Sebastian Bach – Whiskey Bones Roadhouse – Rochester, MN – August 13, 2014

Whiskey Bones Roadhouse is hosting Sebastian Bach on Wednesday, August 13, 2014. The bar is a small hangout, just off the highway in Rochester, a place many may not think that the front man from Skid Row would be playing. It’s part of what makes the evening so much fun.

The bar holds roughly one hundred people that evening and we are the type of people that enjoy seeing something small like this over a huge show. It’s more personable and fun. It’s also pretty much guaranteed that whomever is on stage is going to interact tremendously with the crowd, which is exactly what happens.

Sebastian hits the stage literally towering over everyone, including his own band mates. His tall stature mixed with the tiny stage and small atmosphere makes him appear like a giant over all of us. The show begins with the hit, “Slave to the Grind”, a song that gets everyone going. One thing I have seen at repeated shows with Sebastian is his need to whip the microphone in circles, which he does that night. It’s downright concerning due to the very tight space between him, the crowd, and his band. He makes it work though.

As the set continues, he plays through a variety of not only notable Skid Row tunes (“I Remember You, “American Metalhead”, “18 & Life”, “Monkey Business”, as well as a dedication to the late Dimebag Darrell with, “In a Darkened Room”), he plays his own things as well. Such songs include one that he wrote with John 5 entitled, “All My Friends are Dead” and “Harmony” that was written with Duff McKagan of Guns ‘n Roses fame.

He takes his multiple moments to interact with the crowd, one of the greater times telling the crowd that he feels like he’s playing in his basement. A good part of the crowd takes offense to this, but it seems hilarious that they do because we are all thinking the same thing. It’s a small space and he even mentions being able to casually watch David Letterman playing on the TVs at the bar when he plays. It’s downright comical and Sebastian is such a goof on stage that it’s expected of him to say such things anyway. It’s part of what makes his shows so fun.

The show ends with a rousing rendition of “Youth Gone Wild”. The entire set was just fun. It’s great to see a large act in such a small place from time to time and when there are a smaller number of people there, it feels more like a party than anything. Many acts would have a problem with such small venues, but Sebastian took it in stride and had a lot of fun with it.