Adam Ant Rocks Out the Celebrity Theatre

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Adam Ant

Review and photos by Fred Kuhlman
Promoter: Danny Zelisko Presents
Venue: Celebrity Theatre
Date: Sunday January 28th, 2018

In 1977 Adam was part of a Punk Rock group called Adam and the Ants.  They released a number of albums and hits including “Stand and Deliver”, “Prince Charming” and “Ant Rap”.  In 1982 Adam decided to go solo and produced his biggest hit “Goody Two Shoes”.  Over the years Adam has been both a musician and actor.  In 2010, Adam decided to return to his musical roots and started tour again.  Since then he has toured all over the world to sold-out shows.  We were lucky enough to get one of his 2018 US performances here in Phoenix, Arizona.  After our show he was headed to Florida where he was going to do a number of shows that had been cancelled last year due to the hurricanes.  Soon he is off to Australia.

Adam Ant

I did not get to see Adam back in the late 70s or early 80s.  This was my first time, but I have enjoyed his music over the years.  It would be interesting to see if he still had the stage presents and voice that made him a hit back then.  Well, I was pleasantly surprised on both accounts that he lived up to those expectations.  Not only did his voice sound amazing good, but his stage presence was still commanding.  As for his performance, he did a 21-song main set and then a 4-song encore.  During the show many of the fans were standing, dancing and singing along with their favorite songs.  Adam even played guitar on a number of songs.  My personal favorite was when he did “Young Parisians”, one of his lesser know songs, but still a great song.  Then of course every went crazy when they came back for their encore and played everyone’s favorite, “Goody Two Shoes”.

It was a great show and Adam is still at the top of his game.  Adam was joined by band members: guitarists A. P. Leach and Will Crewdson, bassist Joe Holweger who also provided backing vocals.  They also had to drummers, Andy Wooddard and Jola.  Everyone seemed to really enjoy the show and wanted more.  If you are an Adam Ant fan, then you will not be disappointed in this show.  Again, kudos to the Celebrity Theatre for an outstanding light and sound experience.  If you can ever see a show there, it is one of the great venues in Phoenix.


Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2018


Adam Ant Setlist:                   (Album)
Beat My Guest                          (Kings of the Wild Frontier)
Vive Le Rock                             (Vive Le Rock)
Dog Eat Dog                             (Kings of the Wild Frontier)
Apollo 9                                    (Vive Le Rock)
Friend or Foe                            (Friend or Foe)
Antmusic                                  (Kings of the Wild Frontier)
Room at the Top                       (Manners & Physique)
Desperate But Not Serious        (Friend or Foe)
Cartrouble                                (Dirk Wears White Sox)
Zerox                                       (Dirk Wears White Sox)
Young Parisians                         (-)
Prince Charming                        (Prince Charming)
Gotta Be a Sin                          (Wonderful)
Puss ‘n Boots                            (Strip)
Can’t Set Rules About Love       (Manners & Physique)
Christian D’or                            (-)
Strip                                         (Strip)
Kings of The Wild Frontier          (Kings of the Wild Frontier)
Greta X                                    (B-Side Babies)
B-Side Baby                              (B-Side Babies)
Stand and Deliver                      (Prince Charming)
Encore:
Goody Two Shoes                    (Friend or Foe)
Lady/Fall In                               (B-Sides Babies/Kings of the Wild Frontier)
Red Scab                                  (Extra Wonderful)
Physical (You’re So)                  (Kings of the Wild Frontier)


Glam Skanks

Glam Skanks

The night started with an all-female band out of LA called the Glam Skanks.  They reminded me of the 70s band, the Runaways.  They are a 4-piece band, with V Witkin on lead guitar and vocals, Millie Chan on bass and vocals, Cassie Jalilie on drums and lead singer Vanessa Vonlust.  Their set was made up of the songs from their debut album, Glitter City.  I listened to their music prior to the show just to get a feel for their style and I really enjoyed “Karma” and “Bad Bitch”.  When I saw them on stage they reminded me of a lot of the glam bands of the 80s and especially Poison.  Like CC Deville, V Witkin was amazing on guitar.  She would strut around the stage with her Flying V guitar and even did a Chuck Berry shuffle across the stage.  And what can you say about Vanessa, she pounded out the lyrics and commanded the stage just like Brett Michaels.  Even Cassie on drums reminded me of Ricky Rocket.  Millie provided the bass and added backing vocal to enhance the overall sound of the group.  You could tell that when they first came out on stage, that they were a little nervous due to the larger audience.  Normally they play for small groups of a few hundred at small venues and bars.  But tonight, they got to perform to thousands and as the set progressed they seemed more confident and the crowd responded.  After the set they joined the audience and everyone wanted their photos taken with them and to get their tee-shirts and albums signed.  They will be back in Tempe this week (February 9th) at The Yucca Tap Bar.  If you get a chance go see this up and coming band of really hot musicians.

Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2018