L.A. GUNS & SAIGON KICK - Arcada Theater, July 25th 2026

It’s a celebration of hedonism seldomly seen in today’s music. There’s no doubt that this type of offering is sorely missed.

When I started this ‘show review’ I realized this article was going to be about more than a couple of ‘80s acts re-hashing their memorable hits, it was going to be a review of the glam metal genre as a whole.

In my mind, no metal genre was affected more by the arrival of ‘grunge’ than ‘hair metal acts’. Let’s be honest, glam metal ruled the ‘80s. Prolific on both the radio and MTV, these bands were everywhere. Featuring a sound that personified a ‘party lifestyle’, glam metal was a perfect fit, as an opener, for the ‘80s juggernauts that started the original metal scene. I spent the early ‘80s attending shows like: Motley Crue (Shout At The Devil) opening for Ozzy Osbourne (Bark At The Moon), Cinderella (Night Songs) opening for Bon Jovi (Slippery When Wet) or even Poison (Look What The Cat Dragged In) opening for Ratt (Dancing Undercover), just to name a few.

This was a time when a band could release a record and hit the road as an opener but by the end of the tour, they could be selling out stadiums themselves. Case in point, when Whitesnake released their self-titled effort, I saw them over the summer (July 16th, 1987) open for Motley Crue (Girls, Girls, Girls) at the Rosemont Horizon. A couple of months later (February 11th 1988) Whitesnake headlined the Rosemont Horizon with Great White (Once Bitten) as the opener. These were the magical times of glam metal.

I consider glam to have been on the third wave of ‘copycat’ glam acts when grunge arrived and smoked it. Bands like: Skid Row, Dangerous Toys, and Danger, Danger, all released self-titled albums in 1989, only to be dropped by their record label shortly thereafter. I’d add L.A Guns to this lot as their self-titled debut effort arrived in 1988 and their more recognizable follow up effort, Cocked and Loaded, was unveiled back in 1989.

In my mind, Saigon Kick, whose self-titled effort was released in 1991, will always be a fourth wave glam metal act, along with Sleeze Beez (Screwed Blued & Tattooed) and Love/Hate (Blackout in the Red Room). It’s amazing how long these groups remained relevant with grunge quickly overtaking the mainstream music scene.

Of all the metal genres to find revitalization in today’s music scene, glam/hair metal seems to be taking it the hardest. I’ve often wondered why that is and the only conclusion I can come up with is that the logistical torch was taken up too far away to impact ‘American Glam Metal’. Bands like: Crazy Lixx (Sweden), Hardcore Superstar (Sweden), Reckless Love (Finland), Santa Cruz (Finland), Crashdiet (Sweden) and Loud N’ Nasty (Sweden) make up a musical scene that brought glam metal back to the forefront, but they are all from Europe and unlikely to tour the USA due to financial reasons.

It seems Steel Panther and Black Veil Brides appear the closest we’ll get to re-living those glory days.

That being said, I was curious to see Saigon Kick and L.A. Guns live. How would bands of this stature hold up in a genre whose livelihood was literally annihilated by grunge? The Metal Channel Editor, Roger Schultz and I arrived at the Arcada Theater (105 E Main Street, St.Charles, Illinois) with ample time to check out the developing scene. I must admit that I like the Arcada. It’s close to my house, the layout is cool and the drinks are reasonably priced.

We got a couple of beers and checked out the merch tables before we headed into the venue to experience Saigon Kick. Truth be told, I did see this band live before back in the early ‘90s when I was attending college at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Upon researching the event, I discovered Deadline Records released a live Saigon Kick album entitled: Greatest Hits Live (Live Around the World 1991–1996) which features tracks recorded across multiple global stops, including Champaign.

The concert was held at a now defunct concert venue known as Mabel’s (613 E. Green St. Champaign, Illinois). I vaguely recall the band saying they were doing a live recording the night I attended. Nevertheless, Saigon Kick in 2026 was far better than I ever would have expected. I was surprised to see drummer, Phil Varone, was back in the band.

I saw his acclaimed 2007 feature-length documentary, Waking Up Dead, where a film crew followed him around for several years documenting his life as a touring drummer. I thought the film was interesting, and the whole ‘sexual addiction’ angle gives both Varone and the band a risqué attitude seldom seen in metal.

I even heard the guy has his own line of sex toys with California Exotic Novelties and has released a ‘tell all’ book. 2013’s Un-Philtered: Real Life On and Off the Rock’n’Roll Tour Bus, a memoir of his days on the road, published by Riverdale Avenue Books.

Saigon Kick’s music was surprisingly refreshing, I didn’t realize how heavy these guys actually are. Although it would have been great to experience original singer, Matt Kramer.

I made it a point to listen to 1993’s Water when I got home. This is when Saigon Kick dropped from a four- to a three-piece, with guitarist Jason Bieler taking over the vocal chores.

The live highlight tracks I experienced were: “New Word”, “Russian Girl” and “Close To You”.

I’d never seen L.A. Guns live but I must admit they were a ‘bucket list’ band for me. I’ve always been a big fan of their self-titled debut and subsequent follow up, Cocked and Loaded.

In my mind, L.A. Guns always seemed to personify the ‘dirty side’ of glam metal. Slutty, sexually laced lyrics offered without apology.

These trysts are seemingly wrapped with enough macho spontaneity to make this style of metal great. It’s a celebration of hedonism seldomly seen in today’s music. There’s no doubt that this type of offering is sorely missed.

L.A. Guns put on a great show, they had lots of stage antics as well as strippers. I found myself reveling in some ’80s glory. Highlight tracks were: “Electric Gypsy”, “Sex Action”, “One More Reason” and of course “Never Enough”.

After so many months of attending black and death metal shows, seeing a couple of aging hair metal acts was quite refreshing. As I rode home that night, I considered both the fate and future of glam metal. The ’80s was a unique time for music, especially metal, when one considers how many how many genre splits were created and developed during this time period. We may have attended the show to see the girls but don’t think for a second premier guitarists like George Lynch (Dokken), Vito Bratta (White Lion) or Ratt‘s Warren DeMartini. These artists were every bit as viable as those who were playing the underground. Only time will tell if hair/glam metal will make a comeback, but I wouldn’t change my exposure to it for anything in the world. \m/