In the world of modern music, lyricists are held to such a high regard. Wordsmiths who can craft sentences, stanzas, entire songs that connect with every person listening to it. They are the stars of the music world. However, in the rock and metal genre, the guitarist can be held to just as high of a standard. A person who can write rhythms and melodies that can convey expressions and feeling without every hearing a single spoken word. A few guitarists have ascended past the need of a vocalist and carry themselves as such a prolific musician that their instrument does all the talking, and they pack venues with people who want to see them. One of the masters of their craft is John 5. A man who rose to prominence as the guitarist for megastars like David Lee Roth, Marilyn Manson, and Rob Zombie. He has become such an icon himself that he sells out entire tours to fans who want to see him excel at his craft. John 5 brought with him Jared James Nichols and The Atomic Punks to the Observatory in Santa Ana during NAMM week and sold out the venue with screaming fans.

Opening the night was a bit of a curve ball, but a highly welcomed one. As we had the infamous Atomic Punks opening the show. This Van Halen cover band performing the early years of Halen put on an hour long show that demonstrated their love for these rock gods. Helmed by Brian Geller on vocals, he embodied David Lee Roth in spirit and showmanship. From dancing around the stage, to hitting high kicks over his fellow band members, and gyrating his hips to infatuate the audience. It felt like the spirit of Roth had inhabited Geller. Shredding on guitar was Frankie Lindia, letting his fingers do the talking. The man could waltz across the neck of a guitar with ease and precision like Eddie himself. Draped with long curly hair and letting his 6-pack shine for the audience, Lindia was the spitting image of 80s Eddie. Bassist Danny Spree carried a fat tone that really displayed his love for Michael Anthony as he chugged away on the opening riff of “Runnin’ with the Devil.” While drummer Scott Patterson had to reign in his chops that I know he has to honor Alex Van Halen. As Peterson’s drum kit was neutered from being the size of Alex’s notoriously large kit, to a more basic piece. Nonetheless, Peterson knows how to finesse the kit, and make it sound just as big. The Atomic Punk’s gave us all the classic Halen hits like “Panama,” “You Really Got Me,” “Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love,” “Hot for Teacher,” “Eruption,” “Unchained,” “(Oh) Pretty Woman,” “Jamie’s Cryin’,” and many more. We will sadly never get to see another Van Halen show due to Eddie’s passing a few years ago, but if you have the chance to catch the Atomic Punks, you’re in for just as high quality of a show.

Up next was a blues guitarist known as Jared James Nichols. Surprisingly enough, I first heard of this man during the NAMM convention 2020 when he was about to walk on one of the many stages to perform. Sadly, since I didn’t know who he was at the time, I ended up leaving before he got on stage. I have since found out how big of a mistake this was as this man is a phenomenal musician. Hearing that he was going to be performing at this show, during NAMM 2024, I was excited to make up for my mistake years ago. As Nichols hit the stage, I was shocked again to see he is actually a singer as well. Not only can this man turn blues guitar into heavy rock riffs, but he’s also got a voice to match his guitar tone as his singing voice carries grit and passion to it. Not wanting to be stuck behind the mic stand, Nichols writes his songs with plenty of guitar solos and sequence’s that allow him to step out to the front of the stage and just let his guitar wale over the crowd. The man really inhabits blues players traditions as he foregoes a pick and plays with his fingers. For solos his hands often turn into octopus tentacles as he uses each digit to manipulate his instrument and craft some of the most creative solos I have heard in a while. Jared James Nichols brandished his kind of blues rock for songs like “Easy Come, Easy Go,” “Down the Drain,” “Threw Me to the Wolves,” “Skin ‘n Bone,” “Bad Roots,” “Keep Your Light on Mam,” and more. As Nichols walked off stage, all I could think of is how much I regret not having given him the time of day those years ago. The man is a master of his craft and deserves to be heard by the masses.

As the stage was lined with LED screen guitar cabinets, the house lights dimmed, the LED screens started flashing the name John 5, and the crowd screamed in anticipation to be awed and entertained by this guitar virtuoso. Starting the set off with “Season of the Witch,” John 5 was angelic. Wearing a floor length all white duster type coat, his favorite style telecaster guitar also in white, with a guitar trap brandished with the word Crüe across it. John 5 is normally also known for his ghoulish face makeup and Halloween filled set dressing that he covers the stage in. Though for this show, he decided to forego any makeup and stripped his stage dressing down to a minimum of those LED cabinets. It seemed that John wanted to forego the superfluous extravagance that he normally brings with him, and truly let himself shine on the instrument. And oh boy does he shine. John implements multiple techniques when it comes to choreographing his songs with his fingers. From running arpeggios across the neck, to slipping in almost Eddie Van Halen-esque tapping techniques, to just fingering his kill switch button to cut out the noise in a rhythmic fashion. A John 5 instrumental song is nothing short of jaw dropping. Though it was a stripped back show, John 5 still brought out a couple fan favorite moments, like using his LED mouth guard to his LED telecaster that lit up the Observatory with its vibrance. John 5 even talked to the crowd about how honored he was to now be a part of Mötley Crüe, and if you haven’t gotten a chance to see them, he wanted to give the fans a quick taste of what John 5 playing the Crüe sounded like. Launching into a Crüe melody consisting of classics like “Live Wire,” “Too Fast for Love,” “Shout at the Devil,” “Dr. Feelgood,” “Kickstart My Heart,” and many more. The John 5-afide Crüe songs were a genuine pleasure to the ears and lit up the crowd as we sang the vocals to every song he played. But it was a small departure from his own original classics like “Qu Pasa,” “Six Hundred and Sixty Six Pickers in Hell, CA,” “Howdy,” “Crank It,” “Zoinks!,” “Strung Out,” “I Am john 5,” “How High the Moon,” “Constant Sorrow,” “Creepshow,” “The Ghost.” We even got a three song encore which included John covering other rock classics like “Detroit Rock City” and “Thunderstruck.” Which he ultimately ended the show with his original “For I Have Sinned.” Even with John 5 cutting back on stage entertainment, when the man is handed a guitar, it is impossible to look away from what he can do.

I, myself, walked into the Observatory this night expecting to enjoy the overall show, but really came to see John 5 in his element. However, I left with a deep appreciation for every band that performed this night. I got to see Van Halen twice during their reunion tours with David back in the late 2000’s. Seeing The Atomic Punks took me right back to those shows, and I felt like I was back in the Honda Center singing with the real band. While Jared James Nichols reminded me why you don’t skip the openers, especially if you’ve never heard of them before. As you truly don’t know what kind of amazing music is still out there until you start listening to new stuff. But the cherry on top was John 5 sharing his love for a piece of wood with some strings on it, and showing the people of Santa Ana that anything can be possible with some creativity.