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Double Crush Syndrome - Dirty Thrills

 
2018-05-01- DE – Bochum - Zeche
 

| Doors: 7 pm | Show: 8 pm | Tickets: 28.00 Euro + fees |

 

Every metal/rock oriented music fan knows them… Youth Gone Wild, Monkey Business or 18 And Life . Anthems. Songs for eternity. People still freak out and shred it on the dance floors and parties get in full swing when those songs are played. SKID ROW were huge during the 90s Glam Rock era. The band’s first two records are multi-platinum certified. 10 years later, everything was dead and gone.
In 1999 SKID ROW took the chance on a new beginning. Two more albums were released but didn’t come any close to the success of the previous ones. Singers joined, singers left. Since 2017, former DragonForce singer ZP Theart fronts SKID ROW and it seems he fits well into the band. And finally, SKID ROW tour Europe again.
I never have seen SKID ROW playing live before, so I was really keen to catch them and skeptical at the same time, if the magic is still there.

Bochum has seen SKID ROW last time in 2013, where the band played the Matrix. Tonight fans were invited to join the party at the :: Zeche ::. I actually like this venue but it has its whims. Their time management really sucks! First, there was a third band not announced and this one started way earlier than the officially announced show time. All those who came on time have probably missed the opening act. What the hell is so difficult to post such info on websites and social media? It’s an easy task requiring only a second or two to get it done.

:: pics :: DIRTY THRILLS ::

Victim of the club’s bad time management was London-based outfit :: DIRTY THRILLS ::. Since I know this shit and already missed several bands at this club, I accustomed myself to arrive early. And got rewarded with an irresistible mixture of Blues, Hard Rock, Stoner and Southern Rock. That was refreshing, addictive and unique. The band put a lot of energy into their performance. Every member moved, jumped and whirled around as much as the room on stage allowed (3 bands, 3 sets of equipment set up on stage). Singer Louis James balanced his micro stand, while playing a harmonica and a tambourine. Awesome, really.
Except for the Jimi Hendrix cover of Foxy Lady, DIRTY THRILLS played only songs from the band’s sophomore, Heavy Living, released last year. This was a short but highly entertaining 25 minutes show :)

Setlist: I'll Be With You, Go Slow, Hanging Around, No Resolve, Foxy Lady (Jimi Hendrix cover), Law Man, (Interlude), The Brave

:: pics :: DOUBLE CRUSH SYNDROME ::

The equipment was cleared away quickly and the stage ready for :: DOUBLE CRUSH SYNDROME ::. I had ambivalent feelings towards this show. So far, I only encountered frontman Andy Brings as a self-centered wannabe rock star. Well… As soon as the band got on stage, the crowd went wild. No doubt, DOUBLE CRUSH SYNDROME have a strong fan-base. Furthermore, it is known that Andy Brings is a huge Skid Row fan, and… their show was recorded tonight. Said this, one can probably imagine how much hyped up he was. It was already cute again.
The band’s show was aggressive and extroverted yet quite cool. Andy is such a stage hog, so that his mates paled a bit next him. Established in 2013, the band has released its debut, Die For Rock N'Roll, last year. On this short journey tonight, they played half of the songs from this one
. To underline the meaning of the title track (and probably his life) there was no hold and Andy Brings jumped into the crowd, walked forth and back, before he entered the stage again for a last Gimme Everything.
Yes, DOUBLE CRUSH SYNDROME got frenetic response and Andy thanked everybody from the bottom of his heart. He said thank you to his band mates Slick Prolidol on bass and drummer Jason- Julian Fischer. And he said thank you to his mom, he brought on stage too. She looked like she didn’t know what to do with all that. Anyway, here I admit, it was an highly energetic, sweaty and much entertaining show!

Setlist: She’s A Pistol, Yeah! Pain!, On Top Of Mt. Whateverest, Blood On My Shirt, Can’t You Be Like Everyone Else, Die For R’n’R, Gimme Everything

:: pics :: SKID ROW ::

Nonetheless, the main actor of tonight’s amusement was :: SKID ROW ::. Peering on the setlist I only saw classics. Yay, that’s gonna be a huge show. It took some time but finally the lights went out and the Ramones rumbled out of the speakers. The guys showed up and kicked off with Slave To The Grind. And yes, indeed, the whole set consisted of songs from the first two records only. Ok, there was one “new” song from the EP series during the encore. From the EP series. By the way, when they will continue with the series?
Anyway, the Ramones returned with Psycho Therapy, sung by SKID ROW co-founder Rachel Bolan. During Monkey Business, guitarists Dave Sabo and Scott Hill got the chance to to shine with guitar battles. The old warhorses still tear it up.
And what about ZP Theart? He did a really good job there. His vocal performance is not too far away from Sebastian Bach. He just ran a bit out of power and volume at higher notes. No idea, who Bach sounded live back then though…
However, I loved the show! I was dancing on the stairs, shaking my hips and singing along :) And so did the crowd. Every song was enthusiastically welcomed. Not excessively but enthusiastic ;) The average age was high but ZP Theart was professional enough to animate the people at every time. When the crowd ran hot, he cooled the first rows down with a lot of water ;)
Way too fast the show was over and SKID ROW escaped from stage… to return a little later. Of course. Even twice.
Most time of the show, I was able to watch Mr. Brings going wild. With the very last song, Youth Gone Wild, he jumped onto stage again, sang the one or the other text line with each member of SKID ROW and then jumped into the audience for some crowd surfing. Crazy boy. I’m not sure, how long SKID ROW can live from the past but this show was pure fun and entertainment. That was asskicking! Loved it!

Setlist: Blitzkrieg Bop, Slave To The Grind, Sweet Little Sister, Piece Of Me, Livin' On A Chain Gang, Big Guns, 18 And Life, Makin' A Mess, Rattlesnake Shake, Psycho Therapy, Quicksand Jesus, Monkey Business // I Remember You, We Are The Damned // Get The Fuck Out, Youth Gone Wild

 

story & pics © Dajana & Dajana Winkel • Photography