In 1989, my parents had moved my brother and I from New Orleans to Atlanta. At this point, I had just started school so I was still the new guy. I was so excited to hear that there was a show going on in Atlanta called “The Atlanta Jam” which was headlined by Cinderella and featured opening acts White Lion, Warrant and Tangier. I was so excited for this show but was bummed because I had nobody to go with. I wasn’t familiar with Atlanta enough to go to the show by myself so my dad, being the trooper that he is, took me and my kid brother to the show.
My first memory of the show was just how hot it was. It was REALLY hot that day. I also remember that this was the first time I had every been to an amphitheater so seeing a big show like this outdoors was really exciting. I can remember heading to the merch booth to check out the t-shirts. My dad just looked down at me and says, “You can get a shirt if you want. It’ll be your birthday present!” Since my birthday was only 2 days later, I figured I would take him up on the offer. I got typical black Cinderella shirt. All I remember about it was that it had a skeleton cowboy on the front of it and on the back it had tour dates. I also got a “Long Cold Winter” tour book since that’s the tour it was. We made our way to our seats which were pretty decent and waited for the music to start.
First off, my dad is a cool guy. He loves music and he was always fun to go to shows with. If he thought the band sucked he would totally call them out but he was always very critical of the bands playing ability and songs. The first band up was a brand new Philly band called Tangier. I had never heard a single note from these guys but when they took the stage, I absolutely loved them. They kind of reminded me of Cinderella in the sense that they were very roots rock oriented. They played a really short set of about 30 minutes. My dad seemed to be really impressed and said that the singer was really good. We really enjoyed them and I even picked up their cassette debut “Four Winds” the next day. Unfortunately, the next couple of bands would seem to be a drop in quality.
Up next was Warrant. I had never seen Warrant at this point but I was aware of their some of their songs that were on a mix tape. I didn’t own their debut album because I didn’t think they were THAT good. Anyways, Warrant came on and they looked pretty ridiculous in their matching white outfits and their choreographed dance moves. It’s like they were trying to be KISS but nowhere near as cool. What I do remember is they were announced as “The horniest band in the world…” My dad just shook his head and said, “This ought to be good.” I remember lead singer Jani Lane cussing every other word and they just seemed to be trying too hard to be cool and dirty. After they were over my dad just looked over at me and said, “That was just terrible. That first band should have played longer and kept those guys off the stage!” Gotta love my dad.
Up next was White Lion. White Lion at this point had three albums out and were experiencing some popularity with their singles “Little Fighter” and their cover of Golden Earring’s “Radar Love.” Why do I know these songs? Because MTV (who used to play videos at one time) played these videos every fucking hour. White Lion took the stage with all the arrogance and cockiness of a headliner but there was one huge problem. THEY SUCKED! Even then I remember thinking that these guys were the fucking worst. Mike Tramp’s lispy, lame ass vocals and Vito Brata’s over indulgent guitar playing was so fucking lame. I do remember that they had a HUGE stage set up for an opening act. Ramps, stairs and the whole nine yards. But like they say, you can’t polish a turd. They were just terrible and my dad leaned and said, “If these Cinderella characters aren’t better than what we’ve sat through, we’re leaving.” I was literally nervous at this point but I knew my dad would dig Cinderella.
The houselights went down and out comes Cinderella singer/guitarist Tom Keifer playing a dobro on a stand. He starts this little slide intro that ended up being “Bad Seamstress Blues” and right when the band kicked into the “Falling Apart At The Seams” the curtain covering the stage dropped and the band was just kicking ass on this huge ass white stage full of lights, stairs and ramps. It was a really cool looking stage and the band just sounded awesome. I looked over at my dad and he was nodding his head and paying close attention. Before the first song was even over my dad leaned in and says, “Now THIS is REALLY good!” Cinderella’s performance was not only spot on but they band showed just what a class act they were and delivered not only great songs but put on one hell of a stage show. The band played song after song and they were just awesome. I can remember being completely blown away by the performance of “Don’t Know What You Got Till It’s Gone” with Tom Keifer being lowered from the ceiling on a huge white grand piano as he played and sang the intro. My dad was so over impressed by this display of showmanship. I was so pumped that they were putting such an amazing show and it just got better and better. The band closed with their “Night Songs” hit “Shake Me” only to come back with an encore that would blow us all away. The band came back on and encored with the title track from their latest album at the time “Long Cold Winter.” The minute the band kicked into the song, purple lights filled the stage with color as artificial snow fell from the ceiling covering the band and the stage in what looked like a winter storm in September. This particular song to this day sticks in my head as one of Cinderella’s greatest moments. It’s such an awesome, soulful yet dark bluesy number and played in this setting was such an amazing thing to see. The band closed out the set that night with covers of The Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” during which they invited Warrant and Tangier up to jam with them. I guess White Lion was too busy getting laid or styling their hair to jam but whatever. This was really for my younger self to see as I had never seen bands “jam” together before this. This was quite a cool experience to take in.
To this day, that show is up there with one of the best concerts I have ever seen. I have seen Cinderella many times since then and they still to this day put on a great performance but that particular tour for them was where it all came together. They were able to make a visual stage show that was as tasteful as the songs they were delivering. There was nothing over the top. It was subtle yet effective and they totally made a lasting impression on me. 21 years later that show is ingrained in my head and it is a memory that will last me forever. That is the sign of a great performance. My father to this day brings that concert up when we talk about music. “Remember when that singer came down from the ceiling on the big piano?” “Remember when they played that song and it started snowing on the stage? That was a cool show!” Yup dad, it sure was. It sure was.
Cinderella “Long Cold Winter” Tour Setlist
Bad Seamstress Blues
Falling Apart At The Seams
Somebody Save Me
If You Don’t Like It
In From The Outside
Night Songs
Push Push
Guitar Solo – J. LaBar
Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)
Coming Home
Gypsy Road
Second Wind
Drum Solo: F. Coury
Instrumental
Nobody’s Fool
Shake Me
Encore:
Long Cold Winter
The Last Mile
Jumpin’ Jack Flash (With Tangier & White Lion)
Sweet Home Alabama (With Tangier & White Lion)
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