Duff McKagan’s Loaded, Melbourne, 28 Feb 2013

Shane | 23 April 2013 | Reply

With Danko Jones
The Espy, Gershwin Room, Melbourne
By Shayne McGowan

I Missed Danko Jones. I’m a little disappointed with myself for running late and missing it, but sometimes it happens. By all reports, Danko played a fantastic set, which only rubs the salt into my wounds a little more.

Having met Duff in Melbourne the night before, I was on a Duff high. This man has been a part of my life since I was a very young boy with a copy of Appetite for Destruction. I grew up listening to his music, and Appetite, Illusions 1 +2, Believe in Me, Velvet Revolvers Contraband and Libertad and even G’n’R’s Spaghetti Incident all rate highly on my favourite albums of all time, and both Sick and The Taking by Loaded are getting further up the ladder every day.

OK, so maybe I’m not impartial enough to review a gig featuring Duff… Sue me!

This was a phenomenal 9 out of ten show. The band was in fine form tonight, very tight and looking to be enjoying the crowd in Melbourne.

There is something very special about seeing an arena rock specialist like Duff McKagan in a very intimate room. Last time he was in Australia, he was playing arenas with Velvet Revolver, and I am sure when he graces our country with his presence again, it will be back to arenas, be it with Velvet Revolver or Loaded.

The majority of tonights songs are taken from Sick and The Taking, with Lords of Abbadon, Dead Skin, and We Win being obvious highlights of the set.

As most know, Duff plays rhythm guitar in Loaded instead of his trademark bass, so although we probably all knew it would happen, one of the largest cheers of the night rang out when he strapped on the bass guitar for a few songs. Obviously the songs he played bass for were going to be Guns ‘n’ Roses songs, but instead of playing the obvious choices, he sticks to the songs that he sang on, which also included songs covered by G’n’R such as New Rose and Attitude.

Dust ‘n’ Bones from illusions 1 and So Fine from Illusions 2 were both a pleasant surprise in the set. I’m not sure than Guns ‘n’ Roses have ever done either live.

A song not originally sung by Duff, Axl pops up, when Danko Jones himself joins Duff and Loaded on stage for a hectic rendition of You’re Crazy, with both men trading vocals. It seemed to be a last minute addition to the show, possibly worked out backstage, and it was cool to see, but the ultimate highlight was when Duff broke into the opening bass line of Its So Easy, to close the night. No, Duff didn’t originally sing Its So Easy either, but he did name his fantastic biography after it.

Make no mistake that if Duff McKagan’s Loaded keep making records as great as The Taking, and playing shows as great as this, they will soon be a household name.