Sebastian Bach - Sheffield Corporation

Sheffield Corporation

Deadline should be on the crest of a wave right at this minute. Their debut album, 'Mind The Step' has just been released (you can check out a review here) and they have just come off the back of a very successful UK tour with Tyketto. Unfortunately the bands truncated five song set tonight seemed to be lacking in the usual energy and enthusiasm that I have come to expect from the band. Opening as usual with 'Stay' it was obvious almost immediately that something was missing. Vocalist Steve Lunn was not his normal effervescent self and his vocals seemed distinctly below par. That being said the audience reaction still proved to be positive as Deadline ran through live staples such as 'Loves A Battle' and 'Out Of Reach', therefore it was with some surprise that after only twenty minutes or so Lunn announced the perennial set closer 'Losing Myself. This is certainly a song that lodges itself in your brain and even tonight's lacklustre rendition cannot detract from the power and melody the song contains. Sorry lads not the best I have ever seen from you.

I was lucky enough to catch Skid Row opening for Motley Crue on the 'Dr Feelgood' tour, more years ago than I care to remember, and being captivated by the energy and sheer arrogance of the band and their then frontman Sebastian Bach. Next up was 'Slave To The Grind' and the show I saw in Nottingham on that particular tour still, to this day, remains as one of the bets gigs I have ever seen. Unfortunately after that things seemed to go downhill for Skid Row, culminating in Bach's departure from the ranks and before this tour it had been a almost ten years since Bach had graced UK stages.

The intervening years have seen Bach turn his hand to musical theatre, with Jekyll & Hyde, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Jesus Christ Superstar to his credit on Broadway, numerous TV appearances on VH1 & MTV, guest vocals on many tribute albums and only the 'Bring 'Em Bach Alive CD and the disappointing 'The Last Hard Men' release showcasing Bach's true rock credentials.

And so on to 2004 and this Sheffield show was only Bach's second ever UK performance as a solo artist (Edinburgh, two night previously being his UK debut). Hitting the stage running Bach, dressed head to toe in black leather, accentuating his still blond locks, opened the show with a twin salvo consisting of Skid Row classics 'Slave To The Grind' & 'Big Guns'. It was clear immediately that the preceding years have not diminished Bach's vocal prowess and stage presence one iota. Indeed Bach looks, and acts, like the quintessential Metal frontman and courtesy of a strong backing band in the shape of guitarists Ralph Santolla and Johnny Chromatic, bassist Steve DiGiorio alongside drummer Mark Prator, this was most arguably the heaviest outfit Bach has ever fronted.

Relying heavily on songs from his Skid Row days, indeed only two or three solo numbers were included in the set, Bach was intent on slaying the two or three hundred punters in attendance. 'Frozen', 'Piece Of Me' and 'Here I Am' continued the aural assault. Even a blown amp for Santolla could not manage to stop the avalanche of power that the band built up. Bach has all of the right stage moves and between song vocal raps to captivate an audience, forever swinging his mike lead, wild headbanging, rock star poses and at one point pulling a girl out of the audience to dance with and sit atop his shoulders. Couple this with songs of the quality of '18 & Life', 'The Threat' and 'In A Darkened Room' and it is very hard to go wrong.

Rounding out the main set with 'Monkey Business', which incorporated a metalized version of 'The Time Warp, from Bach's days in The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Broadway, the band eschewed the normal procedure of disappearing offstage only to return, 'by audience demand' for an encore and instead launched straight into a final duo of 'I Remember You' and the ubiquitous 'Youth Gone Wild'. These two songs really nailed the show down and even if we aren't that young anymore we still want to believe

For a show that could so easily have fallen into the realms of a nostalgia trip for thirty somethings to hark back to the glory days of their youth, the efforts that Bach and band put in on stage, literally sweating for the cause, caused this to be a riotous and extremely relevant event. Even with The Darkness in town, at the arena down the road, there was really only one place to be in Sheffield tonight if you wanted your rock to be hard and heavy. And that place was with Mr. Bach.

Edinburgh Exchange

Edinburgh....Cold, colder and coldest, but hey I was going to see Sebastian Bach at the Exchange. having never been to The Exchange before we had to hunt round for the venue but isn't GPS good?? We eventually got there 5 minutes before door were due to open, but as usual the doors were late, luckily there were only 7 people in queue (slightly worrying), but at least I'll get down into the front row!

Once we actually got into the venue, it was actually quite nice and bigger than I thought. The support for the gig was courtesy of a local band called Chains Undone, who were really good and I will look out if they come to Aberdeen. They also had some really good merchandise for a support band, including a nice hooded top, something that I wish Sebastian Bach had.

The venue wasn't as packed as I would have hoped, and thought it might have been, but with Whitesnake playing in Glasgow, only a wee while away, its not totally surprising. But we made up for it by being very loud and I did get a bit squashed. Seb Bach looked good, came on stage like he'd not been here in years. Still very mad and the band were even heavier.

Starting with an old favourite Slave to the Grind , the crowd just loved it. After hearing the first few songs I was pleasantly surprised at how many Skid Row numbers he was actually doing. I wasn't expecting as many, especially as he was promoting his own new CD and DVD. And he played Frozen!!! I was happy!

18 and Life was brilliant, after 9 years since I last saw Skid Row at the Barrowlands in Glasgow, I really didn't remember it being so good. One of his newer ones which I enjoyed was Rock and Roll, a great uptempo song that I was bouncing away to. My husband too and he's not a big rock fan and the first time he'd seen Seb Bach.

The highlight of the evening was not the fact I'd just got off a rig in the north sea in the morning and managed to actually see the gig, it was Seb's version of the Timewarp!!!! I love Rocky Horror, I was even all ready to do all the movements but I felt stupid as no one else seemed to know them!

They ended with I Remember You and, well he can't really leave Edinburgh alive without it , 'Youth Gone Wild'. Everyone still knew all the words and the place was just waiting for that song. (Well except my husband- Who really enjoyed it and he wants to go again)

I was very happy that I went to it instead of Whitesnake, I was having second thoughts once I found out they were on the same night but I picked a good one. First date of the tour and it was brilliant. Can't wait to see him again! Need to get him back here more often, and not another 9 years.

You can check out further pictures from these shows via this link