The talents of Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge, Bobby Schneck, Todd Kerns and Brent Fitz supporting the iconic top hat-wearing Rock god in his world tour, mesmerized the crowd with their musical voodoo.
7,000 voices were screaming in excitement as Slash played the opening riff of “Ghost”, which sparked the most cheers from the crowd, who had been waiting 3 hours and paid between $101 and $125 each for the pleasure of this release. Ironically, the Rock n Roll diva mindset of starting a show late wasn’t in the cards as the band turned up professionally and promptly at 9.30 pm.
Following the mild-paced opener, the set exploded into life with “Mean Bone” as the tone from Slash’s guitar epitomised the reason why his signature sound is so highly sought after. The heavy distorted riff, coupled with Myles’s fervent vocals made the audience yearn for more.
One of the most amazing songs from the album Nobody’s Child: Romanian Angel Appeal, “Civil War” nearly wrung a tear from UrbanWire as the heartfelt lyrics of the song were embraced by the fans. The chorus of whistling certainly made the song more earnest and sincere, before Slash played the soulful solo, capping a magnificent performance.
The energy seemed to build throughout the evening as the people who stood at the back tried to squeeze their way forward just to get within close proximity of the Rock god.
He then took centre stage and shredded on his guitar with a flurry of notes before slowing the tempo down and playing his own rendition of “The Godfather Theme”.
Evergreen “Sweet Child O Mine” followed suit as the crowd erupted into frenzy. The critical acclaimed song from Appetite For Destruction proved to be a hit with the audience as the crowd sang the verses, chorus and breakdown together with Myles.
Slash and the boys closed the show with one of Velvet Revolver’s most popular song, “Slither” before returning to the stage for an encore set.
The quintet rounded up the night with “Paradise City” as the crowd looked dazed after Slash performed his final solo in the song, marking the end of the concert.
The venue was buzzing with enthusiasm and when the first band, Twenty Two Hundred, set the pace for the 5-hour long event. The band was personally invited by Slash to perform on our shores and they set the stage on fire from the get-go.
Their set ended on a high before special guests, Coheed & Cambria impressed the crowd with Claudio Sanchez’s unorthodox technique of biting the guitar strings to create a bizarre yet tasteful guitar sound.
The progressive rock band ended the show with their well-known hit, “Welcome Home” from the album Good Apollo I’m Burning Star IV, Vol. 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness, which was ranked number 69 in Guitar World magazine’s list of the greatest 100 guitar albums of all time.
The security at the concert was organised and had the initiative to pass bottles of water around to ensure that no one fainted. Too bad the bottles were empty by the time they reached the 5th row.
Any fears of Slash selling out were decimated. In fact, his awe-inspiring performance will definitely spur on a new generation of young, aspiring guitarists as well as keep the old school rockers happy.
At the end of the day, Slash and Myles left the stage as happy men, even as the Alter Bridge frontman tweeted, “Last night’s gig in Singapore was off the hook!!! Amazing crowd.”
Photos courtesy of Amos Wong and LAMC Productions
Read all about Slash’s Guitar Contest here.