John 5 / Marty Friedman / Nita Strauss /
Nikki Stringfield & Patrick Kennison
The Observatory – Santa Ana, CA
Friday, January 24th, 2025
Review/Pics: Manuel Gay
I discovered John 5 a couple of decades ago when I became obsessed with Marilyn Manson’s “Holy Wood”, which still sits pretty high on the list of albums that have influenced my tastes. And I remember how mesmerized I was by John’s stage presence on the “Guns, God and Government” live DVD. Since then, he proved himself to be one of the most prolific guitarists out there. From playing with Rob Zombie, starting various bands with other musicians and recently joining Motley Crüe, he has been all over the place while constantly releasing solo projects. On January 24th and as part of the NAMM show, John 5 sold out the Santa Ana Observatory with a packed line up of guitar virtuosos.
Nikki Stringfield & Patrick Kennison
First on the bill were Nikki Stringfield & Patrick Kennison. Although both musicians have their own projects – he plays for Lita Ford and she is in the Iron Maidens – the married couple have a joint band in which they both play guitar and sing, while Patrick also handles programmed drums. Their two voices harmonize perfectly, and I really enjoyed their set. “When Daylight Dies” was my favorite original song, but the Iron Maiden “Aces High” cover was the cherry on top. The small venue was already jam-packed, and they received a thunder of applause. 
Nita Strauss
I had initially seen the poster for the show with Nita Strauss announced as the opener and more recently saw another poster from which she had disappeared. Although I did not investigate this mystery thoroughly, I simply assumed she wasn’t performing anymore. And I must admit I was a little bummed as I was really looking forward to seeing her live. When the techs started setting up the set for the next band and I saw them installing a big “Nita Strauss” banner at the back of the stage, I got really excited. I am not sure what happened, but I was pleased. I finally got to see her perform live and I was not disappointed.
Nita simply blew my mind. Her bandmates deserve high praise as well, as they were incredible, but her skills were only matched by her energy. She played a mix of her first record “Controlled Chaos” and the one she released last year “The Call Of The Void”. Five years separate the two records, and they are both very different. In simple words, the first album was instrumental and hit pretty hard, while the last one had a myriad of guest vocalists (Alice Cooper, Lzzy Hale, etc…) and was slightly more radio friendly. However, the set flowed nicely, and the band’s energy kept it all tight. Kasey Karlsen from the band Deadlands joined the band for the last four songs and filled in for the David Draiman vocal (Disturbed) on “Dead Inside” and for Dorothy on “Victorious”. I regret not having seen Nita Strauss before, but this was certainly not the last time.
Marty Friedman
Next axeman to take the stage was ex-Megadeth member Marty Friedman. To most of us it seemed strange that no drum set was installed, and Marty walked up to the stage alone. The Japanese-based musician grabbed the mic to address the issue right away. His bandmates were supposed to join him earlier that day directly from Japan, but although their visas were approved and they had their documents in order, immigration agents didn’t let them enter the US. His disappointment and frustration were obvious, and it was impossible not to feel it.
Despite the circumstances, he managed to somewhat improv a set with backing tracks that had been used for studio recordings and played the whole show by himself. I was not too familiar with his solo work but didn’t need to be in order to appreciate the massive talent of the guitar maestro. This was probably very different than any other of his shows, without his musicians, but it flowed seamlessly except for one song for which he had to restart the track. Based on the circumstances, the crowd was pretty understanding and supportive. I enjoyed the whole set but really appreciated “Illumination” and “Tearful Confession”; both from his last album Drama (2024).
John 5
It was finally time for the man of the evening, the one everyone was waiting for, Mr. John 5. Although he sometimes tours with his backing band The Creatures, it wasn’t the case this time. The only company he had on stage was a drummer, or should I say the silhouette of a drummer at the back of the stage who remained anonymously in the dark. The message was clear “All eyes on John and to Guitar Town we go”.
He opened with “Strung Out” a festival of tapping and arpeggios, a perfect warm up for the rest of the set to come. Even though Marty had just demonstrated already that a one-man guitar show could be incredibly entertaining, John took it to another level with his stage presence.
Throughout the set he used a few tricks to keep the audience entertained, from putting on a light-up mouth guard to having a man with a giant John 5 bobblehead-style mask run around the stage. I was lucky enough to be center stage in an overly crowded photo pit and John reached towards my camera, which startled me at first and although I couldn’t get a clean shot of this moment, I came up with a cool photo. Most importantly, during this interaction I believe I broke down his secret weapon: hand lotion. The man has the softest hands ever. But enough about my bromance with Mr. 5.
After that, Motley Crüe’s newest recruit put away his Telecaster for a few minutes and embarked on a bass jam. Incase you were wondering he can tear up on four-strings as well. The setlist was a good mix of his solo work with a good number of songs from 2019’s Invasion and 2021’s Sinner. He eventually closed his set with a medley of Crüe tunes that got the whole place headbanging.
I am thrilled that I finally got to cross Nita and John off my bucket list and will make sure that this wasn’t the last time. If you haven’t seen any of these guys before, trust me, you should.
Related Links:
John 5
Nita Strauss
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