Snake too took some time out to get personal with his audience. I personally am a big time Rachel lover, his vocals, bass chops, style…he’s got it in spades. Rachel talked about how they hadn’t played Irving Plaza since 1995 and went on to thank the audience and wax romantic about his love for The Ramones which lead us into their superior cover of “Psycho Therapy” in which Bolan sings lead on. He’s truly a singer that can hold his own ground and not be afraid to take on such a task.Ī few things were very apparent throughout the course of the performance, the main observation being that the band looked very happy and content, Snake especially who along with Rachel took some time in between a few songs to speak to the audience who were many and fully receptive to the current Skid Row. Most of the big hits were all nestled into the set list among some deeper cuts so he definitely had his work cut out for him. The core of Skid Row Rachel, Snake and Scotti you can tell are not holding any punches with him.
Honestly, when I first heard the news of him joining the band it seemed totally logical to me. As usual his voice was primo, although coming off a little stiff in performance at times he is filling his role just fine. Harnell is no slouch when it comes to hitting these parts right on.
More interesting still after the opening onslaught was hearing Tony Harnell announce to the crowd “We’re Skid Row!” Barely 20 minutes into the show the band let us know that this wasn’t going to be some novelty act trip down memory lane, better yet, that it was a group stronger and ever wiser than before relishing in an almost 30-year history and looking brightly to the future. Keeping the energy on high next up was “Let’s Go” off of Solinger era EP United World Rebellion: Chapter One. “Slave” lead us into “Big Guns”, another classic Skid Row song from the monster selling self-titled debut from 1989. What I mean when I say that is that the band seemed completely youthful, hell Rachel Bolan certainly knows where the fountain of youth is because the guy looks amazing. Not to say their music seems dated because it truly doesn’t, a good song is a good song now or 20 some odd years ago. Immediately kicking the show into high gear with heavy opener “Slave to The Grind”, Skid Row seemed to turn Irving Plaza into an instant time warp. From Iconic drama queen Sebastian Bach whom the band had mega success with throughout the late 80’s and early 90’s (Do I really need to name songs?) onto the edgier less polished Johnny Solinger to just a few months in, Tony Harnell. Tony has always been known for his golden pipes with said band and through various other projects leading up to his now current time as front man of Skid Row. In tow this time however was “real” singer number 3, Tony Harnell who is mostly famous for his work with Norwegian Rock/Metal band TNT. Set to hit the stage at 10:00pm (after direct support from The Blackfires who never disappoint), promptly at 10:02pm a deep red light filled the stage and The Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop” came blasting over the PA System, obviously the work of the Skids as they are big fans.
Sebastian bach t.n.t. plus#
Last Wednesday Night Skid Row returned to Irving Plaza to celebrate 25 plus years of being, well…completely badass. *ALL MUSIC USED WITHIN THIS PODCAST IS PROPERTY OF THE ORIGINAL WRITERS.* of Shinobi Ninja for letting us use his place and also thanks to Monkey. Thank you again Tony! Here’s to fast friends! Special thanks to D.A. So lets spread it around and build it more so we can continue to bring you quality. I think enthusiasts of Tony’s will eat this up and those that enjoy our show will get treated to another informative and insightful installation. He has a lot of great stuff coming down the pipe and will even be playing on Long Island Friday October 5th in Smithtown at The Rail (see flyer below). Tony was gracious and super cool to spend this time with me. We touched on almost every topic, leaving just a few stones unturned. You know him from his wonderful work with TNT and perhaps you ARE familiar with his other endeavors… If not, that is what we hope you take from this. I had the honor of sitting down with singer extraordinaire, Mr. What a great episode you have here ready to consume. Kat Meow on New Album from Conduit of Huma… The Lickerish Quarte… on THE LICKERISH QUARTET – THREES… The Lickerish Quarte… on THE LICKERISH QUARTET return w…