Slash featuring Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators
3Arena, Dublin
★★★★☆
Slash has long been defined as a guitarist from his time with Guns N’ Roses though he’s been with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators for twice as long (14 years against seven years). The awkward moniker Slash, Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators is what you get when you combine the last of the guitar heroes with a well-known singer and a backing band.
For brevity and accuracy’s sake, the whole band will be known as The Conspirators for the purpose of this review.
Dublin’s 3Arena was the first stop on their European tour. While other acts reach for ever more sophisticated visual spectacles to enhance their lives show, The Conspirators opt for the plainest of stage adornments with just a banner behind the drum riser. Lights and music do all the rest.
The set is from the band’s four albums together, the most recent, the imaginatively titled 4, and Slash’s acclaimed eponymous solo album from 2010.
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In an Irish Times interview before the European tour, Slash said they would be playing none of the Guns N’Roses repertoire as he had no desire to do so after the band reformed for live concerts in 2016. There was one caveat though. Don’t Damn Me from Guns N’ Roses 1991 album Use Your Illusions 1 would be few people’s choice for a GnR cover.
The fact that it has never been played live by the band itself might be a contributing factor to its presence on The Conspirators’ setlist. It was sung by bass player Todd Kearns, who is a fine vocalist in his own right.
The main attraction appeared on stage wearing an AC/DC sleeveless t-shirt. It is entirely coincidental of course that he has a single out, Killing Floor, with AC/DC singer Brian Johnson as a prelude to the launch of his solo blues album in May.
Wearing his trade mark top hat with a mop of black curls and sunglasses, there is an agelessness about him and his old school approach to rock n’roll. His guitar solo at the end of Wicked Stone went on for more than five minutes. Slash is one of the few guitarists who could be indulged for this period and still sound interesting.
Most of The Conspirators set list is foot to the floor hard rock. When the tempo slows, it gets more interesting. Back to Cali from Slash’s solo album and Fill My World from 4 are two gorgeous songs that brought out the swaying mobile phone lights. Myles Kennedy unashamedly admitted that Fill My World, an anthemic ballad, is about his pets.
The encore was a treat with Slash on pedal steel guitar for a cover version of Elton John’s Rocket Man with the drummer switching to the keyboards. They really should do more of this kind of thing.
The set closed with Anastasia from The Conspirators’ first album together Apocalyptic Love (2012) which is the equal at least of anything Slash did as a guitar player with Guns N’ Roses.
Kudos to Conspirators’ rhythm guitarist Frank Sidoris who also played guitar for the support act Mammoth WVH. Mammoth WVH is fronted by Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang Van Halen (WVH). Mammoth WVH went down very well with a large crowd as one would expect from somebody with such a great musical pedigree.
