Everyone remembers the band that opens their eyes to the wider world of music. The first band they found that led them down the path that would help define their music tastes for the rest of their lives. For me that was Motley Crue. But how many people remember the second band that helped cement that this is the sound that I am into. For me, this second band was Skid Row. Paired together, Motley Crue and Skid Row helped me dive deeper into the world of hair and glam metal, and truly led me down the path to the overall world of metal music. I have been fortunate to have seen Motley Crue three times now, but Skid Row has always eluded me. Announcing The Gang’s All Here Tour, Skid Row was coming to the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA with Buckcherry and STRETCH. All three bands I’ve yet to see live, and this seemed like the perfect lineup to finally correct that.

Opening the night was a band called STRETCH, that I had never heard of. None the less, I always like showing up for the opening bands when I can, because you never know who will surprise you. This was a show I was very thankful to have shown up for early, as Stretch surprised and delighted every unsuspecting person in the crowd. Helmed by a man known as Stretch, I could only describe this man as: What if Danny DeVito’s character Frank Reynolds from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia started a British glam rock band. Stretch was just as chaotic and zany as Frank himself, from wearing a British military style jacket with a superhero cape flowing off the back all the while in cargo shorts, to pulling out drinks and props a la Carrot Top from a makeshift road case, to storming around the stage with an 8ft tall scepter adorning a fist throwing devil horns. With a caricature this wild, you would think the rest of his band was just as off kilter. Surprisingly, the rest of the band were the straight men to STRETCH'S chaos, which just made the man stand out even more. Because just for the hell of it, he pulled out a Bob Ross plushie that sat precariously on his mic stand for the second half of the set. I was able to talk to STRETCH about that, and his Niece won it and thought it would make a good stage prop for his show. This little girl was a genius! They played songs that included “Propane,” “Carnivore of Chaos,” “I HATE the HOA!,” “Flavortown,” and “Eating My Way Across the USA.” Stretch was able to successfully have the audience in fits of laughter, while still genuinely rocking out and headbanging to the music. They do not get on the road too often, but if you happen to see Stretch coming to a town near you, I would not recommend missing this show.

Up next was a band that I have been following for quite some time, that being Buckcherry. Though as much as I love their first few albums they put out, when I think of lead singer Josh Todd, my mind always first goes to his cameo in the movie The New Guy. He was only there for a couple minutes, but it has lived rent free in my mind for decades, and probably helped me get more into Buckcherry. Seeing Todd finally on stage, he still looks the same as he did when the band started out. Throughout the first few songs he stripped out of his coat and shirt, riling up the crowd who ate up his appearance. Flanked by Stevie D. and Billy Rowe mixing it up on lead and rhythm guitar and handling the melodies and jams of the band with perfection. While bassist Kelly LeMieux and drummer Francis Ruiz had to be the most animated people on stage. LeMieux could barely be contained by the limits of the stage, while Ruiz was slamming away on his kit with glee. Buckcherry mixed up their setlist with hits from across their discography like “Lit Up,” “So Hott,” “Somebody Fucked Me Up,” “Out of Line,” “Ridin,” “Hellbound,” “Tell ‘Em It’s Christmas,” “Let’s Get Wild,” “Sorry,” “Gluttony,”  and ending with “Crazy Bitch” that bled into a medley of “Bad Girls” by Donna Summers and “Proud Mary” by CCR/Tina Turner. The ending medley hyped the crowd up to full excitement as the band danced around the stage through the song. Buckcherry ended their set with fans screaming, wanting to hear more.

As the set change music played, I along with a packed house of old school metal fans eagerly waited one of the biggest bands to blow up off the Sunset Strip. The stage lay barren, but over the speakers we could hear the frantic opening riff of “Slave to the Grind” build, as it got into the melody of the rhythm the band hit the stage decked out as if they were still gutter punks trying to make it on the Sunset Strip. Now singing for the band, Erik Grönwall had just as powerful a voice as you would need to sing Skid Row songs, and a stage presence that drew you into him. Though not ones to be overshadowed by the lead singer, guitarists Dave “The Snake” Sabo, Scotti Hill, and bassist Rachel Bolan all had the same energy I could imagine they had in their 20s. Interacting with every single member of the crowd, pointing out anyone who could be seen singing along to the songs, and thriving off that rush of the fan energy. Drummer Rob Hammersmith could even be spotted jumping out of his seat just to add extra oomph to his strikes on the kit. It was a beautiful sight to see just how connected every member of the band was with their fans, and how dedicated they truly are to giving them a show they deserve.

As an acoustic guitar sat on stage, the crowd’s energy could be felt building as they knew what song came next. As Sabo strummed the opening chords to “I Remember You” cell phone lights came up, and you could feel a sense of love in the air. Around me were a few female fans probably in their 20s, jumping, screaming, and singing this song with all the emotion they had in their heart. Making me imagine that they were introduced to Skid Row and this song through their dad growing up. Whether that is true or not, it was a heart warming thought to have while seeing the generational love all fans have for Skid Row. The rest of their set was just as touching with classics like “Big Guns,” “18 and Life,” “Piece of Me,” “Livin’ on a Chain Gang,” “Resurrected,” “Psycho Therapy,” “Time Bomb,” “Monkey Business,” “The Gang’s All Here,” and ending with the immortal “Youth Gone Wild.” With the final song Grönwall jumped onto the barricade getting up close and personal with the front row, letting them sing the song. For a band that’s been around for nearly four decades Skid Row put on a show with love and energy that some younger bands don’t possess.

Teenage Matt had such an amazing time seeing Skid Row, more than I would have expected walking into the House of Blues that night. Growing up and discovering my love for metal, “Slave to the Grind” to me was the heaviest song I’d ever heard at that point and it drove me to find more music with that kind of energy. It’d been a while since I’ve blown out my voice singing along at a show, but once the band hit the stage and their music started playing, I was the lead singer of the band and had to give the crowd my all. The Gang’s All Here Tour is just getting started with some more December show dates, and then a run in March. With Buckcherry and the zaniness of STRETCH, any classic rock or hair metal fan deserves to make it out to this show.