Skid Row/Toseland/Bad Touch –

Corporation, Sheffield, Friday, March 9th, 2018

 

Set List: Take Me Away/Good On Me/My Mother Told Me/Lift Your Head Up/Outlaw/99%.

 

Now it's only now and again that you get a three band bill on this level so we are all pleased that the tour happened to hit Sheffield on a wet cold night in March. No strangers to the Corporation are Bad Touch, who've played the venue several times in the other room. To eventually witness them on the big stage was a special moment for many in here no doubt – me included.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Man, they can totally own that stage as well – even though they've only got around 20 minutes to prove themselves to many who may have come mainly to see the headliners. The Bad Touch boys sound great up there and we even get a decent splashing of harmonica too from Stevie. An utter joy to take in and you gotta love numbers like 'Good On Me'; 'My Mother Told Me' and '99%' - easily my fave song of theirs by far! You can't beat that retro rock ballsy 70's rock that they play with ease putting you in mind of The Black Crowes, Humble Pie and Led Zeppelin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They appeared to make a massive impression in here to established fans and those that are brand new – even coming out straight after to meet everyone which is big kudos as well. Looking forward as always to seeing them back here at the Corp' on a headline tour hopefully some time in 2018 when the new release is ready.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the meantime, go and buy their two albums, 'Half Way Home' & 'Truth Be Told' – I certainly did!

 

Set: Puppet On A Chain/Living In A Moment/Life Is Beautiful/Fingers Burned/Renegade/Hearts And Bones.

 

Yorkshire, Yorkshire, Yorkshire, Yorkshire – that's Jame's gesture for the night and even sports a t-shirt to match too. The lad who lived just down the road from me in the next village, Kiveton Park or Kivo as us locals refer to it, is back on the big stage again, a little over a year since he did a headline show here himself. Then again, when you get to be direct support to who is up next I am sure he didn't mind being second on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With his band that takes his surname of Toseland, he's ready to do business again on home turf and is greeted with a wild, deafening roar of applause from his hardcore fans – with one even having a bike jacket that he grabbed and showed off to the crowd, before passing it back over. James hardly kept still throughout the show and I ain't one bit surprised he is so super slim and well-toned for that matter. The band are killer and bang on as ever – complimenting the main man's every move throughout his 30 or so minute set.

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He had his keyboards at the ready for 'Fingers Burned' and even had a joke at the title too, charming the crowd left, right and centre – it needed to be louder in the mix as did his voice at times in my opinion but the fact didn't appear to bother the people taking in his songs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Talking of songs, it was outstanding to see that my personal fave is still sat there in the set which is the Southern like Rocker 'Renegade' before finishing it all off with the E.P. Excellence of 'Hearts And Bones'.

 

Set List: Slave To The Grind/Sweet Little Sister/Piece Of Me/Livin' On A Chain Gang/Big Guns/18 & Life/Makin' A Mess/Rattlesnake Shake/Psycho Therapy/Quicksand Jesus/Monkey Business (Jam)/I Remember You/We Are The Damned/Youth Gone Wild.

 

Now this is the third time I have seen Skid Row and every time they have had a different frontman in row – this time or from now on it's ZP Theart of DragonForce & I Am I fame who certainly has the vocal chops for all of the songs that these New Jersey Rockers rock everyone out with on that big stage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do find myself getting a bit Vicky Pollard about things throughout the show though – as in yeah but no but.... as it's really brain-banging at times seeing somebody else singing songs in a band that you associate with the original frontman – no detriment to the original members of the band of course – I guess it's just human nature – anywhere whatever will be, will be – as is....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Completing the line-up of Skid Row is of course the original mainstays Rachel Bolan (Bass), Scotti Hill and Dave 'Snake' Sabo (Guitar) with Rob Hammersmith (Drums). The set list is definitely a crowd pleaser since it's jam packed with classics from the first two albums that made them their name in the first place such as gems like the opening 'Slave To The Grind'; 'Big Guns'; or 'Monkey Business' that was made into an extensive killer jam session.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nice to see Rachel take on some Psycho Therapy (the Ramones classic) like he did in the heyday or have 'I Remember You' aptly beginning with Dave 'Snake' Sabo playing a beautiful acoustic guitar introduction. The whole sold out ensemble in here got into the singalong sections and rocked out with the entire deliverance from the stage. My only gripes are the fact that there were no new songs in the set and they played virtually in the dark with a blue light mist so seeing them clearly was rather hard if you were further away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall though it was a great show with outstanding sound – we actually got lucky seeing Skid Row in Sheffield because not too long after this gig, the dates got postponed due to illness in the band.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope they come back again in a year or two with a brand new album under their belt and ZP still fronting since the hopes and dreams of a certain singer re-joining seems to be a non-starter for the rest of the 'Rows days as a working unit.

 

9/10

 

By Glenn Milligan