The year was 1987. I was in Junior High. A friend walks up to me in the hallway between classes and gives me a cassette tape with “Appetite for Destruction” scribbled across it. He says to me, “Listen to this; it will change your life.”
This was a few months before “Welcome to the Jungle” became a staple on MTV, and many months before “Sweet Child o’ Mine” would become the biggest song in the world. Little did I know the juggernaut of rock that I held in my hands would become the biggest selling debut album of all time. This record was the soundtrack to my adolescence and the mystique of the whiskey-drinking, Les-Paul-slinging, top-hat-wearing, rock ‘n’ roll god was the driving force behind it.
Fast forward to 2012 and last week at the Fox Theater in Oakland. Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators played to a packed house and came out of the gate all guns a’blazin. The band played songs from 2012’s Apocalyptic Love while mixing in some classics from Slash’s past. The band blasted into the GnR classic “Nighttrain” on the third song ,and at that point the crowd knew that they were in for a hard rock extravaganza.
Lead vocalist Myles Kennedy has no problem hitting the notes perfectly. I like to call this guy the Celine Dion of rock as his voice is flawless, hitting notes that no other singer in rock ‘n’ roll can hit today live. He makes it look like it’s so easy, no pun intended.
I saw Guns n Roses back in 1992 at the infamous Riverport Riot (check out the full story here), but this is the first time in more than twenty years that I have seen Slash. The release of Apocalyptic Love earlier this year is really what I refer to as his first true solo record. Slash is smart enough to know that he needs a stellar group of rock musicians to fully support his legacy of GnR and Velvet Revolver, so I was truly impressed when it was announced that Myles Kennedy would be his official lead singer.
Kennedy is one of the most versatile voices in rock music today. He was selected to jam with Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones for some Zeppelin songs before joining Slash full time, and way before that he was in a little band called The Mayfield Four. The Mayfield Four made a record in 2001 called Second Skin for Epic Records, which is one of the best rock albums you have never heard before, and in my opinion the greatest rock album to come out of the new millennium. It’s truly a shame that this one did not get the recognition it deserves.
It’s a rare thing to see a rock band of this magnitude touring with such an impressive catalog of music to draw from. These guys killed it, and everyone in the room could feel the energy radiating from the stage. The tour de force of defining moments culminated with a new direction for one of rock ‘n’ roll’s most celebrated guitar virtuosos.
Other highlights of the set included “Standing in the Sun,” “Halo,” and “You’re a Lie” from the new record, as well as GnR classics “Out to Get Me,” “Mr. Brownstone,” “Welcome to the Jungle,” and “Paradise City.” It was also quite the surprise to hear the band pull out “Slither” from Velvet Revolver’s debut album several years ago.
Were you at the show last week? What do you think of Slash’s latest album? Please join the conversation in the comments below.
