I am an unabashed fan of 80s/90s rock music, so I was very excited when I heard that legendary rock vocalist Sebastian Bach was coming to town, with a stop at the Bronson Centre Music Theatre, in support of his first album in a decade—Child Within The Man.
Bach shot to fame 35 years ago as the vocalist for Skid Row, a band whose music dominated TV screens and radio stations around the world with hits like “18 And Life” and “I Remember You.” Bach’s powerful voice led the band to sell over 20 million albums worldwide before Bach departed from the band in 1996.
Tuesday night’s show featured two openers—local act Beyond Driven and Cincinnati native Kurt Deimer.
Beyond Driven, who’ve been building a presence in the Ottawa area for a few years, delivered a powerful and energetic opening set, led by powerhouse vocalist Erin Maiden. There was plenty of headbanging and crushing riffs as the band tore through a number of original tracks, such as “Check Liver Light” and their most recent release, “Barely 18.” Their set even featured a little wheelchair crowd surfing from local concert legend SuperKyle Humphrey.
Next up was Kurt Deimer, who led his band through a raucous set of riff-heavy rocking songs such as “Dance,” “Doom” and an amazing cover of Pink Floyd’s “Have A Cigar.” Donning a toque, and covered in tattoos, Deimer’s banter between songs delivered messages of positivity—telling the crowd that he loves people, no matter where he goes around the world, and that people everywhere need to be loving and caring with each other, but also, that people need to live the one life they have and go out and follow their dreams. It was Deimer’s first time in Canada and he and the band made an indelible impression, with Deimer jumping into the photo pit to high-five fans and then working his way through the crowd as he sang. Deimer made a promise—“Spread the word about Kurt Deimer because we’ll definitely be back!”
I’ve been a fan of Skid Row since its beginning 35 years ago, but I never had the opportunity to see the band or Sebastian Bach. So I could not wait for Bach to hit the stage, and neither could the fans at a packed Bronson Centre.
From the moment he hit the stage, he delivered the goods as only he could. Bach and his band, which included his son Paris on drums, ripped through a 15-song set, which leaned heavily on Skid Row favourites such as the afore-mentioned big singles, as well as fan favourites like “Piece of Me,” “Rattlesnake Shake” and “Monkey Business,” which segued into a cover of Rush’s “Tom Sawyer,” leading Bach to exclaim, “You’re doing a pretty good job as a parent if your son can play Rush on the drums!” The night was a family affair in many ways, with Bach’s mother and brother in attendance as well. Bach’s brother, Zac Bierk, is now a scout with the Ottawa Senators.
While introducing the song, “I Remember You,” Sebastian took a moment to recognize many talented artists we’ve lost over the last few years, such as Canadian icons, Neil Peart, Gordon Lightfoot, and Myles Goodwyn of April Wine.
You gotta give Bach credit. At 56 years old, these songs are not easy to sing, and the voice is an unforgiving instrument over time. But he was in outstanding form as he belted out hit after hit. The joy on his face to be back in his native Canada for the first time in six years, had him grinning just like the younger version of himself who burst onto our TV screens in MuchMusic segments many years ago.
And for fans of Skid Row, it was incredible to see and hear so many of their songs again, by the voice who sang them. As Bach put it early in the night, “You can kick the man out of the band, but you can’t kick the band out of the man!”
Not only that, but his new album, Child Within The Man, is solid. His voice is strong, and the songs are well-crafted rockers. These new songs, like “What Do I Got To Lose” and “Everybody Bleeds” sounded incredible live and highlighted that Bach still has so much more to give.
Thanking the crowd for an incredible evening that he said he didn’t want to end, Bach pointed to a tattoo on his forearm, which was a notable feature in many rock magazine photos back in the day. The script font tattoo says, “Youth Gone Wild,” the title of one of the first singles from their eponymous debut album 35 years ago. While fans like myself in the crowd may have a little less youth on our side, we still appreciated the chance to go a little wild with a Canadian rock icon.
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