Sebastian Bach @ Selinas,Sydney (14/09/06)

Tue 19th Sep, 2006 in Gig Reviews

If memory serves me right, it’s been 13 years since Skid Row rocked hard down under. Although still together, Skid Row with Sebastian Bach is no more. Nevertheless the original Hell Raiser had a legion of fans eager to see him perform at Selinas on September 14.

Come 9pm the support act 20 Grams graced us with their good old ‘Beer-injected Aussie Rock’. To Metal heads that have been on the scene for a while, Stu Marshall has become a familiar face. Formerly with world class act Dungeon, as always Stu put heart and soul in his performance with songs such as  ‘One night, one drink’ and ‘Indian Sun’. A sound performance for a band on the way up.

After the entrée, the crowd was hungrier than ever for the main meal and Sebastian Bach did not let them down, putting in a meaty performance. His presence on stage is commanding, as the years have not wearied him and he looked and sounded better than ever. There was a genuine enthusiasm in being back in Sydney and the glee on Bach’s face couldn’t be missed.

Bach was ever the showman, gyrating and head banging with rhythm and raw sex appeal. Women love him and men want to be him!

A medley of songs from ‘Slave to the Grind’ and ‘Skid Row’ were played – ‘Monkey Business, Slave to the Grind, ‘18 and Life’, ‘Wasted Time’, ‘The Threat’, ‘Big Guns’ and more, never mind the angelic ‘Little Wing’ and the newies from his latest album Angel Down. The acoustic ‘I Remember You’ was exceptionally well played by “Metal” Mike Chlasciak (Ex Halford and Painmuseum) as the crowd remembered the good old days when Skid Row were in their prime.

Charismatic and highly entertaining, Bach was a sheer joy to watch. Having said this, it’s a shame that some fools in the audience behaved like Jackasses by throwing their plastic beer cups onstage in Bach’s direction. Logic prevailing, throwing paraphernalia cannot be justified and as stipulated by the man himself ‘Why come to a show to throw stuff on stage’. Hardly a welcome to Sydney gesture! After numerous threats of walking offstage, Bach made good on his promise and we were left bewildered, disappointed and hungry for ‘Youth Gone Wild’.

I trust security was beefed up for his Melbourne show. A reliable source told me he calmed down after the show, this however wasn’t the case for the fans, as we were left wanting more and feeling let down by our fellow man.