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Witnessed
Slash: 2010-04-29
14/05/10 || revenant
In my line of work, it’s not uncommon for free tickets to come floating my way. Usually the invites are never to music of my set taste, but when MTV decided to bring Slash to Australia for a one off gig to launch their new channel, I can’t put into words how happy I was. (Yes, MTV are launching a new channel into Australia, this one to play music clips. Yes that’s right, a MTV channel playing music clips, fancy fucken that! What a funny place this world is.)
Of course, I was not the only person given freebies to see Slash. Unfortunately freebies can mean that you get a whole bunch of people who have zero fucken idea coming along too. Take for instance, dickheadchick1 and dickheadchick2, who I happened to notice before the gig started. Now dickheadchick2 was a bit of a newbie when it came to rock, so dickheadchick1 one took it upon herself to explain how to be “rock”. Take for instance, throwing the horns. “It’s like this” says dickheadchick1, raising her hand and completely fucking it up by tucking in her index finger and sticking her thumb out. Oh boy. Maybe she got confused and thought she was on the set to the old children’s show Ridgey Didge. I doubt it.
On the plus side: free beer. Yeah, perhaps putting up with idiots is worth it for free beer.
Back in the day I was a pretty big Gunners fan, and “Appetite for Destruction” was a big favourite of mine. From there my music tastes only got heavier, so Slash’s post GNR work was not something I was familiar with. My only hope going into the gig was that he would cover a lot of stuff from the good ol’ days, and not from his latest crapfest CD.
When the band finally hit the stage (after a delayed start), they launched straight into “Night Train” and straight away I’m a happy camper. Slash himself carried is iconic look, though the years are starting to work against him and not even his guitar could cover the growing pot belly. The tour singer, clad in his skinny black jeans, chain loosely hanging down one leg and badly grown mustache, strutted like a typical rock ponce and had a voice remarkably similar to Axel Rose, making the opening a great one.
After a couple of songs I was not familiar with (which, thanks to the internet, I was able to learn as covers of Slash’s other bands), Australian rock legend “Angry” Anderson came on stage. Though not internationally renowned and much maligned for his performance at the 1991 AFL Grand Final, Angry is nonetheless an Aussie rock icon most famous for his work with Rose Tattoo. Angry’s entrance was greeted with probably the second biggest cheer of the night, second only to Slash’s entrance, and the Rose Tattoo cover went down well. Unfortunately, Angry’s stay was short lived, and the strutting ponce returned.
Angry was not the only special guest on the night. Late in the set, Wolfmother singer Andrew Stockdale joined for two songs. What can I say about his performance? He out ponced the ponce. Not used to standing on stage without a guitar in hand, Stockdale elected to dance around with his lime green scarf during the guitar solos. Awesome.
The setlist ended up being a mix of new songs, plus a bunch of covers from Slash’s other projects, highlights being (for me anyhow) all the old Guns n’ Roses material, particularly the encore performance of “Paradise City”. Slash’s “Godfather” themed guitar solo, which led into “Sweet Child O’ Mine” was another great moment.
So overall, I have to say I did enjoy the night to a degree, but left with blue balls. My penis was aroused, gently stroked, but I never I came. I must be too much of a metalhead now, I kept thinking “this is good, but when is he going to crank it up a gear and really get going”. I need my music harder, faster and a hell of a lot more aggressive. Slash was good, but nowadays I need a bit more. 7 out of blue balled 10 for the music, and 10 out of fucken 10 for the free beer.
- Who: Slash
- When: 29 April, 2010
- Where: Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Australia
- Setlist
- 01. Nightrain (Guns N’ Roses cover)
- 02. Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- 03. Mean Bone (Slash’s Snakepit cover)
- 04. Nice Boys (Rose Tattoo cover) (with Angry Anderson)
- 05. Back from Cali
- 06. Beggars & Hangers-on (Slash’s Snakepit cover)
- 07. Civil War (Guns N’ Roses cover)
- 08. Sucker Train Blues (Velvet Revolver cover)
- 09. Nothing To Say
- 10. Starlight
- 11. Slash Guitar Solo/Godfather Theme
- 12. Sweet Child O’ Mine (Guns N’ Roses cover)
- 13. By The Sword (with Andrew Stockdale)
- 14. Woman (Wolfmother cover) (with Andrew Stockdale)
- 15. Dime Store Rock (Slash’s Snakepit cover)
- 16. Rise Today (Alter Bridge cover)
- 18. Dirty Little Thing (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Encore
- 19. Paradise City (Guns N’ Roses cover)
