ION INDIE MAGAZINE October 2015, Volume 17 | Page 57

There are not many shows that come to El Paso that
I really get excited about, but when I saw that TOM
KEIFER was bringing his solo project here, I couldn't
dig up the contact information fast enough! So with
all that said, on August 8, 2015, at the SOCORRO
ENTERTAINMENT CENTER, Tom Keifer brought his
"The Way Life Goes" tour to our little border town-and what a show it was!
Now this was the first outdoor show put on by
Socorro, which in my opinion, just added to the
excitement. I love an outdoor concert! I did meet
Tom before the show, but just to grab a quick photo
with him and off he went to get ready for the
evening’s festivities. He hit the stage right on time
with "Bad Seamstress Blues" which got this
crowd right into the swing of things, and then he
kept things going with "Somebody Save Me", "Shake
Me" and "Night Songs". I have always been a huge
fan of CINDERELLA and was fortunate to see them in
St. Petersburg, Florida, in 2001. So needless to say,
it’s been a long 14 years and if there were seats at
this show, I would be right on the edge of mine for
his entire performance. His wife SAVANNAH did
come out on stage for a couple of songs, and it was
a real treat to see these two together.
Now here's what really stands out for me about
Tom--after the show he did an informal "Meet and
Greet" at the bus. Security got everyone in a line and
Tom did autographs as well as photographs until
every last person was gone. To be honest, you don't
really see this much anymore--especially from an act
that has been around over 30 years. And believe me,
I know--as many shows that I cover here, it is a rarity.
I did go thru the line just to speak to Tom, telling him
who I was shooting for and thanked him for a
fantastic show and most of all, coming to El Paso. He
had nothing but kind words for me--especially when
I said, I was covering the show for ION INDIE
MAGAZINE, since we just did an interview with him
a couple of issues back.
In closing…a great, humble guy, outstanding show
and tunes everybody knows…it was one hell of an
experience and my sheer pleasure to cover this
event!

Photojournalist Timothy Schumann with Tom Keifer