Rockets to Ruin/Nashville Pussy/Skid Row
3 Nov 2006
Center Stage
Atlanta, GA
By Lynda
(SugarBuzz Atlanta)
Photos By Lynda
AI had been waiting for two months for this show. This is the Revolutions Per Minute Tour: Nashville Pussy/King’s X/Skid Row. And I was not let down.
Once again, Rockets to Ruin, one of Atlanta’s best rock bands, put on another killer show. It was fun/cool to see them on a larger-than-club sized stage (I didn’t get to see them open for Paul Stanley a few weeks back). It was also cool to see them get such a warm reception from the crowd that was made up of friends and family, Nashville Pussy fans, King’s X fans, and Skid Row fans.
Nonetheless, everyone there was a rock fan, so it was only natural that the Rockets guys would be treated no differently. After all, they wouldn’t have been asked to open if they weren’t worthy, right? And as this is my third time in the last two months of reviews I’ve done where Rockets to Ruin is a featured artist, I’m running out of ways to say they rock. They rock dammit…live and recorded! And if you haven’t checked them out yet, you obviously have problems bigger than with which I can help. (myspace.com/rocketstoruin)
I didn’t know that I was a Nashville Pussy fan. In fact, I had only heard one song of theirs (on CD), and I’ve seen them live twice before and I just didn’t get into them. I’m still not a huge fan, per se, but I have a whole new outlook on them. I mean, they were rockin’ my face off pretty hard-and I had chosen to sit back in the seats during their slot.
Anyone who can grab and keep my attention (I swear I have ADD) when I’m not there specifically to see them gets big props from me. Not to mention that I’ve found a new rock goddess in guitarist Ruyter Suys. I mean, I looked at my roommate and mocked the Wayne & Garth “we’re not worthy” worship bow, and she agreed. The woman can play guitar and she has stage presence to spare. So she, combined with a good ol’ dirty southern rock/metal show, instilled new appreciation for the band. (myspace.com/nashvillepussy)
I don’t know much about King’s X-except that Hal Sparks is a huge fan and he’s way hot. Somehow I managed to miss their entire set as I chose to use that time to sit and talk with old friends out in the lobby.
Then it was time for Skid Row. The venue was 1/3 sealed off, but the remaining 2/3 was crammed to the max. I would like to give the sweaty mass of metal heads credit for my excitement during the Skids’ set, but it was my own… and it was only heightened by the show itself (ok, my unsister Sarah singing along and rockin’ out with/beside me also helped).
They covered all the bases for yet another killer show- old school hits that got the crowd singing along, newer songs that the loyal cling to, songs from their newest release “Revolutions Per Minute” (in stores now), crowd interaction, jokes, fan appreciation, killer guitar solos, the ever-present “Psychotherapy” cover, eye candy, pick tosses, etc.
Skid Row is the real deal. They haven’t lost it, or even loosened it, and I just don’t see that happening. After around 15 years of countless performances of these same hits we’ve come to revere, they’re still played with passion, and met with an eagerness that screams “first timers” from the crowd. The nostalgia, the energy, the balls out rock- that’s what Skid Row gave me that night, and I can’t thank them enough for it. (myspace.com/skidrow1)
Here's video footage I shot on my little digital camera:
Skid Row