L.A. Guns – Ventura Music Hall – 12/28/24
Originally formed in 1983, L.A. Guns was at the forefront of the Hollywood glam scene. With Tracii Guns leading the way, they were bound to succeed. They had their share of drama and they eventually merged with Axl Rose’s band called Hollywood Rose to form Guns N’ Roses. After a brief time, Tracii Guns pulled out of Guns N’ Roses and reformed L.A. Guns. They had their 1989 mega hit, The Ballad of Jayne which ended up on billboard charts and in the VH1 top 100. This gave them some notoriety in the U.S. and in the U.K.
Current Lineup:
- Phil Lewis – Vocals
- Tracii Guns – Lead Guitar
- Ace Von Johnson – Rhythm Guitar
- Johnny Martin – Bass
- Shawn Duncan – Drums
With the popularity of tribute bands these days, it was exciting to hear that the original band was coming to town. It would of been wrong to miss these guys. I wasn’t sure how popular they still were but I hoped for a good turnout.
As I walked in the venue and claimed my spot, I noticed the place was filling up much slower then what I am used to. I was hoping that the crowd would be bigger. The floor was about half filled. The audience had some good energy for the size. Some of the ladies dressed in their 80s concert outfits minus the big hair. It ended up being a really fun night.
As the start-time grew closer, the excitement was apparent. The lights went out and an old Ozzy song came on extra loud and sounded great. Once the song ended, the band hit the stage. The energy level exploded. L.A. Guns was ready to rock with their 2022 song, Cannonball.
The performance was exceptionally good. Phil Lewis hit all the right notes. His vocals did not seem to age in the last 30 years. Shawn’s drumming was perfect. Phil mentioned that Shawn was the closest drummer to John Bahnam that he has ever played with. Tracii Guns made the guitar look so simple to play. He just gets better and better. Ace and Johnny ran the stage like it was 1989 on the Sunset Strip. Their style and stage antics gave me flashbacks to seeing Faster Pussycat at the Hollywood Palladium. In-fact, Ace was a member of Faster Pussycat and Johnny recently played bass for Faster Pussycat when their bass player broke his arm. It’s a small world when it comes to Hollywood glam.
L.A. Guns put on an excellent show. They were having just as much fun as we were. I wish them success on this tour and their upcoming album.
