It was my first time at Toad’s Place in 8 or 9 years. The Iconic Toad’s Place marquee was unmistakable as I pulled past the venue. Their motto is “Where the Legends play” and, back in the day, they had artists such as The Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Slayer, Bob Dylan, and Joe Walsh perform there. Sebastian’s tour is dubbed “Bach on the Road” and it’s ironic that to get to this rescheduled show they had to travel from Minneapolis Minnesota 2 days earlier. The line wasn’t that long to get in but the temperatures were around freezing and everyone was anxious to get in and warm up. There were many familiar faces in line.
The supporting act for this rescheduled date was Sweet Sienna, a newer rock band from New York City. Recently they recorded a song, “Dust on a Grave” with many guest artists from 80’s hair-metal bands, such as Lorraine Lewis, George Lynch, Jack Russell, John Corabi, Joel Hoekstra, and Matt Starr. The band is fronted by Austin Tucker, who plays keyboards and sings lead vocals front and center. He can really belt out the lyrics and hit the notes. He mentioned how 2 of the other members have only been in the band a short period of time. They had a solid 7 song performance of originals and cover songs.
Sweet Sienna is:
Austin Tucker – Keyboards, Vocals
Alan Christopher – Guitar
Setlist:
- 1.) Loaded Up
2.) No Reflection
3.) 30 Days
4.) Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd Cover)
5.) Beth (Kiss Cover)
6.) Lay it on the Line (Triumph Cover)
7.) Dust on a Grave
Sebastian Bach ran out on stage singing his title track off Slave to the Grind banging his head and whipping his hair around. Sebastian was having a blast on stage and sounding great. After the second song, “The Threat”, Sebastian said that this tour he was doing the entire Slave to the Grind album, but if that was all he did it would only be like 45 minutes long. “Wah, Wah, Waaaahhhhh”(like a Wah pedal). So, he decided to throw in a few favorites off of other albums. He then went into “Big Guns” and “Sweet Little Sister”. Sebastian said “F**k 2020 and F**k Covid” and had everyone flip the bird. Then he said Happy Thanksgiving and how he is thankful to be back on stage, thankful for family, and how the guy in the front row with the p**n hub hat was thankful for his internet connection. Throughout the night he handed out water bottles to the younger fans in the front row. My daughter’s friend was in the front row at her first rock concert ever and was a recipient of a water bottle. She was grinning ear to ear!
Jeremy Colson kills it on the drums and plays up to the crowd. After a few more songs from Slave to the Grind, they went into “Beggar’s Day” and the crowd went nuts for “18 and Life”. At one point, Rob De Luca was trying to get a reaction out of the security guard that was leaning on the stage by placing his guitar on the guards shoulder. The guy barely flinched, just reacting with a smirk. Sebastian paid tribute to Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell by playing “In a Darkened Room” their favorite Skid Row song and then throwing a Pantera sweatshirt into the crowd that was draped on the bass drum. He also paid tribute to several other musicians that have passed such as Eddie Van Halen, Chris Cornell, and Neal Peart.
Continuing on with his Dad Joke like banter, he said that a lot of people ask how he can still sing as he is getting older. His reply to them was that he’s not worried about singing, he’s worried about seeing the setlist on the stage. (Insert drums, ba dum bum tsssss). Now he belted out a bunch of short clips of Ac/Dc, Rush, Guns ‘n Roses etc. After playing a few more tunes from Slave to the Grind, they ended the set with “Youth Gone Wild”. After leaving the stage, Sebastian came back out and went back and forth with the crowd asking them if they wanted him to get the f**k out? After goofing around for a bit, he realized they wanted him to sing “Get the F**k Out” for the encore. Everybody was singing along to this anthem and when it was done, they did just that.
I have to say that Sebastian Bach exceeded my expectations in his vocal ability and stage presence. The rest of the band nailed it as well. I would definitely go to see them again and you should too. Put aside your preconceived notions and give him a chance.
Sebastian Bach is:
Sebastian Bach – Vocals
Jeremy Colson – Drums
Rob De Luca – Bass Guitar
Brent Woods – Guitars
Setlist:
1.) Slave to the Grind
2.) The Threat
3.) Big Guns
4.) Sweet Little Sister
5.) Quicksand Jesus
6.) Psycho Love
7.) Beggar’s Day
8.) 18 and Life
9.) Livin’ on a Chain Gang
10.) Riot Act
11.) In a Darkened Room
12.) Creepshow
13.) Mudkicker
14.) Wasted Time
15.) Monkey Business
16.) I Remember You
17.) Youth Gone Wild
18.) Get the F**k Out
Find Sebastian Bach:
Find Sweet Sienna:
Music photography is my passion! Live in the moment, Capture the moment.
