During the late ’80s and early ’90s, hair metal became all the range. The bands didn’t mind getting prettied up for the camera and stage. Their wardrobe was more than off the rack leather motorcycle jackets and blue jeans bought at Cheap Joes’s. They wanted to look fashion forward or at least post-apocalyptic fashion forward. They wanted to dazzle in their videos that ran on MTV especially The Headbangers Ball. During this era, my local college radio station WKNC-FM at N.C. State was all about the metal and the hair metal. You could smell the hairspray from the rotation record bin in the D.J. booth. One of the big bands of this era was Cinderella. While many of the hair metal bands got their start on the Sunset Strip’s outrageous clubs, Cinderella was from the East Coast. The Philadelphia rockers had a reputation for their sound. Even Gene Simmons of Kiss wanted to sign them. But in the end, it was Jon Bon Jovi (who cursed the New England Patriots by being in the owner’s box at the Super Bowl) who got them a major label deal. Timing is everything and their debut album Night Songs arrived in the summer of 1986 when MTV was all in on the sound and look. They sold three million copies when “Nobody’s Fool” roared up the singles chart. Long Cold Winter proved hot as the songs “Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone),” “The Last Mile,” “Coming Home” and “Gypsy Road” hit the Top 40. Their third album Heartbreak Station came out at the end of 1990 with success. Their song “Hot and Bothered” was on the Wayne’s World soundtrack. However the band came to a stop when lead singer Tom Keifer had vocal cord issues that required multiple surgeries. The band would return in the mid-90s with a new sound.
Cinderella In Concert captures the band during the 1991 tour for Heartbreak Station. The band you saw in the videos is on the stage with Tom Keifer on vocal and guitar, Eric Brittingham on bass, Jeff LaBar on guitar and Fred Coury on drums. This is them at the pinnacle of Cinderella’s success. And they don’t hold back on the hits in the set list. The sound great on this night. If you want to full experience a night of early ’90s metal, the band delivers. Keifer breaks out his double neck Gibson to swap out his solos on six and twelve strings. The crowd is into the show as you see lighters going up and not merely glowing cellphones.
You can tell these guys are from Philly since the walk-on music includes Kate Smith singing “God Bless America.” The Philadelphia Flyers played her song during the ’70s when they won two Stanley Cups. She even performed during the playoffs in the era of the Broad Street Bullies as a good luck charm. Cinderella uses her introduction to rock that crowd hard.
The set list for the evening is
- The More Things Change
- Push Push
- Sick For The Cure
- Make Your Own Way
- Night Songs
- Back Home Again
- Somebody Save Me
- Heartbreak Station
- Coming Home
- Falling Apart At The Seams
- Love’s Got Me Doin’ Time
- Love Gone Bad
- Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)
- Nobody’s Fool
- Gypsy Road
- Shake Me
- Shelter Me
Cinderella In Concert is a blast of Philly’s finest hair metal band. It’s everything you’d want when you imagine what it’d be like to see a concert from this era. You’ll want to do up your hair before pressing play to truly ride down “Gypsy Road.”
The Video is 1.33:1 full frame. While the concert was recorded on standard definition video, the upgrade to HD looks great. You’ll get a clear look at the fashion and the incredible hair. The Audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1 surround. You’ll be blowing out the speakers in your stereo system to get the loudness just right.
Image Slideshow (3:53) has plenty of photos of the band during this era with clips of their hits. There’s a album covers, ads and plenty of photos on and off the stage of the band.
Cleopatra Entertainment Presents Cinderella In Concert. Featuring Tom Keifer, Eric Brittingham, Jeff LaBar and Fred Coury. Rating: Unrated. Running Time: 83 minutes. Release Date: March 6, 2026.
