Ten years after his last record, Sebastian Bach has released what could be his strongest solo work, Child Within The Man. He is on the road not only supporting that record but also celebrating the 35th anniversary of the debut Skid Row release. He made a stop at the legendary Toad’s Place in New Haven, CT, and brought Los Angeles band The Bites along with him. Scroll down for exclusive Sebastian Bach photos and a review of the show!
The Bites took the stage a few minutes before the announced start time and launched into “Knockin’ On The Door” from their 2023 debut Squeeze. I was very interested in catching this band live and they didn’t disappoint. The record clearly shows their 80s Sunset Strip-era influence, but at times comes off as a little too clean, lacking some of the grit of bands of that era. On stage, however, the band is all swagger and brings back memories of seeing those bands on this same Toad’s Place stage in the late 80’s. Frontman Jordan Tyler has obviously studied artists like David Lee Roth, Stephen Pearcy, and Vince Neal as he owns the stage and commands your attention. If this tour comes your way, get there early and don’t miss this band.
Around 9:00 pm, Sebastian Bach and his band burst onto the stage with “What Do I Got To Lose”, the first single from Child Within The Man. From the start, Baz’s voice sounded great. The next track, “Slave to the Grind”, really got the packed house going. Baz did leave out some lyrics in the bridge section leading up to the scream, but it worked as he was able to hit the scream perfectly each time. Bach takes a lot of pride in the fact that his vocals are 100% live, so throughout the night he will skip a few words or have the crowd sing as he gets ready for a high note but it doesn’t detract from the performance at all.
Nine of the evening’s sixteen songs were dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the Skid Row record. While Bach’s band does justice to the material, some of these tracks need a second guitarist for maximum impact. Baz was clearly enjoying himself on stage and often gave lengthy introductions to these early tracks, reminiscing about those early tours opening for Bon Jovi and the history of some of the great rock venues in the country, including Toad’s Place.
In addition to the debut, Bach also added three tracks from the second Skid Row record, Slave to the Grind. These songs sound just as heavy and relevant today, truly a testament to what that band was in its day. I found it interesting about halfway into the show when “Rattlesnake Shake” from the first record was followed by “The Threat” from Slave. Those two songs sum up the two sides of Bach’s career: the fun, carnal swagger of the former and the serious, heavy hit of the latter. While a Sebastian Bach show is about having fun, there is also a serious side to his music and lyrics that has always kept him from being just a one-trick pony.
Bach also enjoyed showing off his versatility through the night. While talking to the crowd, he would suddenly burst into a verse or chorus of a random song that fit the story, we were treated to snippets of “Oh, What A Night”, “Holla Back Girl”, “Heaven & Hell”, and “Children of the Damned”, to name a few. In addition to “What Do I Got To Lose”, the set also included “Everybody Bleeds” from the Child Within The Man record. Both tracks were well-received and fit perfectly in the Skid Row-heavy set.
If there was one fault in the night, it was the attempt to play the new track “(Hold On) To The Dream”. While the song itself is killer, Bach admitted at the start that not all of the band members knew how to play it. The fault isn’t so much that they had to stop the song, it was more the placement of it. The night wound down with a great version of “I Remember You” and ended with the anthemic “Youth Gone Wild”. In between was the aborted “(Hold On) To The Dream”. After playing such a strong set it was a bit of a misstep to workshop a song in between two iconic ending tracks.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Sebastian when this record came out. He put a ton of work into making the best record possible and succeeded in that task. The fact that his new material stands up so strongly with his classic work is a testament to what went into making Child Within The Man. Sebastian Bach has always been one of the great frontmen in rock and this tour shows that he hasn’t lost a bit of his swagger. If you loved the old songs, give the new record a spin and be sure to catch him when he invades your town.
