Here are some photos taken during Skid Row’s concert at Altoona’s historic Mishler Theatre on February 26.
One of 2022’s big concert highlights was Skid Row’s visit to the Mishler Theatre before a sold-out house. This was an excellent concert…The current edition of Skid Row – original guitarists Dave “Snake” Sabo and Scotti Hill plus founding bassist Rachel Bolan, along with singer ZP Theart (the original frontman for DragonForce) and drummer Rob Hammersmith – lit up the Mishler stage with a spirited set of their best-known tunes, taken mostly from their first two albums, their self-titled 1989 debut and 1991’s “Slave to the Grind.” Opening the concert and setting the tone with “Slave to the Grind,” Skid Row fired through numbers such as “The Threat,” “Piece Of Me,” “Livin’ on a Chain Gang” and “Big Guns” before arriving at their first Top Ten hit, “18 and Life.”
After following with “Makin’ A Mess” and “Rattlesnake Shake,” Rachel addressed the audience, expressing appreciation for being able to again entertain audiences after two years of not being able to do so due to COVID-19. He thanked everybody in attendance for enabling him and the rest of the group to be able to earn their livings performing music on stages. In a funny moment, Rachel observed that most of the audience didn’t appear to be the younger (under-30) demographic. He conducted a quick survey of the audience’s age range, first asking how many folks under 20 were in the house, and a handful of young fans yelled out in response. He then asked for those between 20 and 30, to which another small contingent of fans yelled their response. Rachel then humorously commented that the “future of rock and roll” was apparently not in the house this night. But when he then asked for responses from the 30 to 40 crowd and the 40 and older crowd, the response quickly escalated in size and volume!
Rachel then fronted Skid Row on their version of the Ramones’ “Psycho Therapy” (from their 1992 remakes EP “B-Side Ourselves”). After the power ballad “In A Darkened Room,” Dave the “Snake” then addressed the crowd, also expressing his thanks for their support and leading everyone in a “team chug” before he and Skid Row launched into an extended version of “Monkey Business,” with he and Scotti Hill sharing and dueling guitar leads in an exciting display. This launched the homestretch of the performance, as Skid Row performed their other Top Ten hit, “I Remember You,” followed by the fast and furious “Riot Act” and the finisher, “Youth Gone Wild,” which erupted into a crowd sing-along.
You could tell Skid Row was happy to be back in front of audiences, as the COVID-19 shutdown gave them a renewed appreciation of being able to play music and entertain people. The synergy between band and crowd grew as this show progressed, and resulted in a rocking, fun time at the Mishler Theatre.
In the weeks following this show, Skid Row announced that they now have a new singer, as Sweden’s Erik Grӧnwall has replaced ZP Theart. Skid Row has also released a new single, “The Gang’s All Here,” is sharing a “Sin City Nights Las Vegas Residency” with the Scorpions during April at Zappo’s Theater in Las Vegas, is also playing shows through summer on the “Live to Rock” Tour with Warrant, Winger and Quiet Riot, and will be kicking off their “The Gang’s All Here” concert tour in Europe starting in October.
The Mishler Theatre has more concerts lined up in the coming months – including Leonid & Friends (Chicago tribute) on June 8, Pure Prairie League on June 19, War on July 15 and An Evening with Roger McGuinn (of The Byrds) on September 9!
Enjoy the photos!
