Skid Row - Nottingham Review

When it comes to venues of all sizes throughout the UK, a quick glance at any gig listing will show that one of the touring trends at the moment seems to be larger bills that give value for money for the punters. With bands needing to make more money from touring, as album sales in general decline compared to what they were in the 1970s and 1980s, it is important to ensure that tours attract as many fans as possible. Tours based around gimmicks are a big thing at the moment too, such as bands basing tours around anniversaries of specific albums or promising special setlists, but it is the 'packed bill' phenomena that I will be discussing today. Bands usually have support acts of course, but it seems that recently bands are taking more care over assembling a really strong bill that is going to help shift tickets - rather than just picking a couple of support acts to fill some time. All too often it is clear that not much thought has gone into a gig's support acts, which is a shame to see, but bigger bands and promoters seem to have cottoned on to the fact that great bills shift tickets. A band that really seems to have tapped into this logic is the American rock/metal act Skid Row who have always been popular in the UK. The last couple of years though has seen the band play much larger venues again - largely down to their rising popularity once again with new singer ZP Theart, but also their strong touring packages. I saw the band with Night Ranger in London last year, and back in January this year with a mega bill that featured the Backyard Babies and H.E.A.T. Clearly buoyed by these successful UK treks, another run of UK shows was announced with a few different combinations of bands making up the bill throughout the run. The tour took in places that were not covered by the January shows, so I opted for the Nottingham stop at the legendary Rock City. Partly I chose Nottingham because the show fit in to some existing plans that I had arranged, but also it was because of the show's bill. Both The Quireboys, a real favourite band of mine, and the Swedish hair metal revivalists Crashdïet were on a four-band bill, with the British up-and-coming rockers Hollowstar rounding out the evening. The only downside of these sort of shows are shorter set lengths for bands lower down the bill, but with sets coming thick and fast it meant that there was not a lot of standing around time between sets - which was great!

The venue opened at 7pm, and Crashdïet hit the stage only ten minutes later. Most of the crowd was still slowly filtering into the venue at this point, but this did not seem to deter the Swedes who stormed through a seven-song set with real venom - and they seemed to relish being back in Nottingham. I was surprised that Crashdïet were below Hollowstar on the bill, as the Swedes certainly have more of a history and pedigree - but both bands had 25 minutes to play with so it did not really make much of a difference. I had not seen Crashdïet since 2013, so I was really looking forward to seeing them again and they did not disappoint - with new frontman Gabriel Keyes really impressing throughout. The band are flying high off the back of recently releasing their new album Rust, and three songs from it featured in the setlist - including the fast-paced opener Reptile. With such a short amount of time on stage, the band did not mess around and just got down to playing as much music as possible. Old favourites such as Tikket and the glam/punk of Riot in Everyone sat nicely alongside new tracks like We Are The Legion and Rust - the latter of which really impressed with some excellent bass playing from Peter London and some big harmony vocals from the whole band. Brothers Martin (guitar/vocals) and Michael Sweet (drums) rounded out the band, with the latter filling in for the band's regular drummer Eric Young who is currently unable to tour - I hope everything is well with him. A couple of older singles were left to round out the set, with the anthemic Generation Wild really hitting the spot. There were clearly quite a few Crashdïet fans in attendance, as the song - and band - received a strong reaction. Crashdïet were actually the first ever band I saw at Rock City back in 2011, when they supported The 69 Eyes, so it was appropriate to see them in the venue again - and they got a great evening off to a fantastic start! The setlist was:

Reptile
Tikket
Riot in Everyone
We Are The Legion
Rust
Cocaine Cowboys
Generation Wild

Hollowstar were up next, and I have to say that I was not really looking forward to seeing them. I saw the band last year supporting the Dan Reed Network in Bristol and they did not really do anything for me - but this time Hollowstar made much more of an impression. The band are still quite new, and have clearly come a long way over the past year - as this time I really enjoyed them. The band have something of a weighty heavy rock sound, with two strong guitarists and a great presence in Joe Bonson (vocals/bass guitar) who fronts the band with his powerful voice. Nearly all of the band's songs are driven by big riffs, which help them to hit hard, with a few anthemic choruses also being peppered throughout the set. I am not sure if the band had written some new songs since the show last year, but this time nearly every song grabbed me and kept my interest. I do enjoy being wrong about a band, and I think that Hollowstar are a band that I will have to take more notice of going forward. I see that they have recently released their debut album so I will have to pick up a copy of that soon! It seemed that Hollowstar also had quite a few fans in attendance too, with the band receiving a strong reception throughout their set. A song that really grabbed me towards the end was Good Man Gone, about a friend of the band who sadly committed suicide, and the set closer All I Gotta Say managed to create some real energy and a big sing along with the crowd - which by this point filled the whole venue and the balcony. It was a powerful set from a young band on the up, and I will look forward to tracking their progress going forward.

The evening's special guests were afforded a whole five minutes longer on stage than the two openers, but The Quireboys never seem to let stage or time constraints deter them from putting on a great show. Unsurprisingly, due to the band's stature, they did not have to work hard to whip up the crowd and stormed through a fast-paced eight-song set with the ease and professionalism the band are known for. Much of the set was packed with crowd favourites, but a couple of new numbers kept things grounded in the modern day and introduced casual fans to where the band are now. Big singles Hey You and There She Goes Again kicked everything off, with frontman Spike encouraging the crowd to sing loudly and Guy Griffin (guitar/vocals) impressing with lots of bluesy slide playing. The crowd were then hit with the new track Original Black Eyed Son, but the unfamiliarity of the material for some did not seem to affect the energy. The new songs went down as well as the classics, as The Quireboys put on a masterclass of delivering a support-length slot and winning everyone over. The last time I saw the band they were headlining a sold out Kentish Town Forum in London back in September, but the energy created in Rock City was just as strong - with the strutting Man on the Loose kicking the set up into the next gear. Paul Guerin (guitar/vocals) peeled off the AC/DC-esque riff with ease while Keith Weir (keyboards/vocals) drove everything with his barroom piano melodies. One more new track, the brash Sinner Serenade which I had not seen the band perform live previously, kept the modern bluesy vibe going - with Spike encouraging the crowd to put their drinks in the air in his usual style, but the three songs that followed were all old classics that got everyone going. The band decided to drop all of their ballads, which was wise given the high-energy nature of the night, which meant that the intro to Sweet Mary Ann was the only pause for breath in the set. Weir's keyboards filled the venue while Spike crooned the intro - and the crowd soon joined in for the wordless vocals in the chorus. It was left to 7 O'Clock and a barnstorming rendition of Mayfair to bring the set to a close - both of which really upped the energy levels further. The band were on top of the world by this point, and I doubt there was anyone in attendance who wanted their set to end - I certainly did not! The setlist was:

Hey You
There She Goes Again
Original Black Eyed Son
Man on the Loose
Sinner Serenade
Sweet Mary Ann
7 O'Clock
Mayfair

Following three excellent support slots, the band topping the bill had a lot to prove and they knew it. Strong bills such as this one tend to bring out the best of everyone playing, and Skid Row fed off the energy already brimming from the crowd to deliver a 90 minute set that was possibly the best performance of theirs that I have seen yet. I have seen the band play longer shows, but the energy that they created throughout their fifteen-song set was something else, and the large, appreciative crowd never seemed to tire - even when the band pulled a couple of deeper cuts out of their catalogue. Skid Row have always had a punky element to their sound, and the opening few numbers certainly reflected that and really helped to build on the energy left over from the opening acts. Makin' a Mess kicked everything off, before the fists-in-the-air hard rock of Big Guns saw the first of many sing alongs of the night. Theart has really settled into his role of the band's frontman over the past couple of years, and was really out to impress in Nottingham. He hit a number of really high notes throughout the set, with the strutting Livin' on a Chain Gang showcasing some of them - while the rest of the band handled the spitting gang vocals. Another big sing along came in the midst of 18 and Life, with the crowd erupting into a huge cheer as Dave 'Snake' Sabo (guitar/vocals) started playing the chiming intro - before Scotti Hill (guitar/vocals) launched into an impressive bluesy and expressive solo part way through. The setlist largely stuck to crow favourites, but this year the band has been diversifying their shows a little and pulled out a couple of lesser-played numbers. The grinding Thick is the Skin received a surprisingly strong reaction however, with the punky chorus being sung by many around me. I saw the band play the song back in 2013 - so it was fun to hear it live again after a break from the set. The punk vibe continues with bassist Rachel Bolan's customary cover of the Ramones' Psycho Therapy before the set moved into a bit more of a reflective period with the power ballad I Remember You and another deeper cut Ghost. The two somewhat stripped back songs allowed a chance for everyone to catch their breath, but there was still plenty of singing from everyone - especially during the former. By this point the main set was coming to an end, but there was still time for an extended version of Monkey Business and the closing romp of Riot Act. Monkey Business was stretched out with lengthy guitar solos from both Sabo and Hill - while Bolan and Rob Hammersmith (drums) kept a groove going. This section did go on for a little too long I think, but the skills on display were impressive with lots of shredding. After Riot Act the band left the stage briefly, but were drawn back by the cheers for a four-song encore. Quite a few favourites were included here, with the heavy Slave to the Grind kicking everything off, before the murky In a Darkened Room wowed the crowd. The song allowed Theart to show off a different side of his voice. He is a very diverse singer, and the pseudo-ballad allowed him to showcase his deeper, richer tones. The newer We Are The Damned and a powerful rendition of the band's signature Youth Gone Wild brought the evening to a close. By this point the 11pm curfew was looming, and the band had to finish up, but everyone in attendance had had a fantastic evening. The setlist was:

Makin' a Mess
Big Guns
Piece of Me
Livin' on a Chain Gang
18 and Life
Thick is the Skin
Psycho Therapy [Ramones cover]
I Remember You
Ghost
Monkey Business
Riot Act
-
Slave to the Grind
In a Darkened Room
We Are The Damned
Youth Gone Wild

Gigs at Nottingham's Rock City are always special evenings out, but this one was a particularly great one. All four bands put on great sets, and a large crowd did their part to make sure the evening was a success. Bills like this are becoming more common, which is great, but I think that more bands could embrace the format. It allows bands like Skid Row to play in bigger venues again, and gives punters real value for money with lots of sets from great bands.