LIVE: SLASH featuring MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS – March 25, 2022

Venue: Ruth Eckerd Hall

City: Clearwater, FL

Dates: March 25, 2022

Review and Photographs by: Todd “Toddstar” Jolicoeur (www.toddstarphotography.com)

Don’t need any drawn-out explanation or reason to cover this show… it’s F*cking SLASH!  What else need be said about one of the guitar heroes to pop out of the late 80’s and 90’s during and after his tenue in his day band Guns ‘n’ Roses, solo projects / bands, and countless appearances on other recordings.  I couldn’t wait for this show and was aptly rewarded for my time and efforts.  The evening kicked off with a bonus of opener Tash Neal taking the stage with his band and rocking out for his allotted time, warming up the crowd for what was to come.  The man himself and his cohort of Myles Kennedy, Todd Kerns, Brent Fitz, and Frank Sidoris took the stage like clockwork and tore immediately into one of my favorite tracks from the band when they unleashed “Driving Rain” on the enthusiastic and sold-out crowd.  I have yet to see a crowd that packed at Ruth Eckerd Hall that stood just about the whole show.  They paired the opener with the only other song from their 2018 release Living The Dream with “My Antidote,” which kept the energy up and the crowd more than satisfied.  Next up the band dug into my favorite Slash album of his catalog when they knocked the crowd over with the rock tandem “Shots Fired” and “Halo” from Apocalyptic Love.  The musicianship on stage was tight and the songs were delivered with precision as they made their way through the evening’s selections.  The evenings setlist was full of classic tracks from the band with some personal favorites, some cool covers, and some tracks I never imagined would be on a setlist.  Digging back to the disc that bared only his name on the cover and his first recorded music with Myles, the group delivered “Back From Cali” before launching into the first foray into new material from the recently released 4.  The album’s first single, the driving “The River Is Rising” was sandwiched between a couple other tunes that some of the crowd knew well and some they were getting their first taste with “Spirit Love” and “Whatever Gets You By” hitting the sound system and airwaves in Eckerd Hall before the band launched into a cover of Lenny Kravitz’s “Always on the Run.”  I love Lenny and don’t think you should mess with the original, but this was damn good.  We were treated to more cool rockers from across the bands catalog as well as a track from Slash’s Snakepit venture with “Speed Parade” making an appearance (did NOT see that coming).  The next sequence of tracks was filled with more new songs from the recent disc with “Shadow Life” from World On Fire leading into new song “Fall Back to Earth,” “April Fool,” “Fill My World,” and “The Path Less Followed” before the band headed in a different direction.  With two more tracks from the guitarists self-titled release servings as bookends, the band launched into a cover that was done well and showed off not only the different influences and styles, but the adept nature in which they can cover a classic without changing the original essence of a track, as they did on Elton John’s “Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time).”  My favorite moments of the evening, as well as song selections decorated the musical landscape as we were taken out of the set, through the encore, and out of the venue with a powerful trio of “You’re a Lie,” “World on Fire,” and evening closer “Anastasia.”  I don’t know what to say about a Slash show that will do it justice.  If you dig phenomenal guitar work, killer vocals, one of the tightest rhythm sections, and an over evening filled with rockers that kick you right in the ass… you NEED to see Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators.

Setlist: Driving Rain – My Antidote – Shots Fired – Halo – Back From Cali – Spirit Love – The River Is Rising – Whatever Gets You By – Always on the Run – Shadow Life – Fall Back to Earth – Speed Parade – April Fool – Fill My World – The Path Less Followed – Doctor Alibi – Rocket Man (I Think It’s Going to Be a Long, Long Time) – Nothing to Say – You’re a Lie – World on Fire – Anastasia

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Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries