On a hot and humid night in north New Jersey, ‘80s hard rockers Skid Row return for a home town show, accompanied by Buckcherry and Kurt Deimer. At the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, fans traveled from all over to see the 5th show of the second leg of this stacked rock n’ roll tour.
Kicking off the evening was a new, rapidly-growing, rock artist by the name of Kurt Deimer. Releasing his debut EP in 2021, he has hit the road for several tours supporting legendary bands like Tesla, Drowning Pool and Yngwie Malmsteen and most recently Skid Row and Buckcherry. His set opened with the trailer of his upcoming movie, Hellbilly Hollow, playing on the screen at the back of the stage. The band took the stage, Deimer in the center on a platform, and began with Dance. Eerie synth plays over the PA, a riff begins and Deimer starts singing. It’s Have A Cigar, originally composed by Pink Floyd.
The band’s resident rhythm section features bassist Brendan Hengle and drummer Dango Cellan, both of whom eloquently held down the groove for the evening. For this tour, Deimer enlisted two shredding internet-sensations; Sammy Boller and Brandon Paul. The group plays one of their 2022 singles, titled Hero, dedicated to frontline workers, first responders, military and veterans. Deimer and his band take it down a bit for Whatcha Sayin’. The audience raises their flashlights in the air, waving them back and forth around the theater and the band gives all they’ve got onstage. Two more songs pass by and Kurt Deimer closes the set with just as much energy as the very beginning. This ever-rising rock artist is certainly not one to miss.
Orange County’s beloved down n’ dirty rock n’ roll boys, Buckcherry, took the stage around 8PM. Their set had infectious energy right out of the gate, beginning with their classic song about lovin’ the cocaine, Lit Up. The group has curated a set that gives the audience a taste of each record and in turn, each era the band has seen. These 5 guys have been to hell and back and live to tell the tale, that’s what Buckcherry stands for. Moving from So Hott to their fuck the world anthem Somebody Fucked With Me, frontman Josh Todd loses his jacket and shirt, showing off his full body tattoos. From Buckcherry’s Time Bomb album, they played Ridin’ and as Todd put it, big dick motherfuckin Porno Star.
The middle of their set included two songs from their new album, Vol. 10, Let’s Get Wild and the group’s rendition of Bryan Adams’ smash-hit Summer of ‘69. Buckcherry closed out their set with their very own smash hits, Sorry and Crazy Bitch.
Jersey boys Skid Row take the stage to a packed hometown crowd. The guys ran out onto the stage playing the song that is regarded as the heaviest ‘80s hair metal song, Slave To The Grind. Next up is The Threat, another heavy tune from the band’s sophomore release. The crowd throws their fists in the air and sing along for a sleazy treat, Big Guns.
Now it was time to showcase the band’s newest addition, frontman Erik Grönwall. The classic ‘80s ballad 18 & Life showcases their young singer’s range and versatility perfectly. Bassist Rachel Bolan begins the iconic bassline to Piece Of Me as he takes his place on the subwoofer at the front of the stage. He gets a pair of underwear tossed at him from the audience. As Bolan throws the garment over his shoulder, he has a chuckle, shakes his head and walks back behind his mic. Frontman Erik Grönwall takes his place on the subwoofer stage left, picks up the underwear and rubs it all over his face. For a moment in time we’re transported back to 1989 when girls were fawning over rock n’ roll bands across the country.
Two more from STTG; the gritty heavy metal tune Livin’ On A Chain Gang and the mellower single from the album, Quicksand Jesus. The second half of the set showed off Skid Row’s biggest hits as well as material from their latest album, The Gang’s All Here. The band has had several frontmen throughout their 3 decades together, but this young energetic powerhouse Grönwall really breathes new life into the group. Skid Row has entered a new era and it’s fiery and edgy and totally rock n’ roll in every way.
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