Review by: Val Tapia
Photos by Fred Kuhlman
Promoter: Danny Zelisko Presents (https://dzplive.com/ )
Venue: Celebrity Theatre (https://celebritytheatre.com/ )
Date: Saturday September 20th, 2025
I think anybody reading this would agree there are plenty of artists throughout the history of popular music who were simply misunderstood during “their time”, if you will.
Mind you, not only by music critics, but the general public as well.
One such band would arguably be Cinderella. When their debut album, Night Songs, was released in the summer of 1986, the album cover looked a lot different than how the music actually sounded. For many young hard rock fans at the time, it was pleasantly surprising.
And of course, when it came to playing live, they delivered 100% onstage pretty much without fail. I saw Cinderella for the first time opening for Bon Jovi at the Coliseum on the latter’s Slippery When Wet tour in January 1987.
Long story short, let’s just say that Cinderella indeed gave Bon Jovi a run for the money on that winter night. In short order, they were a tough act to follow … at the very least.
Dare I say it, I’m sure the members of Bon Jovi would openly admit that as well. Or at least, privately admit it. But I digress.
All of that went through my head on Saturday Sept. 17, when the Tom Keifer Band took the stage at Celebrity Theatre for a (nearly) sold-out show to an audience who simply can’t enough of 80s classic hard rock. By and large, they were not disappointed either.
Opening the paltry 90-minute, 16-song set with Touching The Divine (from Keifer’s second solo album, 2019’s Rise), it got things off to a great start.
But it didn’t take long for the exceptional seven-piece band to crank out Cinderella classics The More Things Change (from 1990’s Heartbreak Station) and Coming Home (from 1988’s Long Cold Winter), respectively.
Of the four solo songs that the band played, perhaps The Death Of Me was the standout. Truth be told, had Cinderella been in existence in 2019, it would’ve definitely been suitable for them. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be.
Bad Seamstress Blues/ Fallin’ Apart At The Seams, another solo song Rise, and Nobody’s Fool all played back-to-back really show how diverse Keifer was and is as a songwriter. That’s something that he doesn’t get a lot of recognition for within the “bigger conversation”, if you will, of 80s hard rock artists.
The last solo song of the night was Solid Ground, and the only one played from 2013’s The Way Life Goes. After that, it was all about Cinderella for the rest of the set. Well… almost.
Night Songs, Somebody Save Me, and The Last Mile kept the predominantly 50-something audience on its feet. I’m happy to say that the music has held up well over time, and the Tom Keifer Band played the Cinderella material faithfully to the original recordings. To their credit I might add.
They closed the main set with Don’t Know What You Got (Til It’s Gone), Shake Me and Shelter Me. Predictable? Yes. But still effective without question.
Interestingly, the aforementioned three songs really sum up Keifer’s influences on the music of Cinderella. A little Aerosmith, a little AC/DC and a little Rolling Stones all rolled into one.
Speaking of a Stones influence, it was disappointing that Heartbreak Station wasn’t played at this show. Personally, I contend it’s their equivalent to Wild Horses. Yes, it’s that good dear readers!
I’m sorry, it’s not much to ask to play 17 songs in this scenario. It was a glaring omission— jeers to them for that.
An encore of Gypsy Road and the Beatles classic With A Little Help From My Friends rounded out the night on a satisfactory conclusion. By the way, it should be said that …A Little Help was a faithful rendition of the late Joe Cocker’s version of the song.
However, make no mistake, they pulled it off tremendously. I’m sure Mr. Cocker was smiling from ear-to-ear.
The final verdict? Four out of five stars.
Tom Keifer Band
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2025, All Rights Reserved
L.A. Guns
Photos © Fred Kuhlman 2025, All Rights Reserved
