For all those who believe rock n’ roll is on life support, think again. Slash along with Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators crushed a 2-hour guitar-laden set that left fans screaming for more when the dust settled in Inglewood on Friday night. It was a truly epic show that pushed the boundaries of previous tours with a 21-song setlist that dug deep into the vault and then some. If you weren’t at YouTube on Friday night, you probably missed out on what many considered to be one of SMKC’s finest live performances in recent history.
Kicking off the festivities was an LA-based band known as Dead Sara, and they let it all hang out for the 30+ minutes they had on stage. Emily Armstrong’s vocals reminded me Courtney Love or Shirley Manson, and the band’s overall sound was a throwback to classic ’80s punk of yesteryear—very cool to say the least. My favorite tracks of their 7-song set were “Lights Out!” and “Gimme Gimme.” My only wish for this performance would have been to have better lighting to showcase their killer stage antics. Outside of that, it was a fun performance and I look forward to digging into their catalog further down the road.
Now on to SMKC. It’s been a while since I have seen these guys (or any of their other associated bands) live on stage. After prolonged Covid downtime, I was wondering if we were going to get the “early tour” show (where everyone works out the kinks) or a kick-ass rock and roll show (where the band leaves no doubt they are the “real deal”). No surprise here—Slash, Myles Kennedy, Todd Kerns, Brent Fitz, and Frank Sidoris literally torched the YouTube Theater with a killer performance that left permanent smiles on the thousands of fans in attendance on Friday evening.
So, what was so special about this show you may ask? Well, first off, SMKC masterfully developed a 21-song set which spanned their entire catalog (and then some). It included fan favorites such as “The River is Rising,” “Nothing to Say,” and “World on Fire.” Also included were some dope covers including Lenny Kravitz’s “Always on the Run” and Elton John’s “Rocket Man.” The 2-hour set ended just like it started—with a brilliant encore consisting of one song, “Anastasia” off of 2021’s Apocalyptic Love. It was the perfect way to end the night and SMKC once again proved that they are still the “real deal.” Rock and Roll is definitely alive in the City of Angels.
DEAD SARA
