Live Review: John 5 - The Underworld, Camden, London
14th May 2025
Support: Dan Byrne
Words & Photos: Tom Atkin
A night of guitar royalty is gracing The Underworld in Camden, the legendary venue that always has a certain charm.
Having blitzed it down to London through no end of traffic, the venue is was pretty much full by the time the show starts. This early turn out does not go un noticed by John 5’s warmup act Dan Byrne, a man that is incredibly humble and thankful for all the people that arrived early enough to give him a welcoming reception.
He gave as good as he received, putting on an incredible showcase of his music. Throughout every song there was a consistent sense of what these songs meant to him as he gave it his all as if it was his own headline show.
This was definitely a great pick of artist to open the night, the amount of passion in the music is incredible, the on stage chemistry between band members, all of it gave the feeling of a group of people that had been touring for decades, not years.
Now onto John 5, a guitarist that is so incredibly varied as his CV includes Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Motley Crue and even Dolly Parton. Not many guitarists can list that variety. He arrived on the stage adjourned in his signature white and black face paint and huge alien like sunglasses.
For those that haven’t seen/listened to much of his solo stuff a little bit of fore knowledge, John 5 does not sing, his guitar basically sings for him. He has a drummer on stage with him, and some rhythm sections recorded. Atop this he shreds on guitar for over an hour.
The skill that is on display here is absolutely incredible, to be able to hold the attention of a packed out Underworld for that long is quite a feat in its own right considering this place is used to pits taking up the floor.
Now you would be forgiven for thinking that the whole of John 5’s catalogue is hardcore solos and music that is more akin to his full time musical positions, however 'Howdy' disproves this immediately. This sounds like it should be played on a banjo in the middle of a desert town.
The vast majority of the songs stick to being a showcase of so many different guitar techniques all of which he perfectly masters. The noises that he pulls from a guitar are insane, yet it looks like a breeze for him, not in an arrogant way, but he knows how to make the noises.
There were a few covers thrown in as well, of course the iconic version of 'Sweet Dreams', 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' and 'How High The Moon'. The crowd were also treated to a fair few John 5 and the Creatures songs. Whilst technically these are covers, they were written by him originally so they slot in perfectly with the theme of the night.
It was only roughly an hour and ten minutes start to finish, but when you take in to account the shear variety and talent, it is an incredible show. All rounded out with something that many were not expecting, a medley of Motley Crue songs, which included Nikki Sixx’s tech on bass guitar.
It is rare to come across a performer that is able to excel and keep every hooked throughout a whole show, but John 5 is one of them. A much welcomed returned to the UK after I believe ten years away in a solo form.
Photo Credit: Tom Atkin
Be the first to comment