TESLA, VINCE NEIL, JACKYL, SKID ROW Page 2
By Martin Popoff

Skid Row looked deeply skanked out, the whole band with wrecked hair, make-up, alt gear... except for new singer Johnny Solinger, who looked, and acted like a compact, efficient miniature of David Lee Roth. He sang great and was a tentative link to the idea of Baz and indeed the idea of the old Skid Row. Both a punk version (first tune) and faithful version of 'I Remember You' were delivered, along with a Ramones cover in tribute to dead Ramones. Skid Row was a close second in military mission and invasion and incursion to the manic Jackyl.

Vince Neil was not as bad as reports would have you believe. Cranking out the Crue hits, Vince did all of his usual old school stripper moves. First off, he wasn't all that carbo-loaded of a pantload-puffy as folks been saying. He didn't seem loaded either. As well, from inside stuff I've been told about how faked and recorded his vocals were, I really couldn't see where or how it could happen. I mean, it seemed pretty unpredictable when he would sing or whether he did the lame "no, you do it" mike to the crowd thing. It just didn't come off as a Britney moment, and as a result, his set was pretty good. His band was skanked like Skid Row, y'know, ironic, L.A. trash, faux art, corrupt rocker smashed pumpkin glam.

Vince took us from pleasantly hot New York upstate country redneck heat into darkness and brain cells were dying like the harming rays of the sun. Security was literally carrying guys out. Booze was king. The world was ending for the rich that day with a methodical relentless stock market march to the plumbed depths, and these Live Wires were going to follow, taunting and drooling those from better parts of the state, despite puffy, alcohol-ravaged hearts and fast-oncoming hangovers.

TESLA, VINCE NEIL, JACKYL, SKID ROW Page 3