Skid Row
July 27, 2013
Duluth, GA – Wild Bill’s
Photos by Brooke Hewitt: www.roseriotphotography
.com
Skid Row pulled into Atlanta once again for their annual shindig at Wild Bill’s in Duluth, GA. Being that bassist Rachel Bolan and drummer Rob Hammersmith both reside in Atlanta these days, this annual show has become kind of their “home away from homecoming” if you will. I’ve been lucky enough to catch these shows three years in a row and I have to say that this time around was a totally different ball game.
For starters, this was the biggest crowd I have seen at one of these annual Skid Row gatherings. The crowd was a fine and at times awkward mix of all ages, genders, and even race. In all honesty, I found this to be really awesome as it showed me just the overall appeal of Skid Row’s music. There were people that you could tell where there to hear “the hits” and then there were the ones who held on dearly to their 1989 “Makin’ a Mess of the US” tour shirts regardless of how threadbare and cheese cloth like they might be. All that aside, I just felt that this was going to make for a great audience as I could feel the energy and excitement of these people to see the mighty Skid Row.
The houselights dropped and as the PA blasted The Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop”, all I could do 
was think to myself, “Are they going to surprise me and open up with something other than “Big Guns” tonight.” Well, as Rob Hammersmith counted off on his hi hats, the band slammed right into “Slave to the Grind” which brought on a huge roar from the crowd and BAM! They were off. Unfortunately, this and the 2nd song “Big Guns” were plagued by a horrible rumbling and distorted sound in the PA but this didn’t affect the band as they marched through these songs without a fail or falter.
Skid Row was playing with a new found, youthful energy as they kicked into “Let’s Go” from their latest EP United World Rebellion Chapter 1 and you could feel the overall excitement that has been injected into this band. As an artist, the only thing more exciting than creating new material is to perform it and have it embraced whole heartedly by your fans. From the reaction of these people, you could see that this was the case. The set list for this show also featured a nice mix of classics such as “Piece of Me”, “Makin’ A Mess”, and “Riot Act” but again, in my opinion, the band really stepped it up when delivering a 2nd new song from UWR Chapter 1 called “Kings of Demolition.” Drummer Rob Hammersmith, while playing his ass off all night, really seemed invested in this song and you could just feel the energy that he put into this one giving it a driving force that completely exceeded even the stellar recorded version.
Lead singer Johnny Solinger did an outstanding job as always on the vocals and once again proved to me just what a great presence he is. His performance of “In A Darkened Room” literally gave me goose bumps as I could see, hear, and feel the connection that he has made 
with this song. As a whole, the band just shined all night long as they thanked everyone for a great 24 years (yikes! THAT long?), they continued on giving everyone the greatest Skid Row performance I’ve seen to date. The band closed out their set with a stellar version of “Monkey Business” which featured a truly facemelting guitar dual between Dave Sabo and Scotti Hill and once again drummer Rob Hammersmith was just shining behind the kit. He must’ve done a few shots of awesomesauce before the show because all night long he played with an intensity and power that I hadn’t seen from him before.
Watching Skid Row perform is not like watching fat Warrant or tone deaf Dokken playing. Skid Row is not a band that is past their prime. With this new EP and their solid live performance, Skid Row has proven to me that they are a band that is far from out of ideas. Skid Row is a band that is not afraid of acknowledging their past. They are actually very proud of it but they also choose not to dwell and live in the past as they move forward to grow as a band. If Skid Row can continue to put out the caliber of music that they’ve put out with UWR Chapter 1, then I think Skid Row will continue to be a very relevant and fresh band that does not find themselves held back by the restraints of nostalgia.
Skid Row Setlist:
Slave to the Grind, Big Guns, Let’s Go, Piece of Me, 18 & Life, New Generation, Makin’ A Mess, In A Darkened Room, Kings of Demolition, Psycho Therapy, I remember You, Monkey Business
Encore:
Riot Act, Get the Fuck Out, Youth Gone Wild
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