All right, let’s face it, firearms have “popped up” quite a lot in band names over the years – hmmm, we had the Sex Pistols in the punk-rock Seventies, and in the glam Eighties we saw the rise of Guns N’ Roses, which mutated into Velvet Revolver, and there were The BulletBoys, and Shotgun Messiah, and The Gun Club, and lately there's Lipstick Magazine on the scene (referring to weapon’s ammo magazine, not to a periodical such as this one!) – yep, quite an arsenal! And of course, back when GNR was starting out on the Strip, another contemporary act that also shot successfully into public awareness -- first onto local stages and then into venues around the world -- was L.A. Guns, strutting in front of throngs clad in torn spandex, mesh, and leather. A landmark record by L.A. Guns was “Cocked and Loaded,” and on Saturday, January 17th, 2009, twenty years after that disk made its mark on the thriving glam scene, the band was back at the Whisky A Go-Go to confirm that these rockers are still blasting it out with both barrels, “Still Cocked, Still Loaded.”
All Access Magazine was privileged to witness this vision of glory-days glam revival, courtesy of the fine fellows in ACIDIC, one of the several opening bands on the bill. The veterans in L.A. Guns were balanced by up-and-coming bands such as ACIDIC, ZänKoma, and Frontrunner, along with troupers that included SSX and Uncle Junkie. ACIDIC founder Michael Gossard reported that Whisky booking agent Celina was most gracious in slotting his band for this stellar evening, providing the Westside youngsters yet another opportunity to parade their punky power-pop sound for the Hollywood crowd. Accompanied by bassist Ted Dubrawski and drummer Matt Whitaker, guitarist Michael energetically showcased several songs that have become standard favorites in ACIDIC’s repertoire, including “Ironic Dreams,” “Strata Red,” and “Goodbye.” Also, the band was pleased to unleash a brand-new composition, “Let Me Take You Away,” flexing their melodic muscles for the already-jumping house. ACIDIC concluded by breaking out “Break Me Down.”
After ACIDIC's set, Michael Gossard was followed on stage by an old pal of his, Tim Sabatine, who was there playing bass for the band from Pasadena called Nou. (Cool to note, the talented Tim is now sharing six-string duties in ACIDIC, as second guitarist ... sweet!) Nou came forth with a hard, choppy set, including a new song from a “new record” (how retro!) called “Shout It Out,” no relation to a certain old KISS song with a similar name. Despite a vocal mix that didn’t always set off singer-guitarist Derek de Lang’s efforts to best effect, the band laid down good grooves, at times hypnotic, accented by vigorous drums from Christian Welch and guitars by Alex Babcock.
After Nou had broken down their gear, a team of youngsters who call themselves Frontrunner took the stage. Introduced as “young souls with an old-school vibe,” Frontrunner brought alive a tasty organ-and-guitar melange that was like a trip in the way-back machine to a Deep Purple concert. Along with ACIDIC, Frontrunner is on of the younger bands on the scene, and also like ACIDIC, they do what they do quite well. After keyboardist Alex Canter played a pastiche of snippets from classic standards -- bits of "Cat Scratch Fever" and "Home Sweet Home" were evident -- Frontrunner blazed into “Train Kept A-Rolling” with powerful enthusiasm. Bassist Jack Gallagher handled bass and lead vocals with panache, with Canter showing 
he really knows how to handle that Hammond organ. Guitarist Sam Doniger has obviously studied well, often seeming to be a happier-looking version of Richie Blackmore. In the middle of their set, Frontrunner slowed it down with a pleasant power ballad called "Met A Girl,” and later, saying they were playing “for all the fancy girls,” Jack kicked into “Miss Money,” which featured a taste of cowbell, courtesy of Canter, to complement John Rockwell’s drumwork. Then, it was a pleasant surprise when the band brought the fullness of their vintage sound alive when they covered “Highway Star,” the perennial Deep Purple gem. Frontrunner followed by rolling into “Landslide” with a swirling intro riff, and they finally closed with the pertinent “We're All Here For You.”
Then came a colorful combo called SSX, who opened by insisting that “God sent us here to kick your asses!” Playing a combination of originals and classics, SSX’s nu-metal sound earned solid crowd attention. A cheeky tune called “Taco Hell” was followed by Creedence’s “Born On The Bayou” and Drowning Pool’s “Let The Bodies Hit The Floor.” Lovely lady Shay-B played keyboards while equally enticing Bec handled the bass, behind guitarist Dai’s slashing leads and backed by Eddy on drums, all combining to deliver a serious spanking in conjunction with SonnyBoy’s lively vocals.
San Diego quartet Uncle Junkie came next, giving props to the lads in Frontrunner and the other younger bands. Uncle Junkie might be “a little longer in the tooth,” observed the singer, but they, like L.A. Guns, showed that they still rock with the best – and, despite their issues-laden name, these guys actually promote sobriety among their fans. The band opened with “Trouble,” a riff-based rocker that held echoes of old UFO. And like SSX, the fellows in Uncle Junkie laid down some swampy stuff, at times featuring harmonica and slide guitar. “Stealing My Soul” was hallmarked by the same kind of creeping bass line as found in The Toadies’ “Possum Kingdom” or Midnight Oil’s “Burning Beds,” while power chords were evident throughout, along with vocals often reminiscent of Glenn Danzig.
Next up was ZänKoma from Los Angeles, a long-haired, four-piece outfit that played alluring array of hard-rock stage-burners. Consisting of guitarists Adam Balogh and Steve Burchell, plus Cristian Sturba on bass and Skeeter Joplin on drums, the band set the pace with “Pacemaker,” then broke loose on “Hellride,” and continued to tickle the crowd's fancy with a “Foot Massage.” Adam and Steve jammed from shred to shred, at one point erupting into a kind of stomping “hoedown,” obviously enjoying their blazing interplay with each other. After shinging brightly with “Let It Shine,” ZänKoma crunched out their finale, a steaming version of Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen.”
And so the stage was set for the evening’s returning heroes, the fondly-received L.A. Guns. Interestingly, the version of the band at The Whisky this evening did not include legendary guitarist Tracii Guns, but carrying the torch for the festivities was veteran vocalist Phil Lewis, with Stacey Blades on guitar, Scott Griffin on bass, and Steve Riley on drums. In traditional glam fashion, both Stacey and Steve wore headbands, while Phil was taut and tattooed in the spotlight. The foursome delivered a solid and satisfying set, bringing alive jewel after jewel from their treasure-chest of hits. Crowd response was vibrant for the band’s vintage brand of “sleaze rock,” which was brightly evident when so many sang along with nuggets such as “The Ballad of Jayne” and “Sex Action.” Everyone in the band had a star-turn, and guests including Too bad, L.A. Guns didn’t play “Kiss My Love Goodbye” this time around, but all in all, The Whisky was rockin’ easy and sleazy with a houseful of satisfied fans. As Tommy Bolin sang back in the Seventies, “My gun is cocked and loaded,” and L.A. Guns displayed the same rough-and-ready muscle that makes glam rock such a vibrant and still-persistent movement, ever popular among all the Hollywood Vampires.
