Tim SchumannLita Ford and Company in the Borderland
Its shows of this caliber that once announced you run and circle the date on your calendar with a red sharpie, right? or is it just me? Lita Ford with Lynch Mob at the Abraham Chavez Theatre in lovely downtown El Paso and Paralandra, who I had never heard of, but boy was I in store for a surprise! Now, I have to be honest, I’m all about George Lynch, that was the draw for me, regardless, I knew we were about to embark for one hell of a night of sights, sounds and a trip down memory lane, doesn’t get any better than that for me.
Paralandra started the evening at 8 sharp, as stated, I had no clue who they were, but after their 30-minute set, I was truly a fan. Brought to life in 2013 by the father/ daughter duo, Cansandra and Paul Carson, these guys have been nonstop opening for everyone under the sun and knocking them dead at festival after festival. This band has its foot on the gas and shows no signs of slowing down, my best guess is they’ll run it till the wheels fall off, which isn’t anytime soon. Cansandra is all over the place, her and her dad Paul feed off one another in smoking solos, a sight to see for sure. Straight up rock and roll, the way I like it.
Next on deck, Lynch Mob, who I’ve been waiting for. I’ve covered this band 3 times over the past couple years here in El Paso and was blessed to see Dokken back in 87, needless to say, I’ve been a fan for a minute. Bands like this, I like to get to the venue a bit early and hopefully run into whoever I’m shooting that evening and as fate would have it, I did meet George, thanked him for returning to West Texas, super nice guy is putting it lightly. The boys have been on an 18-month tour called The Final Ride / 35 years which ends next month on the Monsters of Rock cruise. George Lynch, Jimmy D’Anda, Gabriel Colon and Jaron Gulino work as a well-oiled machine play those old Dokken hits we all love. Songs like Tooth and Nail, Kiss of Death, Into the Fire and the crowd favorite, Wicked Sensation had everyone on their feet (the venue is seated right to the front) screaming and shooting those horns, it’s a beautiful thing for sure. 40 minutes goes by really quick when you’re having a great time, it was over before you knew it. A quick shot of George Lynch, I’ll take that all day.
9:30 sharp, the bell of the ball strolls out on to the stage to the roar of 1200 El Pasoans in attendance, and as it should be, Lita Ford is rock royalty hands down. 9 releases in 33 years, the latest was Time Capsule in 2016. She rose to fame in the late 70s with the Runaways and her solo career peaked in the late 80s with the release of Lita, that album had all those killer hits on it, Kiss Me Deadly and Close My Eyes Forever. She really hasn’t done much over the past 9 years, so it was really great to see her last Saturday night, she looks good and sounded great. Again, her set was over in a flash, a 10-song set list wrapped up in an hour. But it was the last 4 on that set list that was a sheer blast of classic Lita Ford, Cherry Bomb, Only Women Bleed (Alice Cooper Cover), Close My Eyes Forever and Kiss Me Deadly, she had the crowd wrapped tighter that dicks hatband and Lita had ’em eating from the palm of her hand, a true rockstar. Lita is out on the road taking no prisoners, I’ve been following her on social media, so she’s everywhere, check out those dates, if she’s coming your way, I recommend this one highly. Thanks, and of course we’ll see you at the next rock show.
Story and Photography by Tim Schumann
Set List-
Gotta Let Go
Larger Than Life
Relentless
The Bitch is Back
Playin’ With Fire
Can’t Catch Me
Cherry Bomb
Only Women Bleed
Close My Eyes Forever
Kiss Me Deadly
