If you grew up during the 1980’s rock music
boom, then you know that there were a few very distinguished voices among the
many bands that rocked the world during that decade. Near the top of that list would have to be
the man who sold out the Théâtre Beanfield this past Friday night, Sebastian Bach. Back then he was the front man for
one of the hottest bands of the era, Skid Row.
I first learned of them from watching Video Hits on CBC (hello, Samantha
Taylor, wherever you are!) where their hit singles ‘18 & Life’, ‘I Remember
You’ and ‘Youth Gone Wild’ were staples of the time. Their second release, Slave To The Grind
featured a heavier sound and was one of the handful of cassettes that I killed
from overplaying. Sadly, things took a
turn shortly after that and Bach & Band split up. Skid Row still performs to this day, but
from
here out, we will focus on our Friday night headliner, Sebastian Bach. The 1980’s were a special time for rock
music. Hearing Sebastian Bach perform those hit
songs once more after so many years was a treat. His most recent album, Child Within The Man,
was released earlier this month, and the show opened with the first single that was released off the album, 'What Have I Got To Lose'. We then detoured in to the past as a barrage
of Skid Row hits brought the crowd to their feet. It’s rather appropriate that Sebastian Bach’s current
album is titled ‘Child Within The Man’ as it was very evident as the night wore
on that there were a lot of inner children being released from their adult
shells. That goes for the singer on
stage as well. Sebastian Bach was
beaming through the entire set and for those wondering, he sounded great,
stating to have more problems seeing the set list than 
singing the songs It’s often said in show reviews that the
concert had it all. Sebastian Bach took
that phrase to a different level. Not
only did he and his band rock the building to its foundations, but after
mentioning that his drummer for the evening had also drummed for Frankie Valli
& The Four Seasons, he crooned an excellent rendition of their hit
‘December 1963 (Oh What A Night)’. There
was also a book signing on the night as one fan brought Sebastian Bach’s autobiography in
to the show with her. She managed to get
close enough to the stage to be noticed, and went home with a cherished memento
and surely an unforgettable memory. This first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 6400 at 123mm. The second photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 6400 at 90mm and the third photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 6400 at 70mm. Here are several more photographs of Sebastian Bach taken during his performance.
f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 6400 at 200mm
f/3.2, 1/400sec, ISO 6400 at 200mm
f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 6400 at 200mm
f/3.2, 1/30sec, ISO 6400 at 145mm
f/3.2, 1/250sec, ISO 6400 at 200mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 6400 at 200mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 6400 at 123mm
f/3.2, 1/200sec, ISO 6400 at 90mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 6400 at 165mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 6400 at 150mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 6400 at 115mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 6400 at 180mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 6400 at 125mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 6400 at 200mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 6400 at 200mm
f/3.2, 1/125sec, ISO 6400 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/1250sec, ISO 6400 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/320sec, ISO 6400 at 145mm
f/3.2, 1/500sec, ISO 6400 at 123mm
f/3.2, 1/1250sec, ISO 6400 at 85mm
f/3.2, 1/1000sec, ISO 6400 at 140mm
f/3.2, 1/800sec, ISO 6400 at 70mm
f/3.2, 1/1250sec, ISO 6400 at 200mm
If you'd like to find out more about
Sebastian Bach and his music, you can do so by following the link to his website. If you would like to see the photographs of
The Bites, who opened the show, you can do so by following the link. Many thanks to Andrea Faulk and Marcee Rondan of
SRO PR and Christopher Gonda of
V13 Media for getting me a pass to shoot the show. As usual, it is very much appreciated.
The Sebastian Bach concert was the absolute definition of
fun. I don’t usually stick around to see
complete shows of bands I’m shooting, but it was such a great blast from the
past to hear these songs from my youth that I just couldn’t tear myself away
from the building. Sebastian Bach will
be touring through the month of June.
Get a ticket to the show and let the child within you out for an evening
of fun.
Summer officially begins on June 21st, but in the borough of Greenfield Park, part of the larger city of Longueuil, Summer begins a few weeks early. The first festival of the Summer Season, The Longueuil Ribfest, took place from May 31st to June 2nd and I had the honour of photographing several of the musical acts. The first group I got to shoot on the afternoon of the 1st was Old Habits. They've been performing at the Longueuil Ribfest for a couple of years now and this was my first chance to photograph them. I ended up missing the beginning of their set as I had to park a little further away than planned, but I got to catch about half of their songs and classic country music covers. Their singer/bassist also has the most 'Country' hat that I have ever photographed. Speaking of which, the first photograph was taken at f/3.2, 1/160sec, ISO 100 at 67mm. Here are some more photographs of their performance.
