While I was both shocked and disappointed to learn that Slash only ranked 65th on Rolling Stone’s infamous (and arguable) list of the100 greatest Guitarists of all time, (but No. 2 in TIME Magazine’s top 10) it has been said that the iconic top hat sporting rock legend’s style is so unique, it only takes hearing a few notes to recognise his work. This resonated last night when Adelaide welcomed the first show of The River is Rising- Rest Of The World Tour ’24’ to celebrate what has been crowned as the most prominent album release by collaborators Slash, Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators so far. ‘4’ (yes, like the Zeppelin album) has been highly acclaimed, offering a sophisticated blend of hard rock and hair metal tied together with some fairly epic and captivating guitar arrangements that are quintessentially…Slash.
A great portion of the punters were donning their Guns and Roses t-shirts and obviously there as long-time fans of the prestigious artist’s momentous contribution to GnR, but Slash was there to shine a spotlight on his solo work backed by some impeccably skilled musicians. He delivered a whopping 2 hour set of tracks spanning more than a decade long solo career, and treated his fans to a more accessible and intimate showcase of his mastery. For myself and my star struck 12-year-old son who has immortalised the axe wielding guitar hero since seeing him play with Guns and Roses 2 years ago, we will never be that physically close to Slash again (hint: stand to the right of the stage for maximum Slash action)
Opening the night was none other than Aussie rock legends Rose Tattoo, who continue to appease audiences with their iconic belters. Kicking off with aptly titled ‘Rock n Roll Is King’ and following the theme of the night firing out ‘Sweet Love’ and ‘Rock n Roll Outlaw’ they finished with ‘Bad Boy For Love’ and ‘Nice Boys’ thoroughly whetting the appetite for a night of solid cock rock and head banging.
ROSE TATTOO GALLERY
National support The Struts hailing from the UK threw a different flavour into the mix but maintained that big rockstar energy with their modern take on Brit Pop rock complete with catchy bangers, dance-y beats, hooky 70s blues rock guitar solos and plenty of woos and woah-ohing. They had a tough audience to win over, mostly consisting of metalheads and old school rockers, so their initial reception was lukewarm before opening with bouncy track ‘Primadonna With Me’ evoking some bopping and grooving in the audience. 
Frontman Luke Spiller dressed in a gloriously dapper pussy bow blouse and waistcoat eminent of a young hot Austin Powers, accepted the challenge and worked the audience so hard that by the time ‘Put Your Money On Me’ was played there was full crowd engagement. Spiller divided the audience commanding concurrent cheers and working the various vocal parts with them which worked a treat, heating things up exponentially while also dripping in sweat himself.
Finishing in spectacular fashion with renowned track ‘Could Have Been Me’, an anthem that packs some serious My Chemical Romance vibes, The Struts exhibited a clever blend of alternative genres and influences encased in a delightfully charming British Rock n Roll shell that gave the old fellas in the crowd no choice but to submit to the boogie.
THE STRUTS GALLERY
Batman themed sound and lighting drew the audience in for the main event- a curious and consistent reference for Slash that I haven’t managed to figure out yet. SMKC came on swinging with moody power rock hit ‘The River is Rising’ to a lot of excitement while the onslaught of meticulous and long winding solos began. By the time punchy dancer ‘Halo’ was played, old mate was jumping and spinning while nailing yet another epic solo. Did I mention he was mere metres away? Surreal.
Roadhouse bluesy track ‘Actions Speak Louder Than Words’ kept it pumping with SMKC working the stage in harmony and jamming out. Somehow the man of the hour blends with his band seamlessly and modestly while also standing out like the crown jewel. We get the only 2 words from him (that I didn’t even catch) for the entire evening before his flying V got a go round with the high-powered scaling solo in ‘Cest La Vie’.
Thumping Lenny Kravitz cover ‘Always On The Run’ with dreamboat bass player and energetic performer Todd Kerns on vocals, got burly bearded metal dudes dancing like woo girls, and speaking of woo girls, there was a sneaky Gunners track featured, and yes, the roof absolutely blew off. It was an unexpected choice with ‘Don’t Damn Me’ but it slapped nonetheless, and by this point the crowd antics were becoming quite entertaining.
‘Wicked Stone’ amped things up even more, bringing the metal and leading out with, you guessed it, another long whirling solo that flows down to a sexy little blues interlude before coming back to full God mode. Thus, we got the longest solo for the night, which was about 20 minutes. At this point my 12-year-old is exhausted. 58yo Slash is not.
‘Dr Alibi’ gave the feels, the track originally recorded with Chester Bennington before Lemmy sang on the final recording, with Myles Kennedy now putting a more delicate tone to it.
Everything peaked at ‘World on Fire’ with the whole venue clapping and woah-ing before the entire audience held the long high note with Kennedy. It was his first time he attempted to command the audience and appeared delighted in the realisation that Adelaide was here for it.
Encore was an absolute treat with Slash on a Pedal Steel playing Elton John cover ‘Rocket Man’ in a very Pink Floyd way and that was exactly as magical as it sounds. Closing with ‘Anastasia’ and Slash reuniting with his beloved Les Paul, the crowd instantly recognised the flamenco style guitar intro and knew he was going out on fire with the banging high pitched and high energy solo that we all know is quintessentially and uniquely Slash.
If you are a fan of Slash or even Guns and Roses, if you are a fan of Rock n Roll, or if you are a fan of music, this show is a good one to see and pretty bloody awesome. Just watching my son gaze in awe at a musician and artist that is so historically significant he has been made into an action figure was enough of a reason, but this was a memorable night for everyone. With more shows yet to come get your tickets here
SLASH FEAT. MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS GALLERY
With thanks to Dallas Does PR & Destroy all lines for the media accreditation
Images Credit Rock Tsar Photography
