Slash! The man, the myth, the legend! He rolled his blues show, The S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival, into Connecticut on 8/2/24 to celebrate the release of his newest record Orgy of the Damned.
This is not a typical Slash tour or show. It’s all about the blues!
Depending on the stop, you may see different bands. The first act this night was Robert Randolph. He was great if you ask me. Good sound, solid band, great vocals and harmonies. Also, it’s not often I see a pedal steel guitar, his main instrument, being played for every song. I didn’t know any songs, except Jimi’s Voodoo Child, but that didn’t matter to me. And it shouldn’t stop anyone from rockin’ or is it “bluesin?”
Next up was ZZ Ward. Gotta say, I didn’t dig her. The band was good but she was meh. Her voice didn’t match the band’s energy. She was more country than blues. Honestly, the best parts of her set was when she wasn’t singing and the band could jam. She did play harmonica though and was able to partake in the jam sessions.
Keb Mo was next and had a great set. Some quick research tells me he’s 72 and has won multiple Grammy’s. He’s well known in the blues world apparently. I didn’t know his songs either but enjoyed them all regardless. Three songs in particular were outstanding, and while I’m not certain I have the titles right, I’m quite confident. Government Cheese is just a hilarious topic, but a good tune. There was also Suitcases and Worst is Yet to Come. All three songs (and really all his songs) were storytelling through music with some humor worked in.
Slash, or “Mister Slash” as Keb Mo called him, was next. Now, before the show started, I saw a lot of Guns n Roses shirts in the crowd. I also saw a Savatage shirt! Slash has nothing to do with Savatage, but it was cool and deserved a shout out. My point is, Slash is clearly known for GNR no matter how much other awesome stuff he’s done in his career.
I do think people may have been expecting a Slash show filled with a mix of GNR, Velvet Revolver, Slash with Myles Kennedy, and his new blues songs. Also, I think many people go to concerts to hear songs they’ve heard 1,000 times that are easy to sing and dance along to. This show was neither of these things.
It was all blues songs all night. This is the theme folks. It’s a festival-like tour celebrating the blues. Slash is awesome and I loved watching him play guitar. So if you just want to see and hear Slash play, this is what he does and he has a talented band with him. He’s got a keys/organ player who sings lead on many songs. He also has his 2nd guitarist who’s the lead singer on the remainder of the songs, his bass player and of course his drummer. They were all great.
I can’t tell you what the first three songs were except one was a Fleetwood Mac cover (unpopular opinion, I don’t like Fleetwood Mac). After those were over, they did Key to the Highway and Awful Dream. Papa was a Rolling Stone was great as it featured of a lot talkbox usage from Slash. If you’re not sure what that is, check this out or watch the short clip.
They did Pusher off the new album and they also played Cross Road Blues which I actually did know and you probably do too. Stone Free was also played which is another Hendrix tune and the main set ended shortly after that.
When they came back for the encore only a minute or so or later, they played It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry and ended with Shake Your Money Maker.
I do believe though that because this show was neither a mix of hit singles or danceable songs as mentioned before, people just didn’t stay. No appreciation for live music that is unfamiliar I guess. Before they even ended the main set, the place has emptied by probably half, and post—encore…it was the easiest exit from a show I’ve experienced in a long time.
This was probably the 9th time I’ve seen Slash live and definitely the most unique. While he did play his rendition of the theme from Godfather (a Slash staple) it was the only time I’ve seen him live where the set didn’t end with Paradise City as well. Maybe he should work that one in somehow (or a short medley?) to give people a small taste of GNR. Why? Because at this venue anyway, having a rock icon put on a show filled with talented musicians just wasn’t enough to keep the interest of half the crowd or more…and it made me a little sad.
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