Closing out February, legendary guitarist John William Lowrey (better known by his stage name John 5) returned to the historic Nile Theater on the 29th for the second-to-last stop on his latest tour with his band The Creatures.
Influenced by the likes of KISS and Jimmy Hendrix, John 5 first picked up a guitar at the age of seven. Since then, he has gone on to earn the respect of just about everybody he’s come across on his journey throughout the music industry, most notably contributing his talent to acts such as Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie.
In 2022, Mötley Crüe announced John 5 would join the band as their live guitarist following Mick Mars’ retirement, but that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to deliver the John 5 and The Creatures experience that fans have come to know and love since their formation in 2015.
Bringing newcomers Classless Act along as support, the five-piece out of Los Angeles set an amazing tone for the night. Derek Day's piercingly powerful vocals, reminiscent of Coheed and Cambria's Claudio Sanchez, commanded the audience’s attention, while his chaotic stage presence brought the energy in the room up to an 11.
Taking the stage with snippets from classic horror movies shuffling through the screens and his signature "Ghost" colored Telecaster in hand, John 5 hit the ground running and hardly ever stopped. Through the first 40 minutes, eight songs almost seamlessly weaved into each other with nothing but John 5's screaming guitars and Alex Mercado's mesmerizing drums holding the attention of the packed house.
Stopping for a brief second only to say "hello" into the microphone, the shredding continued on with the exception of an occasional guitar swap throughout the set. Being a man of little words (and many strings), the audience was fully involved as the microphone got spun around to face them for a "Sing-Alone" while John 5 played the classic “Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen near the midpoint of the show.
By the end of the set, John 5 had switched between a number of guitars, including another signature featuring a body of LEDs, a bass, and even two different ukuleles. To truly demonstrate the versatility of his talents, he not only played with his hands and a pick, but he manipulated his instrument using his mouth and even a plastic toy gun! To close things out, guitar technician Richard Ramirez (real name David Vela) joined John 5 and Alex Mercado on stage for “Land of Misfit Toys,” a favorite off of 2021's Sinner.
Following the set, he hosted a second photo opportunity for those who were unable to purchase VIP tickets prior to the show but were able to upgrade through the merch booth to try and give as many fans as possible a true night to remember.
View full gallery here.
John 5 Setlist (stylizations preserved from Alex Mercado's copy):
SEASON
Que pASA
666 Picker's
Howdy
CRANK iT
BASS JAM - Clean/Overdrive/gun
STRung ouT
CActUS fIOWER - Clean/Reverb/Light
I Am John5
How High - Tune up ^Clean
MANdO JAM - Clean/Harmonic Intro
BLACK GRASS
CReep Show
CRAZY LiL
MoTLey med
The ghost
LAND of MISFIT toys
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