Sebastian Bach Rocks Detroit’s Saint Andrews Hall
Superstar rocker Sebastian Bach turned in an exceptional performance at Saint Andrews Hall in Detroit on Tuesday night. Rock fans turned out in droves to “Bach out” in style.
Bach, who is the former powerhouse frontman of Skid Row, a successful actor, and author, was also recently a guest on Fox’s hit show, The Masked Singer.
The talented singer / songwriter is on tour in support of his latest solo album, Child Within The Man. The album showcases Bach’s strong, fearless vocals and charging guitar throughout. The eleven tracks are a healthy mix of hard-hitting rock tracks, ready to put up a fight, while wrapping up with the unforgettable, encouraging ballad, “To Live Again”.
Bach’s lead single from the album, “What Do I Got To Lose?” has been tearing up the rock charts since its debut at the end of 2023. This album marks Bach’s first solo music release in a decade. As of this post, the album is currently #3 on the US iTunes Rock Chart.
Bach reflected through a press release regarding the new music and tour, “‘We are super excited to embark upon the ‘What Do I Got to Lose?’ tour 2024! This is the first song that I’ve ever had on US rock radio with my solo band and I cannot thank you all enough — radio stations for playing this song — and all you rock fans out there for cranking it up! Can’t wait to play live for all of you this summer no tapes no fakes all real all the time that is how we roll! See you on the road, mothertruckers!”
Los Angeles based ensemble, Classless Act did an exceptional job opening the show and set the stage with impeccable force for what was to come.
The rockers emerged with no shortage of energy, talent, and tenacity. With members from across the globe, Classless Act have been going strong as a band since 2019, having all met virtually. The band’s debut album, Welcome To The Show is set to hit the airwaves on June 24th.
It became readily apparent that Classless Act had a huge appreciation and respect for the rock bands that had come before, including the night’s headliner. The music was a completely unique amalgamation of metal roots and a soul of their own.
Each bandmate was clearly feeling the music that put on full display a cohesive sound. Lead singer, Derek Day, was animated, expressive and perfectly aware of each lyric that he strongly delivered. His voice is absolutely built for rock. His powerful register soared across the venue.
For their third song, the band threw in a unique rock version of Britney Spears’ “Toxic”. Throughout their performance, Day made sure to shout out and introduce each member of the band.
Around mid-set he asked, “Are you having a good time tonight?”
After the reflective track, “Circles”, Day addressed the audience. “Thank you so much, Detroit. How are you doing tonight? One quick question, are you ready for Sebastian Bach? He’s one of the main reasons I started singing, personally.”
During the song “Classless Act”, Day busted out a harmonica and positively slayed. When their set completed, the band gratefully waved to and thanked the crowd. Bassist Franco Gravante, made sure to pass their setlist to an eager fan.
The lights rose and the stage started to get set for the night’s headliner. In an unusual change for the venue, the concert lacked a pit next to the stage, so rock fans were packed right up to the stage’s end, eager for their heroes to emerge.
The lights dimmed and a pounding drum ushered in “What Have I Got To Lose?” Sebastian Bach took to the stage with his hands raised and pounded along to the beat. The lights came up and before launching into the lyrics, Bach shouted out the city of Detroit, “How are you guys doing tonight?” Ever the rockstar, Bach was adorned in glittery red pants, a black t-shirt with a skull, and bright orange tennis shoes. During the last lines of the song, Bach held out the lyrics, “I’m holding on for judgment day”. It was immediately apparent that his flawless vocals were in top form and sounded just as clear as in the studio. The crowd began flashing devil horns in droves, letting the band know they came for nothing less but to absolutely rock.
When the song concluded, he shouted, “Detroit! Detroit rock city! Wake the fuck up, Detroit!” and rocked into the Skid Row classic, “Slave To The Grind”. The track was the first of many Skid Row covers throughout the set.
“St. Andrews Hall, man, this is killer!” He continued, “We’ve got a brand new record out called ‘Child Within The Man’, but it’s also the 35th anniversary of the first record Skid Row. We’re gonna celebrate the 35th anniversary tonight!”
Bach acknowledged different areas of the venue and noticed the fans against the stage. “These mothertruckers in front are going fucking wild tonight!” He also threw some bottles of water to the crowd and made sure one went to a lady in the front. He continued, “You gotta fucking stay hydrated when you’re 56 years old!”
Bach started an open, honest and endearing dialogue with the crowd that continued throughout the performance. “People are like, ‘Sebastian, how are you going to sing that music that you recorded when you were 20 when you’re 56?’ and I’m like, ‘I know how to do that. My problem is that I can’t tell what the next song is on the setlist because my eyes are fucked!’ I almost just did ‘Big Guns’ instead of ‘Here I Am’, but my band saved me. Let’s hear it for the band one time!”
Bach introduced the lead bassist, Clay Eubank, and lead guitarist, Brody DeRozie. He established it was each musician’s first time playing in Detroit. The crowd greeted each member with a welcoming cheer.
Bach then continued, “I don’t know if you realize this, but tonight on the drums is my son, Paris Bach! This is NOT his first time in Detroit at all! He came and saw Skid Row with Pantera at Pine Knob!”
He continued, “If he fucks up the next song, he has to go to the tour bus with no dinner! Right? And you can meet Paris after the show, but right after the show you’ve gotta give like a half hour cause he has to go cut the lawn. Give me the back beat, come on dude! This is first song on the first side of first record, alright?” The band then started into Skid Row’s “Big Guns”.
Throughout the night, Bach effortlessly danced and thrashed around the stage. He would consistently raise and wave his hand, in time with his powerful voice. Occasionally, his fingers would wave to match his impressive vibrato.
Between songs, Bach called out an audience member in the front.
“I’m fascinated by this shirt right here. This is Skid Row with, what number singer? Is that replacement number seven? How do you even wear that? It’s ridiculous!” He continued, “You guys miss the 80’s or what? I used to live in Troy and Uttica! The guy on that shirt did not live in Michigan. Let’s give a round of applause for that! These are the jokes folks, it’s my show, I can say what I want!”
He then reflected, “This goes back to the days when MTV used to play music on the television! Now it’s ridiculousness. This is stupid! Why don’t you play a rock ‘n’ roll video like this one? This one’s for you, Detroit! This is called ’18 and Life'”.
The crowd roared. “You guys gonna sing along the words tonight, Detroit?” The audience took over the first few bars with their powerful vox. Bach quipped, “You guys can be the next singer of Skid Row! I hear they’re looking!” Fans cheered and continued to sing along to every word.
After, Bach asked, “Anybody here from Windsor, Ontario, Canada?” He told a story about one of his earliest memories of flying a kite with his grandpa in Windsor when the string broke.
“My grandpa turned to me and goes, ‘Sebastian, your kite is flying to another country. Right over that water is a place called Detroit, Michigan and your kite is an American fucking kite now… and then Journey wrote a song about Windsor.” He started singing the first lines of “Don’t Stop Believing” and observed, “There is no fucking south Detroit. South Detroit is Windsor, which doesn’t sing as well.”
When “Everybody Bleeds” concluded Bach observed, “The music from tonight is from 1989 to 2024, thanks to you guys! … We got no tapes, we got no fucking laptops. We got no computers. This is a real rock ‘n’ roll band right here. You’ve gotta come see a real rock show while they still exist.
After an epic cover of Rush’s rock staple, “Tom Sawyer”, Bach reflected, “We lost a lot of people the last couple of years. There was a time we were all locked in our fucking house, I didn’t know if we’d ever get a chance to do this again, man. I don’t take nothing for granted. I love every one of you for coming out here tonight.”
He shouted out some rockers who were taken too soon like Neil Peart, Eddie Van Halen, Wayne Kramer of the MC5, Lemmy or Motörhead, Taylor Hawkins, Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell of Pantera. “This is a song to all of those who we have lost. This is a song called ‘I Remember'”.
Guitarist Bruiser Brody swapped between an acoustic and electric guitar for the verses and chorus respectively. Bach requested of the crowd, “You know what, Detroit? I would love it if you lit up your lighters and your cell phones in tribute to those who couldn’t be here tonight. Let’s light this motherfucker up right here.” Along with the cell phones and lighters, the venue’s disco ball illuminated, covering the crowd in tiny flashes from the countless mirrors. The song closed out with DeRozie on acoustic guitar, accompanied by Bach’s voice, which flew over the electrified venue.
Bach then said, “I remember you, Detroit!”
To close out the night, Bach pointed to a tattoo on his arm. The crowd replied by screaming along the lyrics to the inked title, “YOUTH GONE WILD” as Paris drummed along to the synonyms.
“I want to dedicate this to everyone who’s been rocking with us for 35 fucking years! This one’s for all the youth gone wiiillllllllddddddd!” As the track finished, Bach yelled, “Detroit! Thank you for 35 years of rock ‘n’ roll!” He proceeded to crumple up papers taped around the stage with rules and tossed them into the crowd.
The “What Do I Got To Lose?” tour will continue to rock on until it’s conclusion on June 29th in San Diego, California. The tour includes a mix of festival stops, as well as headlining solo stops across the United States.
Photos and review by : Tiffany “Rune” Cuthrell
