Show Review: John 5 & The Creatures, DNA Lounge, 04/20/2022

Photos and review by: Alan Ralph @ARPhotoSF

It’s interesting when successful musicians branch out on their own solo projects. Maybe they have too much creative energy that doesn’t flow with their band and need to expand on it, or maybe they just have free time between recording and tour cycles to do their own thing. Whatever the case may be, the best moment to see these performers live is not with their marquee name bands, one hundred yards away in some stadium… no, the best time is when they are on their solo tours! Paul Stanley of KISS once performed at The Fillmore to 800 people. Joe Perry of Aerosmith also performed at The Fillmore in front of only 400 people. When John 5 is not performing to thousands of people with Rob Zombie, he very often makes solo records, tours with his own solo project called John 5 & The Creatures, and when in San Francisco, always comes back to the intimate DNA Lounge.

This was no ordinary 4/20 show, there was not a single whiff of pot smoke in the air… and John 5 is no ordinary guitar player! He is quite possibly the most under-rated guitar player of all time. If there was ever anyone who should inherit the guitar throne that Eddie Van Halen left behind, it is John 5. The music he plays on Rob Zombie’s songs is child’s play compared to the 75 minutes of finger-tapping, bluegrass chicken pickin’, teeth picking, violin bow picking, banjo playing, riff-tastic shredding that he does on his solo tour! (he manages to find time to use a standard guitar pick too…)

This was the second show of his current month-long SINNER tour, and he brought along a nice stage production this time. A couple of his previous visits to DNA Lounge were very intimate shows in their tiny upstairs room and John 5 did not have a lot of space on that small stage to bring all of the production that he has on this tour. The large drum set was all the way in the back on the high drum riser, there were four amplifier-sized video screens, two archway set pieces, and an ego riser that had a light in it that shined upwards whenever John 5 would stand on it (which was just about the entire show).

On top of the stage production and John 5’s amazing feats of guitar wizardry, he also had a little bit of a stage show. First was the crew guy wearing a giant John 5 head, followed by the John 5 robot, followed by a barrage of John 5 balloons that were kicked and punched all over the venue and stage for over 10 minutes, followed by the giant John 5 head again. In-between all of that, John 5 would constantly switch guitars (sometimes mid-song) from a see-through one that he also played with the violin bow, to a 4-string Fender mandolin, to a banjo, to his trusted main Fender (that he used for majority of the songs), to a guitar lit up with dozens of LED lights. At one point, he wore a mask that matches his face-paint, only to remove that and reveal a skull, only to remove that to reveal his face… which had a big smiling grin on it for the entire show. It is obvious that the stage is his happy place, no matter if he is in front of 125 people at DNA Lounge or 17,000 people at a Rob Zombie show!

Click on any photo below for a slideshow of full-size images of John 5.

Setlist:
1. Season of the Witch
2. Que Pasa
3. Six Hundred and Sixty Six Pickers in Hell
4. Crank It – Living With Ghosts
5. Zoinks
6. Hell Haw I.G.R.
7. Constant Sorrow
8. Land of Misfit Toys
9. I Am John 5
10. Howdy
11. Cactus Flower
12. The Black Grass Plague
13. Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Queen cover)
14. Medley (portions of cover songs)
* Van Halen, Pantera, White Zombie, Megadeth, Foo Fighters, Rage Against The Machine, more
15. Euphoria
16. Creepshow
17. How High the Moon

The opening band was The Haxans, featuring Piggy D (who is also a long-time member of Rob Zombie’s band), and Ash Costello of New Years Day. This was their first time ever touring outside of their hometown of Los Angeles + Anaheim, and this was their first show on this tour as well. Piggy D plays bass for Rob Zombie but he did great with the two added strings on his guitar. Ash Costello has a fine voice and they sounded good together… overall though, the set was lacking. They referred to this show as their “rehearsal” more than a few times – Piggy had to cue their audio playback guy at the start and end of every song – it’s possible they needed an extra studio rehearsal or two to get it all together…

Click on any photo below for a slideshow of full-size images of The Haxans.

See more photos of all of your favorite Metal musicians at Alan Ralph‘s photo portfolio.

Alan Ralph

Concert Photographer + Concert Stagehand + Concert Security + Concert reviewer since 2003... and with Spinning Platters since the beginning!

Author: Alan Ralph

Concert Photographer + Concert Stagehand + Concert Security + Concert reviewer since 2003... and with Spinning Platters since the beginning! View all posts by Alan Ralph