Lita Ford

The enthusiastic crowd of what sounds like 12 people at this concert really go for it, eating up Lita's odd and likeable stage banter ("Oh, yeah... we all have demons… fuck yeah"; "This reminds me of the Ramones, I love the Ramones"; "I love those divebombs — I love that stuff"; "I hooked up with Lemmy and we went back to his apartment and got really messed up. I was there for three days") almost as much as they eat up classics like "Back to the Cave" and "Close My Eyes Forever." Every song seems to end in an anticlimactic burst of nothingness — the antithesis live AC/DC — creating an awkward vibe, but this is Lita Ford; she can do what she wants. Here, the guitar queen proves her new material is no fun at all, except for the title track off her latest, Living Like a Runaway, which is a great hard rock tune. However, when it gets too serious, no one's having a good time, and it's further proof that we came for a party. When she delivers (see: "Can't Catch Me" and "Kiss Me Deadly") that odd thing happens whenever Lita Ford is at her best: no one's laughing and everyone agrees that, yes, these are indeed good hard rock tunes. But opening with an Elton John cover? Not exactly playing to your strengths, Lita.