John 5 And The Creatures, Jared James Nichols, Dead Girls Academy, Lee's Palace, Toronto, Canada
John 5 seems to be pretty busy most summers hitting a bunch of big festivals with Rob Zombie, but he’s finally gotten some time this spring to do an extensive North American tour with his own eponymous trio, John 5 And The Creatures. One of a whopping 10 dates in Canada is at legendary Toronto venue Lee’s Palace.
A late addition to the bill is opener Dead Girls Academy (3). With one opener already along for the entire tour, it would have been better to leave this band off. You could say this group is a blast from the past, but it wouldn’t be a compliment. Specifically, they’re reminiscent of the time around 2013 when bands like Pierce The Veil and Sleeping With Sirens were thought to be the next big thing. The screamo music, angsty teenage lyrics and dinosaur-like poses coming from a bunch of grown men is just pathetic, and actually kind of gross. Most of the audience doesn’t get it, and gives confused half-hearted courtesy applause when the band finishes each song. Probably because this is a 19+ even, not 14 and under. This band is truly awful—but no different than any of those other scene bands from earlier in the decade. Apparently, the band only formed in 2016, so maybe someone should let them know they’re a little late to the party. Pretty good drummer, though.
On to Jared James Nichols (7), a much more appropriate and grown-up choice for this evening. His stage energy gets the crowd going, and his guitar chops are undoubtedly impressive, even if some of his solos go on a bit long. Still, his bluesy-rock and party attitude sit way better with the crowd. At one point he jumps off stage and walks through the crowd while shredding, some good people holding up his chord for him as he does this. It still manages to get unplugged at one point, but he recovers from it quickly and only misses a couple of beats. Nichols gets the evening back on track and leaves on a strong cover of Mountain’s Mississippi Queen.
The setup break takes a while, but seeing the stage for John 5 And The Creatures (8) come together is pretty cool. Giant inflatable witches, ghosts, monsters and castle walls decorate the stage, the exact same ones you’d find in the Halloween section at Walmart (or Asda, depending where you are). They’re cheesy, obviously, but the look fits perfectly with John 5’s cartoonish spooky atmosphere. There also are screens in front of the amps that play clips from horror movies and Scooby Doo episodes throughout the performance. It’s the rhythm section that takes the stage first, before the man of the hour himself comes on ripping Season Of The Witch. From there, it’s a non-stop high velocity set, and 5’s music gives him a lot more room to show off his virtuosity than anything he’s played with Rob Zombie or Marilyn Manson.
There’s some bluegrass picking, and one solo where John 5 swaps out his guitar for a mandolin, and then that for a banjo, all seamlessly and seemingly effortlessly. John 5 is used to playing much bigger venues as a member of Rob Zombie’s band, and the larger-than-life stage presence he brings to this small space almost makes this show seem like it should be on a bigger stage as well. But these fans are lucky, getting to see such a grandiose performance so close-up.
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