Can’t remember the last time I saw Sebastian Bach whip a crowd into a frenzy (probably in ’92 or ’93 when Skid Row opened for Guns N’ Roses) but the Savage Animal completely owned Columbus last night when he (and band) opened for Poison and Dokken at The Schott.
After Dokken’s set, I chatted with Bach’s bassist Rob DeLuca (who totally hooked me up with great seats about 8 rows back on the side of the stage) and guitarist Metal Mike and asked why the hell Bach wasn’t in the middle slot on the bill. Both shrugged their shoulders and said they had been asked that by many a fan and the question was really up to Poison to answer.
It took 24 hours for me to figure it out but it’s painfully obvious now – there is no way Poison would want to follow Bach. It’s better to toss Dokken in the middle slot and let them bring the energy down a bit so that the kids … um … middle-aged crowd of blue-collar rockers and probable “adult entertainers” (seriously, there couldn’t have been a strip club within 50 miles that had enough dancers to cover their shifts last night) explode when Poison hits the stage.
Since Mr.DeLuca provided me with the tickets, this review is going to be about Bach and Dokken because, truthfully, I’ve seen Poison a few times in the last 10 years and wound up leaving 3 songs into their set (I will admit that they did sound great and the crowd was insane when I left during “Ride the Wind”).