30 March 2024 (gig)
03 April 2024
If ever the dictionary started putting pictures to explain a word, there would be a picture of Slash next to the word “Rock”. Such is his presence, undeniable talent and no matter what genre of music you listen to, you will know what this man represents. A master of his trade, ridiculous shredding ability but also, a brilliant tendency to consistently produce music of the highest standard.
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators are no strangers to the UK shores and tonight they are bringing the River is Rising tour to The Resorts World Arena (NEC), Birmingham.
There is a special buzz among the fans with the majority arriving earlier than you would normally see for a gig at Resorts World. This is down to the fact that nobody wants to miss tonight's support which comes from the ever exciting, Mammoth WVH.
For those of you that don't know, Mammoth is the band put together by Wolfgang Van Halen, son of the late great Eddie. In fact, the name Mammoth comes from a band Eddie and Alex Van Halen were in before forming the legendary Van Halen.
With two albums to their name, in which Wolfgang plays every instrument himself, Mammoth WVH are already building a reputation for producing hard hitting rock and the arena is packed out to see what all the fuss is all about.
Unfortunately, it is only a short set of six songs, but they waste no time showing Birmingham what they are about. They fly straight into “Another Celebration at the End of the World” with Wolfgang demonstrating his incredible skills on the guitar and it's hardly surprising he is such a talented musician considering who his dad and uncle are.
He could even be forgiven for including the odd Van Halen track in the setlist, and maybe other lesser mortals would be tempted to do so, but there is no sign of that to come. WVH is clearly intent on letting his own music carve his path in the industry, and on the evidence of tonight's show, he is going to go far.
“You’re to Blame” and “I’m Alright” come next, the swelling crowd well into the groove at this point. “Like a Pastime” and “Take a Bow” from the second album “Mammoth II” follow before they close their set with “Don’t Back Down”.
It has been a very short set, but they have made their point and leave the stage to an applause worthy of a headline act.
The atmosphere within the arena is truly special as Slash, Myles and the gang take to the stage with the song the tour is named after, “The River is Rising”.
The legendary guitarist climbs onto the drum riser during the intro waiting for the prime moment to leap through the air like a man in his twenties, who is showing no signs of slowing down.
On this tour there is no over the top stage show or props on stage, rather this is simply a pure gritty Rock m Roll performance with an incredible 22 song set by some great musicians who genuinely look happy and maybe even slightly surprised to see so many faces staring back at them.
Myles Kennedy gets the chance to showcase his impressive vocal range, especially on the epic “Starlight”. A sea of phone torch lights illuminates the arena to create an atmosphere worthy of such an epic song. Starlight, taken from Slash’s 2010 self-titled debut solo album on which Myles guests on a couple of songs, turned out to be the beginning of a four-album run (to date) by the fore mentioned Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, the latest album simply known as “4”.
During the set the audience is treated to a cover of the Lenny Kravitz classic “Always on the Run” for which Todd Kerns takes up the lead vocal duties, doing a mighty fine job at it too. Todd later returns to lead vocal duties with a performance of “Bad Apples” from the “Guns n Roses” album “Use your Illusion 1”.
Obviously, Slash is known for being an incredible guitarist, but he clearly didn't want to leave anyone in any doubt, so he sets of on a 10-minute blistering guitar shredding solo, his fingers must be made of steel to keep that pace of fret work up for so long, truly awe inspiring by the man in the distinctive top hat.
There is also a great cover of “Elton John’s” “Rocketman” before the show ends with the incredible “Anastasia”.
Slash is one of the hardest working musicians on the planet who never seems to stop with many stating he has an ability to be in two places at once.
For his latest project, and similar to his self-titled debut album, we see Slash team up with multiple singers and musicians including, Chris Stapleton, Brian Johnson, Billy F Gibbons and Demi Lovato amongst others, to pay homage to the blues with a 12-song strong album of both well-known and largely undiscovered blues songs, but with a twist of Slash, It promises to be a special album.
Orgy of the Damned is due for release on 17th May.
All in all, tonight’s show has been exceptional and a night to be remembered by all.
The tour continues across Europe and is a must see.
Setlist:
River is Rising
Driving Rain
Halo
Too Far Gone
Back From Cali
Whatever Gets You By
C'est La Vie
Actions Speak Louder
Always on the Run
Bent to Fly
Avalon
Spirit Love
Bad Apples
Starlight
Wicked Stone
April Fool
Fill My World
Dr. Alibi
You’re a Lie
World on Fire
Encore:
Rocket Man
Anastasia
Photo credit: Shaun Hulme
