The majority of approximately 400 fans comprising the lower levels of the Aztec Theatre last Wednesday night were either in the midst of, or fresh out of, their high school years in 1989. As for what Sebastian Bach was doing back then?
The original voice of Skid Row unleashed a breakthrough self-titled debut album with his band discovered and taken out on the road by Bon Jovi. One of those first shows, a gig at the Rosemont Horizon in suburban Chicago, yielded a rebellious Bach telling the crowd “critics claim my mouth is corrupting the youth of America.”
Now a svelte 51 years old, Bach demonstrated he hasn’t changed much while celebrating the entirety of that album with his solo band, which has featured San Antonio’s Bobby Jarzombek on drums ever since Bach’s first solo album Angel Down dropped in 2007 (see 36-photo slideshow below):
Bach referred to fans who got in a fight as “assholes” and made sure security showed them the door (though he missed a gold opportunity to perform “Get the Fuck Out”)
He repeatedly engaged the portion of the crowd that wasn’t taking “Youth Gone Wild” too literally
He coughed Nikki Sixx’s name while going on a brief rant about musicians who forget that “Rock N’ Roll is supposed to be fun,” unaware perhaps that moments later, a photo from his yesteryears showed Bach and the Motley Crue bassist side by side
He reminded fans that he played Jesus Christ Superstar at the Majestic Theatre as part of his stint on Broadway
He brought out a turntable after accepting an album cover from a fan of the debut record
He found time to wax poetic on the theme song to “WKRP in Cincinnati,” again appealing to the crowd’s adolescent period
He demonstrated his humor while turning the hometown spotlight over to Jarzombek, telling the crowd the San Antonian is the drummer for Judas Priest’s “Metal God, which means he’s the drummer for the greatest singer of all time . . . and Rob Halford”
More importantly, Bach showed he’s still got it as a vocalist. And he didn’t shy away from his pride, telling the audience that his vocal range was “not a problem”
So Wednesday’s retrospective concert, unlike most of that variety, was not meant to be a stroll down Memory Lane as much as it was a celebration of fun, hard-hitting songs that started it all for Bach. And though he now has spent much longer as a solo artist than making three albums with Skid Row, Bach gave the filled lower level and the ghosts of the historic venue’s closed-off balcony what they came to hear with “Big Guns,” “Piece of Me,” and even the song Bach often put down during the group’s heyday, “Can’t Stand the Heartache” — a tune Jarzombek needed to familiarize himself with from scratch at the tour’s start due to it not being one of Skid Row’s major hits.
But the hits kept coming with “I Remember You” (ATM Facebook Live footage here), “Midnight/Tornado” and bonus tracks from the heavier sophomore effort with “Slave to the Grind,” Psycho Love” and “In a Darkened Room.”
While Jarzombek was a stick-twirling dervish frequently bashing the cymbals behind his head, Brent Woods handled all the guitar duties. Kevin Chown, meanwhile, was recruited on bass for the tour while regular bassist Rob De Luca continues to tour with UFO, which played the same stage nine days earlier. Chown used to back former Nightwish vocalist Tarja Turunen.
Calgary, Alberta, natives Kobra And The Lotus had the distinct honor of being the only support act on the bill. Led by founder and lone remaining original member in singer Kobra Paige, who was barely an infant when Skid Row hit the scene, the group’s hard rock style on “Burn,” “Velvet Roses” and “Liar” kicked into gear on finale “Get the Fuck Out Of Here” (not to be confused with Skid Row’s aforementioned “anthem”).
Unlike many ‘80s bands whose second albums didn’t stray too far from the sound of their successful debuts, Skid Row turned it up several notches on the lengthier Slave to the Grind — which featured Wednesday’s closer “Monkey Business,” preceded by Jarzombek introducing “Sebastian fucking Bach!” (watch here).
So if Bach and Jarzombek return to play that masterpiece all the way through in two years, the question won’t be whether Park Avenue will still lead to Skid Row. It’ll be, will Bach be just as intensely entertaining then as he was in 1989 — and 2019? Don’t bet against it.
