L.A. Guns | May 13, 2025 | Central Park Performing Arts Center, Largo, FL
What started off of as an unplanned Monsters of Rock Cruise family reunion in the lobby of the Central Park Performing Arts Center turned into an amazing night of rock n roll surrounded by dozens of friends and several hundred like-minded others who love hair metal. There were many familiar faces that I encountered, several of us adorned in shirts from the most recent Monsters of Rock Cruise (L.A. Guns played on the cruise) before going in to check out the opening band. I only saw a few minutes of Sticks n Stones, a hard rock band based out of Toronto, Ontario, led by brothers Nicholas and Robert Lisanti. The few minutes of their set that I saw I did like what I heard and have them on my list to check out more of their music.
I have been listening to L.A. Guns since their debut self titled 1988 release, ‘L.A. Guns’. There are tunes off of that album that are still in my personal rotation and the band has continued to deliver solid song construction with hard rock grit, melodic sensibility, and bluesy undertones across their fourteen studio releases, most of which I am familiar with. With hook heavy riffs and catchy singable choruses dripping with attitude and sleaze, this is a band that captures the essence and spirit of the 1980s Sunset Strip debauchery.
My friends and I bought tickets the moment this show went on sale. To see (what I consider) this legendary band in such an intimate venue I knew it was going to be a fantastic show. My friends and I must have been the first ones purchasing because we were lucky to be able to select five front row seats. After receiving photo credential approval, once I arrived at the venue I reached out to the venue manager and mentioned that I had a front row seat and asked for and received permission to photo from my seat for the two songs I was allowed to photo.
The lights dimmed and the band hit the stage opening the set with one of their newer songs, ‘Cannonball’ and immediately it was clear just how good the band sounded (props to the sound team!) Vocalist Phil Lewis’ smile radiates his charismatic swagger as he engages with the crowd, delivering his vocals with both power and grace while adding a touch of theatricality with his expressions and dance moves. Lead guitarist Tracii Guns is literally right in front of me just absolutely wailing away with his fiery and sharp technical skills. Rhythm guitarist Ace Von Johnson along with drummer Shawn Duncan and bassist Johnny Martin keep the band in rhythm with a solid and tight backbone keeping the grooves locked in.
Next up was ‘Electric Gypsy’ which started the nostalgic ride back in time for me. Killer guitar riffs and that rocker attitude was on full display as I clicked away furiously trying to capture every moment and expression before stowing my camera and sitting back and just enjoying the rest of the show. ‘Over the Edge’ was next and that segued into Phil chatting with the crowd mentioning how the band was from the 80s and then went full sleaze kicking off ‘Sex Action’ while having their merchandise girl come out and gyrate seductively on the stage. I was sort of stuck between my own nostalgia and having this sudden urge to buy an L.A. Guns tour shirt!
One of the band’s newest songs was next, ‘Hit and Run’ and the opening sequence of the song gave me the feeling like I was driving in a convertible with the top down in the desert heading to some unknown adventure. Another of the newer songs was next, ‘Like a Drug’ and that song segued into ‘Speed’. The band then went back to their first release with ‘One More Reason’ and then off of what is I think their most recognizable album a personal favorite ‘I Wanna Be Your Man’ had the crowd singing along in unison, myself included. Next up was another off the newest release, ‘Lucky Motherf*cker’ was one I liked immediately, and I listened to it a couple of times at home after show as I was going through my photos.
Tracii took center stage and played the opening notes to AC/DC’s ‘Hell’s Bells’, which had the whole band join in on for a few seconds which went right into my favorite L.A. Guns song, ‘Never Enough’. Once the first chorus of this song hit a good portion of the crowd was out of their seats on their feet with horns raised singing along. Next was the band’s most popular song, ‘The Ballad of Jayne’ which Phil let the crowd do a good part of the singing in the first part of the song. To conclude the set, the band closed with another of my favorite tunes of theirs, an extended version of ‘Rip and Tear’ with a special appearance on stage by guitarist Michael ‘Whip’ Wilton of Queensrÿche and a small solo highlight from each member of the band, Whip included!
I walked out of there thinking already I have a serious contender for my show of the year. The lighting was fantastic, the sound was spot on, the band and their songs took me for a walk down memory lane while reminding me I have new music of theirs to check out. It was a great mix of old and new material and sitting in the front row, everything was right there. While I do wish I could have had more time with my camera for this show, the lighting was so great I would have ended up with easily over a thousand photos to go through. It was a great night of music that I grew up with, in an intimate venue where there is no bad seat, surrounded by friends both new and old.
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To see photos from the show, click here.
L.A Guns set list:
Cannonball
Electric Gypsy
Over the Edge
Sex Action
Hit and Run
Like a Drug
Speed
One More Reason
I Wanna Be Your Man
Lucky Motherf*cker
Hells Bells intro (AC/DC)/Never Enough
Ballad of Jayne
Rip and Tear