Skid Row

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Authored by:

Grzegorz Kieszkowski

Brooklin, Michigan is not the typical place to catch a Metal show. The area has vast amounts of farm land, a couple of restaurants, a pizza joint and the Michigan International Speedway. While at the race I had a chance to head over to a free concert with my race ticket. Skid Row was first on the bill, followed by Sawyer Brown and Grand Funk Railroad. I cannot say how the rest of the evening went as I only stayed for Skid Row.  I was blown away.

I first saw them when they opened for Aerosmith in Toronto on the Pump tour and I fell in love with the music and their stage presence. Stuff happened in between, I grew up and I forgot how great of a band Skid Row truly is. Sebastian Bach was not there but I have to tell you that ZP Theart, a South African born singer is simply amazing. He definitely has the vocals to do those classic songs justice. He might be an octave or two shy of the Bach range, but I was blown away by his passion, stage presence and a blistering voice in his own right.

Skid Row put together a great set list which is hard to do, twenty or thirty years removed from a time when Heavy Metal ruled the airwaves. They opened with Slave to the Grind and tore through their most recognizable songs from the first two albums. The crowd absolutely loved it. It was like stepping back in time because the band has not lost any of its luster.

I had no idea how great the bassist Rachel Bolan is on vocals. His performance of PsychoTherapy was a crowd favourite. Scotti Hill channeled his inner Gene Simmons the whole night, sticking out his tongue and making eye contact with the crowd. The most moving moment however came when David Sabo thanked the crowd for their support over the years. He was genuinely touched and told the crowd how grateful the whole band was to be able to live out their dreams and make a living at it. He chugged a bottle of Corona to toast their greatness.

For their encore, Skid Row played We are the Damned, In the Darkened Room and finished off their set with Youth Gone Wild and the crowd went wild. Everyone wanted more and quite frankly, I wanted more;

I cannot wait for Skid Row’s new album coming out in early 2020 and hopefully a long tour to follow. I myself am extremely grateful that nobody told me to go away as I did not have a media pass and took all the photos standing in the crowd.

Skid Row is:

Dave “The Snake” Sabo – rhythm guitar, backing vocals

Rachel Bolan – bass, backing vocals

Scotti Hill – lead guitar, backing vocals

Rob Hammersmith – drums, backing vocals

ZP Theart – lead vocals

www.skidrow.com