the set list. Rise has that mix of blues, soul and rock n’ roll influences that Keifer always seems to be able to pour out of his song writing blender.  If you haven’t given a listen to the new album yet, get on it.

Up next was an incredibly powerful version of the classic “Nobody’s Fool” which kicked off with the crowd singing the first few lines at an insanely loud level. So rad. “Don’t Know What You’ve Got, Til It’s Gone” was great and “Shelter Me” was another stand out of the evening for me. Back when that song/video was released, I latched on pretty hard because it was so different and fresher than anything that any of those bands that Cinderella was lumped into at the time were doing and really set them apart from their peers. That said, it was great to see/hear that performed live. I am not mentioning every song played here but just know this..if #Keiferband is hitting your area or even remotely close, do not miss this show! Travel if ya have too. I’ve been to more shows than I can count and this show was up there for me. Way up there. Seriously, I was blown away and a little taken back as to just how good #KeiferBand was live. Get those tickets and buy that new album while you’re at it.

VIEW ARTICLE