Rob Zombie, Michael Anthony, Corey Taylor, John 5 & Fred Coury last night at the Whisky.
Michael Anthony made a surprise appearance at L.A.’s Whisky a Go Go with John 5 and The Creatures last night and played a set of Van Halen classics for a delighted audience.
The night’s promo poster promised “Some VERY special celebrity guests” and it certainly lived up to the promise. Guitarist John 5 (Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, David Lee Roth Band) and his band invited Anthony on stage along with Corey Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour), Shavo Odadjian (System Of A Down) and Fred Coury (Cinderella) to perform unrehearsed (according to Taylor) yet scorching versions of the Van Halen classics “Runnin’ With The Devil”, “Take Your Whiskey Home” and “You Really Got Me”.
The legendary Sunset Strip is no stranger to Anthony. The club was a launching pad for Van Halen back in the mid-70s when they were a band on the verge of rock stardom.
After introducing Taylor to the stage John 5 set up Anthony’s appearance by letting the audience in on his love for both Van Halen and Anthony.
“This is really my hero,” John 5 said to the crowd. “I’ve listened to this guy more times than anybody. More times than KISS, more times than ANYBODY. My favorite, favorite guy in the whole world. Mr. Michael Anthony!”
Anthony then hit the stage, was welcomed by loud applause, and thanked John 5 for the introduction.
“Oh my God! You’re too kind,” the legendary bassist said to John 5 before giving him a hug. Anthony then strapped on his bass which handed to him by his longtime bass tech Kevin Dugan.
It seemed for a brief moment that the band was about to rip into the VH classic “House Of Pain” as John 5 can be heard playing the riff. It turned out to be just a warm-up, however, as Anthony followed with his iconic bass-thumping lead-in to “Runnin’ With The Devil”. Taylor also gave fans his best David Lee Roth impersonation by leading into “Take Your Whiskey Home” with Roth’s classic “Look at all the people here tonight!” line, one which got a big smile and applause out of Anthony and the crowd.
Below are the videos of “Runnin’ With The Devil”, “Take Your Whiskey Home” and “You Really Got Me”.
“Runnin With The Devil”:
“Take Your Whiskey Home”:
“You Really Got Me”:
Below are more pics from last night’s Whisky a Go Go gig with John 5. All photos by Trina Michalak.
