Rob Zombie
February 11, 2015
Whisky A Go Go- Los Angeles, CA
Rob Zombie guitarist, John 5 set off on his first ever solo tour with his two bandmates to become John 5 and the Creatures. John 5 has made a name for himself by playing for a wide-array of acts such as Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, and David Lee Roth. John 5 started his solo career shortly after leaving Marilyn Manson. Since then, he has released 6 solo albums and in 2014 released his 7th studio album titled, Careful with that Axe. John 5 played to a sold out crowd at the world-famous Whiskey A Go Go and fans of his work eagerly waited to hear what he had in store for everyone.
John 5 and his bandmates made their way to the stage promptly at 11pm and started the show by playing a song from the new album titled, Flight of the Vulcan Kelly. To show support for the new album, John 5 played 7 tunes from his new album and threw in a few old songs and some oddities just to keep things interesting. This was an all instrumental show so there were no vocals, just pure instrument playing and John 5 let his guitar work do all the talking and it couldn’t have sounded more beautiful and amazing. The songs all had their own sound; some sounded like metal, others had a punk vibe to them, one titled El 
Cucuy had a Latin touch to it, and one sounded like something you’d hear at a bar. At the middle of the show, John 5 told the crowd that he never did a solo tour because he honestly didn’t think anyone would show up. He thanked the crowd and told them that it’s only been the third date into his tour and already this was the best crowd so far. The crowd couldn’t help themselves and cheered in appreciation. For the last three songs, John 5 gave the crowd a few surprises. The third to last song was a cover of Michael Jackson’s Beat It which got the crowd singing along. The second to last song was extra special; John 5 brought bandmate and Rob Zombie bassist, Piggy D to sing backup vocals. To add to that, John 5 brought out the special guest of the night which was none other than the ex-bassist for Van Halen, Michael Anthony. Just Michael Anthony’s announcement alone sent the crowd into a frenzy as it was a huge surprise that the Van Halen legend was in the house. John 5, Piggy D, and Michael Anthony jammed to Van Halen’s Somebody Get Me A Doctor to which the crowd happily accepted and sang along to as well.
For the final song of the night, John 5 and the Creatures played a medley of well-known hard rock and metal songs that fans of old school hard rock and metal music would appreciate. This show came out to be way better than expected and John 5 was surely happier and more excited from the results than anyone in the venue. This may be his first solo tour, but with luck we’ll see more solo tours in the near future.
Review by: Misael Ruiz
