Johnny Lima - Black Heart, London (UK) - 16th October 2013

When I heard that Johnny Lima would play three acoustic shows in Europe, I was not really sure what to think about this. Don't get me wrong, ''ve always loved Johnny's music but he sounds so similar to bands like Bon Jovi, Winger, Def Leppard that I couldn't imagine an unplugged set, where it's most important to bring in a personal touch and not to sound like a cheap cover act or wedding band. Fortunately I got disabused of this notion, as accompanied by the young and very talented guitar player Dave Winkler, Mr. Lima rocked the stage from the beginning; with casual talks and jokes, having fun presenting the songs with lots of empathy, he caught the audience right from the off. Despite there only being about forty people in the venue, there was almost no-one that didn't get pleasure from singing along with Johnny and Dave.

The song selection was a good mixture from his albums 'Shine On', of which most was aired, 'Made In California' and his latest 'Livin' Out Loud', as well as new songs including 'Blame It On Love' and My Revolution', rounded out with a cover of the Bon Jovi song 'It's My Life', which he presented in a very personal style.

I realised that Johnny's voice is on a higher level acoustically; he's an excellent singer who doesn't need to hide behind his idols of the 80s, especially powerful in the ballads, that give you goose bumps, and charismatic in the country style songs. Even songs like 'Touch Of Love', 'Memory Lane' and 'Go On, Go Away' got a completely new touch.

The finale was a real highlight as well, as Johnny invited his supporting bands Rob Wylde & Laney 74 and Skyline to jam along with him to Neil Young's 'Rockin' In The Free World.' All the fans were dancing and singing and it was sure that everybody enjoyed this excellent acoustic gig to the fullest and Johnny has definitely won some new fans, and the true ol' fans got more than they were expecting.

Claudia Maurer