Sonic Slam 2022 Tour Sends Shock Waves in Fort Myers, Florida

Article & Photos by Randy Cook & Travis Failey

The Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon in Fort Myers, FL was our destination on Sunday, July 24^th to attend the rock concert tour of the summer in “Sonic Slam 2022.” Now you may think that the Stadium Tour featuring Motley and Def Leppard was the tour of the summer, well my friends you would be incorrect, especially if you witnessed what we did in Fort Myers.    

Tom Keifer, the lead singer of the now disbanded multiplatinum selling Cinderella, was set to shine onto Southwest Florida with his new “Keifer Band.”  Along on the “Sonic Slam 2022” tour was L.A. Guns and Faster Pussycat. A solid lineup of some great rock mixing in some new material with mostly older well know tunes that all three bands made their career with.  All of them formed in the mid 80’s and are still releasing new music, albeit Tom Keifer under his own name, while still actively keeping the Cinderella spirit and sound alive during his performances and in the hearts and ears of us in the crowd.

As we arrived at the Ranch after a two hour plus drive with a packed car, we were all very interested to go into the venue as none of us had been there before. The line of fans stretched around the building and out into the parking lot as the Florida summer heat was still cranking at 6 pm. People were tailgating and partaking in all sorts of drinks and other substances getting their buzz on prior to the show. It was an old school parking lot bash on a Sunday night.   

Walking into the Ranch Concert Hall was an eye-opening experience. This venue is huge with a big stage and even bigger dance floor as country music and dancing is the norm here. There were tables and chairs galore around the perimeter of the dance floor and many were occupied prior to Faster Pussycat taking the stage.

The bartenders were all primed to take care of the patrons and with a start time of 7, Faster Pussycat hit the stage only a few minutes after that.

Vocalist and founding member Taime Downe acknowledged the crowd with a throwing of the “horns” as he strutted towards the microphone with the band kicking in to “Jack The Bastard” from their junior release in 1992.   

Downe who was sporting a cowboy hat and vest got the crowd singing and shaking with a trio of hits from the band in “Cathouse,” Slip of the Tongue” and “Don’t Change that Song.”

The band was really having a great time with Downe smiling and two of the young gun slingers in the band in Ronnie Simmons and Sam “Bam” Koltun, shredding with the ladies in the crowd keeping their eyes glued to them.

Faster Pussycat then played “NOLA” which was their first original single they have released since 2006 with some in the crowd recognizing it. Faster then played their biggest song of all time which got everyone singing and some with tears in their eyes in “House of Pain.”  

The whole band was super tight and sounded great, especially Taime Downe. Faster Pussycat veterans, bassist Danny Nordahl and drummer Chad Stewart kept the back line tight and sounded fantastic especially during “Poison Ivy” and the finale that I couldn’t wait to hear in “Bathroom Wall.”

Faster Pussycat were fantastic and got the crowd revved up and ready and 20 minutes later right before L.A. Guns shot onto the stage, Tracii Guns was backstage near his rig and commenced playing “Diary Of A Madman.”

Fans had their eyes wide open and it was a dynamic opening to a fast and furious 8 song set that was kicked off by “Cannonball” from their recent release in ‘The Devil You Know’ album. 

Phil Lewis was in complete command of the crowd from the jump and once again performed like a spry 25-year-old singer.  It’s amazing what Phil does night in and night out as the 65-year-old vocalist in L.A Guns. I’ve seen him perform at least ten times and he’s always sharp and on his game, and this was especially noticeable on “Over The Edge” and the fan favorite “The Ballad Of Jayne.”

As a segue to “Over The Edge,” Tracii Guns reached into his bag of guitar tricks and played a bit of “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath with a bow.  Never have I seen this played with a bow before. It was amazing. Tracii had a big smile on his face as both he and Ace Von Johnson crushed the dual lead guitar parts with the crowd screaming in approval.

Another highlight of their set was when L.A. Guns played “Speed” from The Missing Piece album from 2017.   

This song goes 100 miles an hour from start to finish and is a continuation of fast paced shredding songs that L.A. Guns fans have loved throughout their career.

An L.A. Guns show would not be complete without the song that put them on the map way back in the 80’s in “Never Enough.” Tracii along with drummer Shane Fitzgibbons and bassist Johnny Martin, played the intro to “Hells Bells” by AC/DC which led perfectly into “Never Enough.” Guns also played tribute to Eddie Van Halen by playing a small piece of “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love.”

L.A. Guns concluded with a rousing rendition of “Rip and Tear” that left fans banging their head even after the song concluded. Once again it was evident that L.A. Guns still has it in spades after all these years and still leave everything on the stage with the fans wanting more. The band left the stage as an upbeat rendition of “So Long, Farewell” played over the loudspeakers.

After seeing L.A. Guns again, It was confirmed that Phil Lewis and Tracii Guns should be recognized as one of the great song writing tandems of our generation and it was evident just by the crowd reaction on Sunday night in Fort Myers.

With a bit more of an extended break before Tom Keifer hit the stage, I walked around the Ranch and took in a bit more of the venue. I just can’t rave about this place enough. The sound and the setup were fantastic and the staff working there were accommodating to say the least. I would definitely suggest seeing a show here and I wish The Ranch Concert Hall & Saloon was in the Tampa area.

 As the stage lights were dimmed, Tom Keifer and his band stood center stage by the drum riser and had a pre-show round circle meeting of his mates before kicking the set off with “Touching the Divine” from his most recent release in “Rise”

It sounds funny to say that Tom and his band are finally getting to go out on the road and to play his new songs for his fans, but we all know that back story on that. All I know is from the jump, Keifer looked and sounded great and that was confirmed as the title track from the debut album Night Songs, commenced.  

Keifer screamed “I Need A Shot of Gasoline” that reverberated through the venue and really primed the crowd for the rest of the set as Keifer’s voice sounded fantastic.

With fellow guitarist Tony Higbee and Keifer sharing lead guitar duties, these two were in perfect sync all night.

After “Coming Home” and “Its Not Enough,” Keifer and his band went back to the Cinderella debut album and their first video on MTV with “Somebody Save Me.”

 The band was doing five person perfect harmonies as Kendra Chantelle and Savannah Keifer provided backing vocals throughout the set. It was almost like we were at a church chorus; the harmonies were that tight.  

 After “Rise,” Higbee broke out the double neck Gibson and the opening notes of “Nobody’s Fool” rang out as Keifer addressed the crowd and asked them if they wanted to sing tonight. He started but then the crowd took over until the chorus hit.  It was musical magic and it took the crowd instantly back to a simpler time when MTV actually played videos and mattered to us.

Other than for “Solid Ground” from the 2013 The Way Life Goes release, the next three songs were a trio from Cinderella’s sophomore release Long Cold Winter.   These included the bluesy “Falling Apart at the Seams” “The Last Mile” and the huge hit “Don’t Know What You Got (Till Its Gone.)

The last three songs were straight rockers in “Shake Me” “Shelter Me” and the encore/finale in of course “Gypsy Road.”

As we left the venue I looked back and thought that sadly, in all of my concert going days I had never seen Cinderella live. They were a band who was a staple in my formative years especially as our local radio station back in the day gained notoriety as drummer Fred Coury wore an upside down 95YNF shirt in Cinderella’s ‘Somebody Save Me’ video.

This also started a semi silly craze in the area as locals turned their 95YNF license plates on the front of their cars upside down in a show of rock solidarity. This came out when I was sixteen and somehow, I had not managed to ever see them live. I never really thought of them as a “hair band” especially after the second album hit with a much more bluesy sound.  

They were also on their way to separating themselves from most of the other bands of that genre with a huge European tour just as Desert Storm commenced. This was a huge setback and Cinderella was never truly able to regain traction especially with grunge at the doorstep.

Over three decades later though Tom Keifer with his recognizable trademark voice, carries on the Cinderella legacy as only he can. Keifer and his band were fantastic and played every note without issue or backing tracks and the fans loved it.

The Sonic Slam 2022 tour proved that you don’t need 40,000 plus fans in a stadium to have an amazing tour and night of music. All they needed was great musicianship, a crowd hungry for the songs they love and an awesome venue. Thankfully for us in attendance, all three were in play and many stated as we left the venue that we witnessed the concert tour of the summer.

For dates near you go to http://www.tomkeifer.com/events/