Skid Row
w/ Special Guests: The Swear and Kickin’ Valentina
September 27, 2014
Wild Bills – Atlanta, GA
Every year, I look forward to September in Atlanta. Why? Well, maybe it’s because September in Atlanta usually means that it’s time for the annual Skid Row Wild Bill’s show! For one night every year in Atlanta, Skid Row comes into town and takes over the Duluth, Ga honky tonk and turns it into a rock n’ roll spectacular. Every year Skid Row invites a couple of local Atlanta bands to open the show and for this year’s show we had Kickin’ Valentina and The Swear. How did it all go down? Well… read on folks.
Kickin’ Valentina
Kickin’ Valentina kicked things off and I have to say that I really enjoyed the fuck out of this band for the most part. Yes, I said for the most part. In all honesty, if you’re looking for depth and intriguing lyrics, you need to keep moving on. If you’re looking for fun, carefree, sleazy rock n’ roll that isn’t trying to be something it’s not, than Kickin’ Valentina is your band. The band delivered a full throttle 45 minute set and it’s plain to see that these guys have some years under their belts as they performed like full on headliners. The songs are catchy and the band plays with a lot of gusto and energy and I have to say that their song “Alone” is one of the most infectious tunes I’ve heard in a while.
I have to deduct points for singer Joe Edwards who I feel like just tries way too fucking hard with his glam rock Riverdancing all over the stage. He’s an amazing singer but c’mon dude, just dial it down about 3 notches and you’ll be fine. Also, what’s your fucking deal with slinging beer all over the crowd? That shit needs to stop. If I want beer in my mouth it’ll come from my own fucking bottle. All in all Kickin’ Valentina is a great band that still has a lot of potential but they are also a band that is about 25 year too late. This doesn’t seem to faze them one bit and to that I say Godspeed to them. They may be late to the game but they do it with a lot of heart and conviction.
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The Swear
Next up was The Swear. Not much really to see here. Just a really annoying, boring, drab female fronted band that seems to either want to be Hole or Halestorm. Either way, they succeed at being neither. This band lacks any good songs and any real good stage presence. I just couldn’t help but wonder how they hell they ended up on this bill in the first place when a great band like Gunpowder Grey would’ve been a way better choice. This band played about 40 minutes too long and when they were done, all of the sudden the beer throwing dude in Kickin’ Valentina didn’t seem like such a bad thing in comparison.
The Swear was just one of those bands that I found myself saying, “They must know someone in order to get this gig.” They really lacked any kind of substance and there was nothing about their songs or their performance that particularly stood out as memorable. The Swear is just another one of a million forgettable bands that will just end up stuffed into the filing cabinet of my mind never to be remembered again. Honestly, that’s completely fine with me as I’d prefer to not remember them.
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Skid Row
A Skid Row show is something I am always looking forward to and I have to honestly say that as a longtime fan, they just never let me down. In both last year and this year, Skid Row released two EPs of new material that boasted some of their best written and performed material since Slave to the Grind. This alone proved to me that Skid Row is a band that is far from out of ideas and really had me looking forward to seeing this show. This was my fourth consecutive year seeing Skid Row and I also couldn’t help but wonder what they would do for this show. Would they play as good? Would they step it up? Would they surprise us? As the house lights went down and a hefty roar from the crowd filled the room, I could feel the anticipation as I threw my fists in the air cheering along with them.
Skid Row took to the stage and without flinching launched right into “Let’s Go” from 2013’s United World Rebellion Pt. 1. This was such a strong, powerful statement. For a band like Skid Row to open the show with a brand new song is a bold move and it shows just how proud of their new material they are. It was such a great choice for an opener and as the song wound down, the band slid right into “Big Guns” which brought a huge cheer but it was “Makin’ A Mess” where shit got real. This song just fucking killed faces and Johnny Solinger had the crowd pumping their fists and just losing their shit.
I don’t know if it’s the fact that they have new material out or what but the band just seemed to be playing harder and performing harder than I’d ever seen them. In a time where many of their peer bands are just happy taking the nostalgic route and dialing in performances, Skid Row was playing with all the passion and energy that they played with 20 something years ago. The interplay between guitarists Dave “The Snake” Sabo and Scotti Hill is really something to behold. I always felt that they were one of the most underrated guitar duos in hard rock/metal and during this show I was reminded of what fucking monsters these guys are.
The set list was obviously chock full of the hits and Skid Row played them with so much fire that the room could barely contain them but it was the newer material that really blew my face clean off. “Kings of Demolition” was a real highlight for me and it was on this song that I felt like drummer Rob Hammersmith really shined. He really pounds the fuck out of his drums and locks down such a fluid, groove laden foundation that the band just builds on. The MVP in my opinion was lead singer Johnny Solinger who really brought his a-game. “In A Darkened Room” was delivered with so much soul and passion that it gave me goose bumps. The connection he establishes with the audience is really quite amazing as he does it minus all the ego and pretentiousness of his predecessor. Say what you will about him but he put on a stellar performance and solidified himself as one of my favorite vocalists.
Skid Row closed things out with a really great and appreciative speech from Dave Sabo before going into “Monkey Business” which just floored me unlike it ever has. Drummer Rob Hammersmith just took this song to a whole new level of groove and fucking killed it. The band returned after leaving the stage for a five song encore that featured an awesome cover of the Cheap Trick classic “Surrender” and without a doubt one of the best versions of “Slave to the Grind” I had ever heard.
Its shows like this that makes me proud to be fan of band. No matter how divided the fan base may be, I can say with all honesty that this right here is Skid Row. It’s those classic, well written, well-structured songs that have stood the test of time light years greater than just about any one of their peer bands. Skid Row did such an amazing job delivering some of my favorite hard rock/metal tunes along with some outstanding new material. With a show like this and new material like this it is very obvious that Skid Row will be going nowhere any time soon. This is a band that has no expiration date and a band that it is still very capable of being as good if not better than they ever were.
Skid Row Setlist
Let’s Go, Big Guns, Makin’ a Mess, Piece of Me, 18 & Life, Thick is the Skin, Riot Act, In A Darkened Room, Kings of Demolition, Psycho Therapy, I Remember You, Monkey Business
Encore: Surrender, Get the Fuck Out, We Are the Damned, Slave to the Grind, Youth Gone Wild
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