Slash feat Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators - Olympia Theatre, Dublin 04.03.2013

It has been 3 years since Slash has visited Dublin, and upon announcement of his return, tickets to his 2 shows at the Olympia Theatre were snapped up in minutes. He makes his return of course with Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators to play the last shows on the current European tour promoting the album Apocalyptic Love. 

Kicking things off this evening are The Treatment. Since touring with KISS and Motley Crue in the States last year, these boys have certainly grown as a band and now deliver a performance full of confidence and swagger. A set made up of mainly new material with a few older tracks thrown in, they continue to show great promise and give us a taster of what is to come. 

As always, Slash’s hugely energetic show spans material right across his career. Both solo albums, Velvet Revolver, Snakepit and of course Guns N’ Roses all feature in heavy doses, something for everyone. The opening trio of Halo, Been There Lately and Nightrain start things off perfectly and set the bar high, there is no holding back tonight. An evening of pure rock n roll faces the Olympia, as Slash launches himself into the air from the drum riser, you know he means business. 

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Fan favourite Back From Cali brings immense enthusiasm from the crowd as they sing every word incredibly loud, and Shots Fired taken from the recent release sounds fantastic live. Todd Kerns steps up to deliver his rendition of Doctor Alibi and Guns classic You’re Crazy, both with such force and energy the crowd are worked into a frenzy. Kerns is hard rock personified and his vocals on You’re Crazy are out of this world. 

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The double necked guitar makes an appearance for Civil War, which again gets the crowd singing, along with the masterpiece that is Anastasia, it proves the newer material fits alongside the old as pure classics. Myles Kennedy shows once again this evening why he is one of the most accomplished singers in modern rock. He gives a stunning performance of Starlight and the sublime Not For Me follows. 

An astounding 15 minute solo from Slash in the middle of Rocket Queen cements the fact he is a genius on the guitar, so skilled and in tune, the passion in his playing is mesmerising. Sweet Child of Mine of course blows the roof off the place, and Slither close the show with the guitar hero adding that they couldn’t have asked for a better place to finish. 

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The band are welcomed back to the stage to mighty roars for a crazy encore of Welcome To The Jungle and Paradise City. As the confetti rains down on the intimate theatre it is clear tonight has been special. Slash, Myles, Todd, Brent and Frank are solid. The chemistry they display as a band is remarkable and their performance is truly alive and kicking. For two hours they lure you in to a rock n roll euphoria and leave you begging for more. A fantastic ending to a hugely successful tour, let’s hope its not too long before they return!

Caris Smith

(top photo courtesy of Hels Bels Photograhy)

 



New video for “Anastasia” from Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators!


Our Song Of The Day!

 

Fabulous February!

After a quiet, and bitterly cold January, Winter gig season is rolling back into town with some great names hitting the UK this month. Here’s our recommendations…

Slash


Finishing up the Apocalyptic Love tour, Slash & co return to our shores for just 2 more dates in Nottingham and Blackpool. Always guaranteed a brilliant night with a great variety of Slash’s back catalogue getting an airing, it’s not a show you want to miss!

Tickets are still available for Nottingham here.

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Mark Tremonti


After wetting the UK’s appetite last October with a couple of shows, Tremonti is back for a handful of dates across the country in support of his debut album. It promises a night of pounding heavy metal and killer riffs.

Dates and tickets can be found here.

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The Virginmarys


Having just released their debut album and confirmed US dates for later this year, the future shines brightly for Macclesfield trio The Virginmarys. Harnessing that rock n roll spirit and producing gritty, irresistible music, we highly recommend you join their party!

See what the fuss is about for yourself and get your tickets here.

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The Union


After successfully reaching their target on Pledge Music, The Union are out on their first headlining in tour in a year. Bringing their catchy, blues infused rock to a host of UK cities, they also have up and coming rockers BlackWolf in support.

Get tickets to a show near you here.

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Deftones


With their new album receiving rave reviews, Deftones are back to shake the UK’s foundations this month.

Get involved and get your tickets here.

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Song of the (end of) days

We’re All Gonna Die - Slash feat. Iggy Pop

 

Todd Kerns launches Pledge Music campaign

We all know the success story that was the incredible Ginger Wildhearts Pledge Music campaign last year and what became the phenomenon of 555%. Since this amazing achievement more and more bands and artists have turned to Pledge in order to raise funds to keep producing music. The key to this is it keeps music independent, cutting out the middle man and getting the product of everyone’s hard work direct from artist to fan. Amazing right? 

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Well, Todd Kerns, of Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators, Sin City Sinners, and formally of Age of Electric and Static in Stereo has gone and released his very own pledge music campaign!

He will be releasing a brand new acoustic solo album titled Hello Cruel World, and as a little bonus there will be an exclusive EP available to pledgers only, Near Life Experience which will be a covers EP of some of Kerns pre released songs in acoustic form. There is also a whole host of other goodies on offer for those who pledge, well worth a look! Check out the video below for all you need to know…

“I couldn’t be more excited about the prospects of such a venture together. This feels like an adventure the musician and the audience go on as a singular unit. I’m super excited about the possibilities of what a system like this could bring to us music lovers in the future. ”

We are super excited about this one, and you should be too! Nearly at 100% within the first 24 hours of going live, this campaign looks set to grow and grow! So do yourselves a favour and hit the link. Keep music exciting and alive and pledge pledge pledge!

http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/toddkerns

 

Todd Kerns to launch new Pledgemusic campaign (and a free download too!)

The countdown is on to the launch of another fantastic Pledgemusic campaign to come our way this year! 

Todd Kerns, current bassist for Slash and frontman for Vegas rockers Sin City Sinners has revealed he will be working on his very own Pledgemusic campaign, to be launched on 13th December. The project will involve the recording of a new full length acoustic album Hello Cruel World, aswell as an extra EP of some of his personal favourites, also done acoustically. 

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Posting on his official blog, he explains it was actually the inspiration of Ginger Wildheart and the amazing success he had with 555%, as well as his current projects, that led him down the path of Pledgemusic.

“The entire project was elevated by my time with Ginger Wildheart and his amazing manager, Gav McCaughey. Through them, I was turned on to a whole other way to make records. All I wanna do is make music and get it to the people who want it. People say the record industry is dead and I say that’s partly true. I still believe there are a great many music lovers that find great joy in discovering new music. I just think that marketplace has become much more selective.”

The campaign will go live on 13th December, but right now you can grab yourself the free track Little Grace from Kerns as a special bonus! Head here to download the track!

Sign up and get involved in making history and keeping music independent! And make sure you check back here for full news on the launch and all that will be available! 

 

Slash announces two UK dates

That’s right! The man in the hat is making a return to our shores to play shows at Nottingham Arena and Blackpool’s Empress Ballroom on 28th February and 1st March respectively. Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators released their first album Apocalyptic Love earlier this year and have since been on a worldwide tour. In addition, a special 3 disc edition of the album will be released in Europe on 3rd December with a handful of bonus features including a DVD of the album launch in New York.

Tickets are onsale from tomorrow for O2 customers and general sale on Friday.

Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators

 

Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators - O2 Academy, Newcastle - 15.10.12

Tonight is the final night of Slash’s six date UK jaunt, and it is Newcastle’s turn to get the guitar hero’s rock n roll treatment.
 
Opening for Slash on this tour has been the legendary Ginger Wildheart, and tonight is a homecoming show for the Geordie frontman. Watching Ginger and his band is like a workout, they are bursting with energy and rarely come up for breath. Covering all bases from The Wildhearts to solo Ginger to Silver Ginger 5, they storm through their 30 minute set which is over way too quickly. Loud, ferocious and thrilling to watch. Ginger right now is at his best, and long may it continue.
 
Next up was Alter Bridge guitarist and fellow bandmate to Slash’s frontman Myles Kennedy, Mark Tremonti, who is over in the UK promoting his first solo outing as Tremonti. A world away from Alter Bridge and Creed, their sound is much darker and heavier and they do the job of working the crowd into a frenzy. Tremonti does a great job at playing centre stage and the band sound great. The addition of Wolfgang Van Halen on bass alongside Eric Friedman on guitar and Garrett Whitlock on drums, they almost blow the roof off, but luckily keep it intact for Slash and co to do their thing.
 
“Good evening Newcastle….” The lights low, the crowd loud and ready to go. The band emerge to Halo, one of the tracks from the brilliant Apocalyptic Love album released earlier this year, followed by Guns N Roses Nightrain which kicked off two hours of full throttle rock n roll.
 
Of course we heard material from Guns N Roses, Velvet Revolver, Snakepit as well as material from Slash’s solo album and his recent release with Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators, keeping the people from Newcastle on their toes and begging for more. The band are on top form, more than that, you would never believe that they have only been playing together a couple of years, even later for new addition Frank Sidoris, they are so tight they sound like they have been a band for many years.
 
Myles Kennedy breaks the boundaries with his vocal abilities, and gives an amazing performance, particularly with the Guns N Roses classic Civil War which is simply breathtaking. It’s a really great opportunity to see such a legend up close with his guitar. Some may say the 8 minute guitar solos are a bit much but when it is Slash and you can see how much passion goes into his playing it’s a pleasure to behold and makes you feel lucky to be in his presence, especially in the intimate setting of the O2 academy. The tracks from Apocalyptic Love come across fantastic live, in particular No More Heroes, Anastasia and the beautiful Not For Me which was stunning.
Mid set saw Kennedy take a break and pass vocal duties onto bassist Todd Kerns. He took centre stage for Doctor Alibi and there is a definite shift in energy. Fast paced and furious, Kerns delivers a cover of GnRs You’re Crazy and his voice is outstanding. Slash is incredibly lucky to have such talented musicians behind him.
 
As the night comes to an end, Kennedys band mate Mark Tremonti joins the guys onstage for Alter Bridge’s Rise Today. Slash hands over lead guitar to Tremonti and the fans relish in the moment. Of course Paradise City is the finale this evening, the perfect ending to the perfect night. There is something magical about this song and the way the fans react when they hear it, truly an anthem.
 The band say goodbye after a rapturous reception, and the people of Newcastle depart from their own rock n roll paradise smiling. 
Caris Smith

 



Resuming normal service soon…

Song of the day!

Slash’s Snakepit - Been There Lately

 

New video from Slash!

Guitar hero Slash has unveiled a new music video for Bad Rain taken from Apocalyptic Love. The video is fully animated and features a stripper, the supernatural and the band in cartoon form. Check it out below: