The Paul Austin Band at The Viper Room – Live Review

The Paul Austin Band, The Viper Room, West Hollywood, CA., August 9, 2025

The Paul Austin Band from Manchester UK were in the Los Angeles area performing select shows at many of the iconic venues in the region. Friday night would find the band at the world famous Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip, supporting the likes of Babylon A.D. The next day, it was over to The Viper Room, where The Paul Austin Band would participate on a stacked lineup of bands curated by the amazing Kelly McGarry Presents. It may have been just 5:00PM in the afternoon, but early arrivals at The Viper Room were treated to an absolutely brilliant rock and roll extravaganza!

I have to admit, I discovered The Paul Austin Band almost by accident. While checking out online who some of the opening bands were at the Whisky, I read that The Paul Allen Band featuring bassist Paul Simpson from the astounding heavy metal Millennium UK! He had performed on their two most recent albums A New World and The Sign Of Evil – two standout NWOBH magnum opuses! The Paul Austin Band is more on the classic rock side of the spectrum, and these esteemed musicians really know how to put on a show! After their triumphant performance opening for Babylon A.D. at The Whisky, it was time to revisit The Paul Austin Band at The Viper Room for our official live review.

The Paul Austin Band recently issued their debut album Austintatious on Bandcamp, and were all the way across the Atlantic to premiere these songs live. Opening with the super rocking and very timely Saturday Night, The Paul Austin Band instantly hooked the audience in for even greater glories ahead. Cover Girl was up next, a very up-to-date song about a girl obsessed with posting on Instagram. And then it was time for their wondrously imaginative cover of the Beatles classic Money, which has everyone in the room singing along.

Land of Plenty was a standout track, featured on both Austintatious and within the AID For LA Lonestarz Records compilation released earlier this year to raise funds for those affected by the recent wildfires in the area. And the rock and roll grooves kept on arriving tenfold, with songs such as Poorman and Living To Ride leaving an indelible impression on The Viper Room attendees.

The namesake of the band is frontman Paul Austin, and what an absolutely thunderous voice and lively stage presence this gentleman has! There is a lifetime of wisdom and experience behind the performance Paul Austin delivers from the stage, and his passion and conviction is tenfold. A classic front man for this modern day! Kenny Nicholson is vibrantly brilliant on guitar, presenting a world of magic and intrigue with his imagination playing. Paul Simpson brought his NWOHM lineage to the band, delivering a vast and mighty low-end on bass. And bringing it all home with a skilled precision was Milan Simon aka FoFo, a Slavic powerhouse of a drummer! Together, The Paul Austin Band deliver their modern day take on classic rock, and the results were nothing short of stratospheric.

The band closed with the rip-roaring Whiskey Time and then were off across town to play at Universal Bar & Grill with local legends Stonebreed. Here’s hoping The Paul Austin Band return to rock our shores once more – their live shows are not to be missed! In the meantime, check out their new album Austintatious and prepare to meet your new classic rock and roll sensation!

(Review by Ken Morton – Photos by Jack Lue)

The Paul Austin Band on Instagram