His look is one of the most immediately recognizable (and often replicated, judging by tonight’s audience) and his sound is equally iconic. I dare say an argument could be made that Slash is the last Guitar God. He certainly lived up to that title last night at Auckland’s Vector Arena. Thousands of fans, many wearing Slash-like head gear, trouped into the venue to witness a dazzling display of guitar pyrotechnics.
Slash and his band, The Conspirators, featuring vocalist Myles Kennedy, hit the stage a minute before 9pm and treated the fans to 21 songs over the next two hours, including six from Appetite For Destruction. While Kennedy is a very capable front man, its clear he got the gig because of his vocal similarity to Axl Rose. I must say, tonight, I think I preferred being in the company of Kennedy…at least I didn’t have to wait long hours into the night before he felt “inspired” to perform. Plus, Kennedy seemed to have a genuine interest in pleasing the fans.
But of course, the real focus was on Slash. He looked and sounded just like he should. He took centre-stage during just about every song, cracking out dirty riffs and soaring solos.
In addition to the six GnR songs, the set list included one from Velvet Revolver (Slither), one from Slash’s Snakepit (Beggars &Hangers- On) with the majority coming from the last two Slash solo albums.
All the pre-requisite rock moves were in evidence…fists were pumped, mic stands raised above the head, picks were tossed to the crowd and hands were waved during the slow songs.
The fist pumping started early with the GnR tune Nightrain turning up as the second song . Mr Brownstone was another early crowd pleaser, with Slash’s wah-wah pedal used to full effect. Beggars & Hangers- On followed, and it seemed somewhat unfocussed, but then the moody Not For Me, from Apocalyptic Love got things back on the right track, with the crowd clapping along. Bass player Todd Kerns briefly took the spotlight to sing Dr Alibi. He’s an OK vocalist….very enthusiastic…but a bit shrill for my taste. I was happy to have Kennedy back.
Probably the evening’s highlight (other than the inevitable Sweet Child O’ Mine) came during Slash’s extended solo set that found him dipping in to the Theme From The Godfather before he and the band ripped in to a thrilling version of Anastasia.
After Sweet Child came a stomping version of You’re A Lie before the regular set ended with Slither.
Nearly two hours after they started, Slash and the boys weren’t quite done. They returned with By The Sword and then sent the fans home with Paradise City. You really couldn’t ask for more.
Marty Duda
Click here to view 13th Floor photographer Michael Flynn’s photo gallery:
Slash set list:
- Halo
- Nightrain
- Ghost
- Standing In The Sun
- Back From Cali
- Mr Brownstone
- Beggars & Hangers-On
- Not For Me
- Rocket Queen
- Dr Alibi
- Out Ta Get Me
- No More Heroes
- Starlight
- Apocalyptic Love
- Theme From The Godfather/Instrumental Jam
- Anastasia
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- You’re A Lie
- Slither
- By The Sword
- Paradise City
The sound at CBS Canterbury Arena for the Chch show was really good. I usually wear earplugs to any gig, but by the end of the night I’d taken the plugs out, and it was well balanced and didn’t leave my ears ringing!!
I got some cool pics of the Chch gig here: http://sixstringsamurai.co.nz/2012/08/20/your-first-time-and-apocalyptic-love-live/
Not as good as the pro shots of course but I thought they turned out really well, all considered!
Totally agree with you Dan. Sound was great, but the lighting was s**t! Couldn’t see what was on the stage (totally black) and the large spotlights at the back of the stage were far too bright, which made even looking in the direction of the stage uncomfortable, to say the least, for most of the concert. Could have been anyone or anything on stage with a recording! Shame because the music was fantastic.
Good times! I will disagree that Myles has similar vocals to Axl, though. While Myles can certainly hit that whole vocal range and more, he’s a much cleaner-styled vocalist than Axl, who is all throat screech – which I love, but you know, it’s a whole different style.
I really enjoyed the pics, what an awesome job to have, being a rock photographer! I got some decent ones from the crowd when I was close to the barrier but what I’d give to get up that close! I went to the Christchurch gig, which in retrospect was a good choice because they played Fall to Pieces (Velvet Revolver) – pretty much my favourite song of all time.
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WOW!! Best concert I’ve been to in a long time!!
My first time at Vector Arena and it looks to be an ok place. My husband and teenager elect to sit in the stand while I bravely (or stupidly) jostle for a place up front.
Kara Gordon kicked the show off and we hadn’t heard him before but he did a really good job! He’s kind of loose and a bit all over the place, but
there’s no denying the guy plays a mean guitar!
Bang on 9pm Slash, Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators take the stage ….. Woooooooo Hooooooo!!!!
Straight into “Halo”, and WOW, the guys are all looking and sounding amazing!
(At this point, me trying hard to stay upright and not slip in spilt beer. Wish I was tall, intimidating and male) or just tall.
Unfortunately, my vision was often obscured and didn’t get to see my idol all that much, but was quite happy to watch Myles and Todd who both sing with a lot of passion and energy, they kept us entertained in between Slash’s most excellent guitar solos, Anastasia – WOW!, Rocket Queen was sublime as was the slow bluesy jam. Have never heard the man play so well, it’s true that he HAS improved with age. Slash truly is a dedicated performer and you can tell that he just loves what he does, some of his solos just went on and on and on.
Felt like I had experienced a show by guys who’ve had decades of playing together – they’re just all awesome at what they do and their sound is really tight. LOVED the mix of the old classics with the new, the songs played from Apocalyptic Love sound great live and hold their own against Slash’s more well known material…. Can’t say enough about the awesome Mr Kennedy – he sounds so good and looks a LOT more comfortable out front now days (miss his guitar playing though) Todd Kerns (tall vampirish bass player) would be an excellent addition to ANY band – he sings and does all the INSANE harmonies. Check out his blog http://www.toddkerns.com/ – he writes about his touring experiences with Slash and co.
Frank Sidoris the new guy is great as is Brent Fitz the hard working drummer.
Personally I can’t wait for a new album from this bunch of guys and look forward to their next trip to NZ.
We left on a high and even forked out the $50.00 per t-shirt without moaning. Too much.
Great concert. Myles Kennedy was brilliant as was Slash. The thing that annoyed me was the lighting and the fact that for approx 75% of the concert we could not see the band performing. It was dark on stage and there were sets of lights on stage facing directly out into the crowd. For most part we could have been listening to a live concert on cd….we pay to see Slash etc and dont get me wrong, what we did see was awesome, just a bit more would have been nice.