Words by Stephen Barry and Images by Deb Kloeden
A fine balmy evening in Adelaide and a good crowd assembled early at the Entertainment Centre for a night with rock guitar legend Slash.
Opening up proceedings were Aussie hard rock legends Rose Tattoo who did not let us down with their straight-ahead, no nonsense guitar driven rock. These stalwarts let us have it in true style. Vocalist Angry Anderson still has the voice and the stage presence as he conducts the crowd with an endearing touch. They produce a huge sound that definitely got everyone pumping and warmed up for what was to come. I would have loved it if they could have played longer but it was great to get a good 40-odd minutes of some classic songs. Bad Boy for Love and Rock n Roll Outlaw are among the highlights.
Band:
Angry Anderson – Lead Vocals
Paul DeMarco – Drums
Mark Evans – Bass Guitar
Mick Arnold – Slide Guitar
Ronnie Simmons – Guitar
From a hard rock n roll opening next came The Struts. More pop rock and definitely a lot younger. The difference between the old school and the new school was immediately evident, from tattoos and battle jackets to frilly shirts and hair flicking with the frontman doing his best to continue to warm up the increasing crowd. Some solid musicianship from the band was perhaps let down a little by the overt showmanship, leaving the older less mainstream punters shaking their heads. “Put your hands in the air” and “Sing along and pogo with us” was a little patronising to the crowd and detracted from an otherwise pretty tight and slick outfit but they received a pretty good response from the crowd especially those up the front.
Band:
Luke Spiller – Vocals
Adam Slack – Guitar
Jed Elliott – Bass Guitar
Gethin Davies – Drums
A war dance thumping warned everyone to come in from the bar and outside areas, as the main act of the evening was about to hit the stage. The arrival of the icon! Looking majestic in ripped jeans, bandana, chain in the pockets, the aviators, and that hat he whipped everyone into a frenzy!
Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators stood tall and proud alongside Slash like a brotherhood, and it wasn’t long before the tight rock n roll show was launched. The variety of songs, both old and new were driven into the crowd who ebbed and flowed with the apt and not overdone light show. But when the spotlight was directed towards the master guitarist, whose signature Les Paul guitars were in fine tone and glistening, it was clear who a lot of people came to see. During the show Slash was handed a variety of his guitars, the above mentioned Les Paul’s in many colours and tuning combinations and also in the mix was a black Flying V followed by a polished wooden Explorer would have had the marketing team at Gibson guitars licking their lips! I’m sure every muso in the crowd was doing the same.
Most tracks featured Slash solos and those huge riffs, but it wasn’t until two-thirds of the way through the set that the crowd were treated to an 8-minute solo as he moved all over the fretboard in fine fashion. Myles assumed some rhythm guitar and the Conspirators played a tight and tough backing track behind the icon that is Slash. It was a delight to see and hear and the crowd got exactly what they came for…an incredible rock show! Myles, in fine voice, is an excellent front man who has that x-factor without trying to be so. He left the stage a couple of times so that Todd Kerns could take lead vocals and he did not let the team down. His bass playing was on the money and a different but very capable voice to Myles changed things up a little. It was a nice touch.
After hour and 45 minutes the band thanked the enthusiastic and vocal crowd and left the stage. A few short minutes and they were back on, with a steel pedal slide guitar now set up for Slash right of stage. The drummer appears left of stage on a keyboard with a new drummer appearing for the encore. Another nice touch. A big surprise was a cover of Elton John’s “Rocket Man” with Slash dancing all over that slide guitar. Then it was back to the regular positions and instruments for some more hard rocking fun as the band finished with a bang and another superb Slash guitar show.
The Conspirators joined each other for a bow and to send some guitar picks into the crowd then exited stage right. It had been a night of great rock and roll and the chance to witness a living legend and his array of beautiful axes. The rest of Australia are in for a treat, this is well worth a night out!
Band:
Slash – Lead Guitar/Talkbox
Myles Kennedy – Lead Vocals
Todd Kerns – Bass Guitar/Backing Vocals
Brent Fitz – Drums/Percussion
Frank Sidoris – Rhythm Guitar
Setlist:
1.The River Is Rising
2. Driving Rain
3. Halo
4. Back From Cali (Slash song)
5. Actions Speak Louder Than Words
6. Wicked Stone
7. Bent to Fly
8. Don’t Damn Me (Guns N’ Roses cover) (Todd Kerns on vocals)
9. April Fool
10. Fill My World
11. Doctor Alibi (Slash song) (Todd Kerns on vocals)
12. World on Fire
Encore:
13. Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time) (Elton John cover)
12. Anastasia
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I left the Teaching game in 2014 to follow my dream of becoming a concert photographer, combining my loves of music and photography. Based in rural South Australia, I travel the country photographing artists, bands and favourite festivals. I love catching that magic moment!
