Slash Feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators - Play it safe at Graspop!!!

Graspop Festival 

Slash Feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators *** (Main Stage 1) If you have not seen the man with the top hat, before then you probably have been looking forward to this one. Also the fact that he has got a very good singer in the form of Myles Kennedy (Alterbridge) fronting his project, you couldn't see how he could do no wrong. But I think this is where the problems start it is a put together almost super group and I always find these, a little lacking in certain areas.

I feel that these so super groups do to much to please the fans that they do to actually show off what they can do with the material they have written themselves. And they do have some good material themselves as they had already shown on their albums together 2012's 'Apocalyptic Love' and 2014's 'World on Fire', both great records in their own right. For me the first the better of the two, and well worth a listen to. They start off well with 'You're a Lie', which is one of my favourite songs off the first album 'Apocalyptic Love'. It has a great riff to it and kicks in to some very nice vocals by Myles.

He pulls this off a little different today with a slightly cleaner sharper tone to his voice, but the song still lifts things off really well. It's also a good leader into the classic and first Guns 'n' Roses track in their set today. 'Nightrain' is a great track that they can do no wrong with, so sounds great in a festival environment. They also go right with mixing things up a little straight away, they pluck the track 'Avalon' off the second album 'World on Fire' and with it's Blues / Rock riffage... get's people moving about. I do think that Myles doesn't get all the vocals right on this track and he needed to a little more life into it. But he does give it a good go, I'm sure it's not the easiest of songs to sing live. 

It was a shoe in that Myles would perform 'Back from Cali' with Slash a song from Slash's 2010 self titled album. This was the first song that really showed off the pair together, and I think what lead to them working together more. This song again works really well but is a little over shone by their brilliant version of the Guns 'n' Roses 'Terminator 2 - Judgement Day' song 'You could be Mine'. Which is one of our favourite G'n'R tracks here at Music Trespass Magazine. 'The Dissident, Word on Fire' and 'Anastasia' takes us into a bit of a lull in the set. They don't come across as well as other tracks and I find myself losing my concentration a little. 

It all then get's a little karaoke in Graspop with a sing-a-long to 'Sweet child O'Mine' and 'Paradise City', I really was not too impressed with this, but they must be really difficult to do live. They are iconic songs and they need to be done perfect, or not at all... today I wish they had just left them out. But saying all this their was a moment of brilliance in between when the band played 'Slither', which was a song Slash did with Velvet Revolver. They really made it their own and was another great moment in their set, that we just wished we could hear again.

Today's performance just seemed too much like a covers band, and even though it's nice to hear these songs done live. You feel that he could have done a whole set on his new material off the two Slash Feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators albums and everyone would be happy. Maybe adding a different Guns 'n' Roses and Velvet Revolver song in their somewhere each show. I really feel he didn't need to play four Guns 'n' Roses songs, and feel it was done to keep the crowd on side, also if this is the case why isn't their any Alterbridge songs in the bands set?. I am looking forward to seeing what he does next and if he works with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators on his next album. I just feel today was not their moment, and maybe the best is still to come from them.

Review by Dan Devour and Photo's by Dan Devour and Dezadie

Check Out! the Velvet Revolver Video for 'Slither' Below...