Live Review: Sebastian Bach

It's wall-to-wall black band T-shirts inside the Forum and most brandish matching black tinnies; there must be a special on Jack Daniel's & Cola premixes, for real.

When someone drops an eye-watering strength, Jack-fuelled fart in the nosebleed section just prior to Sebastian Bach's scheduled starting time it's a cruel form of torture. Thankfully our attention is diverted toward a massive Sebastian Bach banner, which hangs miraculously way out of reach and we dream of somehow procuring it and turning it into a doona cover. A dude we noticed being aggro earlier in the evening is escorted out before showtime. 

Bach was last here for Sydney's Stone Music Fest with super-group Kings Of Chaos and his star power was undeniable. This time, he's on his honeymoon and the divine Bach takes the stage, aptly sporting an AC/DC T-shirt and the best-ever black leather vest with white leather lightning bolt appliqué (want!). His long, straightened locks call to mind Chris Lilley's Ja'mie King although Bach's vibrant blonde shade is Garnier campaign-worthy. He swings his mic from halfway down the lead like a lasso, which narrowly misses the scalps of punters and is tres dangereux (but also thrilling). And of course guitarist Brent Woods, who is a true master of the shred, whips his top off by song three. "It's a beautiful night for rock'n'roll in Melbourne, Australia," Bach hollers and many of his extended notes are waaaay longer than the one Mark Wahlberg's Rock Star character belted out in the crowd before being clocked by the lead singer of the band and dragged up on stage — those vocal warm-ups have kept Bach's voice in tip-top shape. His banter is hilarious and Bach tells us of this venue's interior, "I love the decor."

A fan presents Bach with a necklace and the singer is surprised to notice KISS dog tags on closer inspection before insisting he'll still treasure it. There are couples in the crowd properly eating each other's faces off during ballads such as 18 & Life and a few actual lighters come out to be waved around, '80s-style. Bach's image should be displayed next to the word goofy in the dictionary. Many face and neck tatts litter the mosh (even a few of those terrifying teardrop ones). We can't believe our luck when a cover of Rose Tattoo's We Can't Be Beaten finds its way into the set. "You guys just like me 'cause I'm on The Morning Show on 7," Bach jokes, before adding if we knew what he was up to two hours before that interview we'd be amazed he even made it there. Then he's on about us having to work tomorrow; apparently nobody gave him the memo that it's Friday night.

Drummer Bobby Jarzombek has annihilated his kit all night and intros Bach as "the Incredible Hulk of rock'n'roll". His own shit's been ace (Youth Gone Wild rules), but when Bach and co close with an off-the-chain AC/DC cover (TNT) — to complement Bach's tee — "Watch [us] exploooode!" He's the real rock'n'roll deal (even if he did have a recurring role on Gilmore Girls).