LIVE: LITA FORD – March 28, 2024

Venue: Sound Board Theatre inside MotorCity Casino

City: Detroit, MI

Dates: March 28, 2024

Review and Photographs by: Todd “Toddstar” Jolicoeur (www.toddstarphotography.com)

How do you appropriately kick off a holiday weekend visiting family?  I stated mine rocking with a couple thousand of my rock n roll family at Detroit’s Sound Board Theatre with Lita Ford kicking ass as she always does.  Without much fanfare, pyro, crazy stage antics, etc., Lita delivered a killer set of rockers from across her catalog that kept us all with hands in the hair, heads banging, and singing along song after song.  Digging deep into her catalog, Ford and her more than capable band ramped the night up with set opener “Gotta Let Go” and we could only go from there.  Sonically, this track was as good tonight as any time I have heard it live or the original album track.  From there, Lita ripped into “Larger Than Life” from my favorite album of hers Dangerous Curves.  The guitar work was tight, and her vocals were spot on from start to finish, as it was most of the set.  The first from a pair of the newest tracks in the set, “Relentless” had a couple people stumped (shame on them for not picking up Living Like A Runaway).  This is a solid rocker that swirls together great guitars, vocals, and a bottom end that pulls it all together.  “The Bitch Is Back” was a shining moment in the set, as Ford and band put a cool hard rock / metal twist on the rock classic that was damn near identical to her recorded version.  Throughout the set, Lita introduced her band – drummer Bobby Rock, bassist Marten Andersson, and guitarist Patrick Kennison – allowing them to get credit for their contributions to the evening’s rocking performance.  All but one of the last five tracks was from her breakout album Lita, with “Back to the Cave” and “Can’t Catch Me” leading the charge.  These tracks ushered in the rest of the band to highlight their respective instruments as Marten, Patrick, and Bobby knocked it out of the proverbial park with their solos and contributions.  A Lita show wouldn’t be complete without her paying homage to The Runaways and their monster hit “Cherry Bomb.”  This saw her drag out a cool guitar (after earlier asking for a red one that wasn’t in the building) and cranking the hell out of the song and the packed venue.  Somewhere at this point in the show, Lita had had enough of the spotlight for the evening and told the lighting guy to kill the spot and she proceeded to rock out with her band and fans for the remainder of the evening.  Arguably two of Lita’s biggest hits closed the set.  The duet “Close My Eyes Forever” with guitarist Patrick singing along with Ford got phones and lights in the air while she cranked away on her famous double neck guitar.  Set closer “Kiss Me Deadly” had everyone up, dancing, headbanging, and singing at the top of their lungs.  I can’t think of a better way to start any extended weekend… guess I better keep my eyes on her tour dates for more!

SETLIST: Gotta Let Go – Larger Than Life – Relentless – The Bitch Is Back – Back to the Cave – Can’t Catch Me – Cherry Bomb – Close My Eyes Forever – Kiss Me Deadly

[Show as slideshow]

COMPLETE SET OF LITA FORD PHOTOS

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