Chicago’s City Winery was treated to not one, but two shows on the same night by guitarist extraordinaire, John 5.
This show was a combination no one expected to see – John 5 at City Winery. We love both, but it’s fair to say this is not the usual artist you would come to City Winery to see. For years, John 5 would perform at Reggie’s whenever he was in town. People would pack into the dark and sweaty rock club. The two just fit together perfectly. Earlier this year, the show was hosted at a much bigger venue – Arcada Theatre in St. Charles. As much as that show felt a little odd with it being a seated venue, the entire audience was on their feet all night.
This show was different again. It’s not the type of venue where you can stand, so instead, the audience tucked into their wine and cheese platters, and were able to enjoy the show in a more refined setting. What better place for John to try his first-ever taste of wine? As great as the wine is here, we don’t think it converted him. Throughout the night, he looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself. The intimate setting meant that he could easily interact with the fans. He took a moment to reflect on times when he got to see his idols perform in venues just like this. As much as you would expect this show not to work in a venue like this, what do we know because it totally did. It’s a stripped-back performance, without the makeup and costume changes. Instead, the music spoke for itself. That’s not to say his love of horror wasn’t on full display via the images flashing on the video screens beside him. After all, it was a John 5 show!
These solo shows have been scheduled in between John’s performances with Mötley Crüe. It’s great to see that he’s still able to tour and perform his own music and that it’s not been completely sidelined since joining the Crüe.
To say John 5 is a master at his trade completely undersells him. He is one of the most talented guitarists of our time, who has his audiences fully entranced without the need of a vocalist. His music never sounds like it’s someone just self-indulgently noodling away on the guitar and playing fast for the sake of it. Instead, the melodic intricate tunes have the perfect measure of flare and musicality.
It’s unbelievable to think that after playing the way that he does, there was another show straight after this one. And we know it would be every bit as impressive as the first one.
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