Live Reviews : Skid Row, Ugly Kid Joe & Dead City Ruins @ The Palace Theatre, Melbourne 25/04/2014

Images: Len Panecki
Words: Greg Luke

Returning to Melbourne for the first time in five years, hair metal heavyweights Skid Row headlined a memorable show at the Palace on Friday night. Supported by Ugly Kid Joe for their first trip to Melbourne since 1994 and local up and comers, Dead City Ruins, the show was a great representation of linkages between the old and the new in the crowded genre that is hard rock. There was a time in the early 1990’s when Skid Row was riding the late wave of hair metal success, coming off two highly successful albums from the preceding three to four years and plying a rawer and arguably musically technical style than their hair metal contempories at the time. Fast forward twenty years and the chemistry between the remaining original members hasn’t changed although the size of the crowds has.

The raw and dirty music stylings of Dead City Ruins kicked things off to progressively building applause. These local hard rock nuts have steadily built an envious reputation for no nonsense live tunes on the back of an energetic touring schedule both locally and overseas over the last few years following the band’s original incarnation in the UK. Their guitar and overall live sound was simply stunning and I was blown away by their stage presence. Duelling guitars, huge vocals and well written tracks for a live audience make these guys a force to be reckoned with. Combine this with some well placed commentary on the plight of live music in Melbourne and a sincere tribute to our fallen diggers and they had officially stolen the show. All tracks were highlights, especially those including alternate guitar solos between Thomas Cain and Sean Blanchard, both highly accomplished guitarists in their own right. The vocals of frontman Jake Wiffen were something to behold (and hear).

Ugly Kid Joe opened with tracks predominantly from their most recognisable and commercially successful album, America’s Least Wanted. Whilst I’ve never been a massive fan, there were clearly a few punters who had come just to see these guys play given their extended absence from the shores of Oz. Their live sound was actually impeccable and the most recognisable tracks included Neighbour, Cats in the Cradle and Everything About You. They also provided fitting ANZAC day tributes and to local rock gods AC/DC via a cover of If You Want Blood.

Skid Row surprisingly opened with a more recent track, however it didn’t take long to revert to their bread and butter, their self titled album. Front man Johnny Solinger showed a great chemistry with the original line up of Dave “The Snake” Sabo, Scotti Hill, Rachel Bolan and the relatively recent addition of Rob Hammersmith. One of the reasons that I always liked Skid Row was for the prowess of their guitarists (Sabo and Hill) and this show was a great example of their live abilities (following on from their most recent show in Melbourne in 2009). The live sound was awesome and it was great to hear some of the guitar harmonies from their back catalogue played live.

There were no surprises with the latter parts of the set list in that it comprised numerous tracks from their most successful album (self titled – Skid Row) and the selected hits from their second platinum album Slave to the Grind. The standout tracks in the set included Big Guns, 18 and Life, Monkey Business, Psycho Therapy (Ramones cover), Highway to Hell (AC/DC Cover) and Slave to the Grind. They finished with the bullet proof Youth Gone Wild, a fluid reminder of one of the greatest things hair metal gave us, virtuosic guitar work of the highest order.

It was also a sad note for the Palace, being likely one of the last rock / metal shows that will ever again grace the walls of this venue. In its early incarnations as the Metro, local bands were always strongly supported. Having been to many shows at this venue dating back to when I was a fresh faced teenager trying to sneak into Goo, it’s sad to see another live music venue (particularly a medium sized one) fall to the wiles and insatiable appetite of the ever present development dollar in inner city Melbourne.

All in all, this was a great show, full of surprising quality and reminders of selected parts of the soundtrack of my youth . If you purport to be a fan of hard rock or metal in any way, go and see Dead City Ruins next time they play in Melbourne, you won’t be disappointed.

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