Photos and Review by Dave Kasiorek
After stellar openers from the stripped down acoustic set of John Corabi and the full band throttle of Winger the Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead was ready for Tom Keifer and company.
The set opened up with Tom Keifer band original “Life Was Here” before breaking into the Cinderella hits. “Coming Home” and Nobody’s Fool” saw the crowd lighting up the room with their cell phones, lighters or whatever light source they had, singing along and bringing that true sense of arena rock alive. Following the classic ballads was the rocked up “Night Songs”, “Somebody Save Me” and “Shake Me” with Tom Keifer effortlessly pulling off those screams and high notes. For encore number one Tom Keifer sat piano side soulfully playing through “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)” with the crowd lighting up the room and singing along again becoming a trend of the night. Following the power ballad Tom opened up about his struggles with his vocal cords (having had several surgeries for vocal paralysis) and how he fights to give it his all each night for the fans or as he called us, his friends. What better way to celebrate with friends than to sing “With a Little Help From My Friends” by the Beatles. This was the highlight of the night for me as you can hear the push and drive that Tom Keifer was portraying as he screamed, wailed, and beautifully sang through the timeless classic. For the final song we all took a ride on that “Gypsy Road” until the final bow and it was time to exit into the rainy night. The last time I saw Tom Keifer was in 2011 with Cinderella opening up for the Scorpions. One thing that was evident from tonight’s show, 12 years later, was despite the surgeries and the vocal issues that Tom has dealt with it has affected his ability to hit the notes and rock the house by absolutely zero. The talent that Tom Keifer has not only as a singer but also a musician is inspiring and his story is even more so. If you get the chance to see this tour don’t hesitate because it is one night of many great songs and memories.
Winger
