savage animal: it rolls off the tongue

I'm not going to sit here and try to defend Skid Row. I really shouldn't have to, but the era of rock that they came out of has become the butt of many jokes. And with good reason. Remember Ratt? Dangerous Toys? Great White? Dokken?! Slaughter?!???!1112?!11 These bands were awful. Even then, when I was young, and I didn't know any better, I still thought they were awful. And while i still get a kick out of the occasional Def Leppard song, I know that for the most part, all that shit was pure schlock. But, a couple summers ago, I was driving down to see No Doubt and Blink-182 (modern schlock) with my roommate at the time, and we were both drinking beers and whiskey from a flask while barreling down some two-lane country highway. He was a big rocker kinda guy. He liked fat-bottomed girls and drum solos. He was playing a mix CD he'd made on the car stereo and "I Remember You" by Skid Row popped on. I chuckled at first, but then I realized that it really stood up. It's probably the best power ballad ever. Skid Row, the band's first album, was one of the first I'd ever paid for, so I must have liked it, and listening to one of its biggest hits just then, I realized why. Sure, they were just as pretty as the rest of their contemporaries, but they definitely had a blue collar sound to them--the kind of thing Bon Jovi tried for but never quite attained. I mean, the band is what it is. It's not rocket science. Skid Row grew up in Toms River, NJ, and I don't know what it was like back then, but my aunt lives there now and it's like a city-sized retirement community where everyone eats dinner at 3pm and drives a gray/silver Buick. But maybe back in Skid Row's day, it was a rough and tumble town. Maybe one of them worked at a train yard. Or maybe knew someone who did. I'd like to think that's true.

Tonight, I scored free tickets to go see Sebastian Bach and his band here in town. They played all the hits, and even though no one was there--and Baz pointed that out to two people who were fighting ("What are you guys fighting about? There's plenty of room for everyone. There were more people on my bus last night")--they still unleashed a year's worth of fist pumping, guitar face and drum stick twirls. There was even a drum solo. And when someone threw a blunt on stage, Baz and co. sparked that bad boy up, following suit with a cheesy one-liner. Tonight was a one-off date from their tour with the new Guns N' Roses, and I'm sure they'll play in front at least a few thousand people tomorrow. And I'm sure Baz will blow doors off of Axl, because I saw GNR in the band's prime and Rose couldn't hit a fucking note. He sure could make costume changes though.

Yeah, I'm still pissed off about it.