At some point, Cinderella will need a little Push Push into retirement
Since transforming to the three day format in 2005, the final day of the Download weekend has come to be associated as the ‘classic rock’ day of the festival. American group Cinderella certainly fitted perfectly into this category.
Songs like ‘Nobody’s Fool’, although still possessing a certain charm in live performance, sound dreadfully dated and function best with a heavy dose of nostalgia. The acoustic edge of numbers such as ‘Coming Home’ only adds to the feeling that Cinderella’s music is not ageing particularly well, especially when compared to fellow Download band Megadeth, who also formed in the year 1983.
Frontman Tom Keifer gave a predominantly successful performance, with the exception of his tenor saxophone lead break during ‘Shelter Me’, which was extremely unconvincing and poorly played. The supporting band of LaBar, Brittingham and Coury do an adequate job, but are ultimately unable to breathe any sense of life into the entity that is Cinderella.
Thankfully, with the sun shining down upon the Download site, Cinderella acted as a wonderful soundtrack that played in the background as everyone partook in some sunbathing. Unfortunately, their performance was no more engaging than this, but functioned as a pleasant contributor to the festival weekend. Cinderella are a band that belong in the 1980s and 1990s; they seem little more than a novelty item in the 21st century.