CONCERT REVIEW – SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS @ MGM NORTHFIELD, CLEVELAND, OHIO 8-1-2019

The band is off and running on their “Living The Dream” tour promoting the new album.  The rest of the band is made up of rhythm guitarist Frank Sidoris, bassist Todd Kerns who wore a WMMS Buzzard T-shirt, and drummer Brent Fitz who wore a “The Heart of Rock & Roll is in Cleveland” one.

I’ve covered Myles from Alter Bridge days.  He has the pipes and command, and remains one of the top front men out there today.  The rest of the band is a perfect backdrop for their sound.  Slash’s innovation and playing always speak for themselves, like his never-ending solo on Wicked Stone and the great one on the ballad The One You Loved Is Gone.  Some Slash observations are, there are toy dinosaurs on top of his amp heads, up close he has that “Joe Perry” type concentration (complete with the slight Elvis snarl of intensity), and each of songs on his set list have the corresponding guitar and color noted, keeping him and the tech on the same page.

The band covered six songs from the new release, the rest of the show comprised of previous Slash and Myles material.  A solid, tight band that seems to fit together nicely.  It’s always fun to watch these two perform together, and the sell out crowd wearing everything from Slash to GNR attire obviously agreed.

Dirty Honey was the opening act. The four-piece group from L.A.  provided an inspired fast paced set.

Both performances were great, but unfortunately the sound and mix quality really took away from the stage effort.  The vocals were basically illegible.  It reminded me of when the Cleveland Browns have indoor practices when prepping for an indoor game.  They blast indeterminate music to an ear blurring volume to simulate the crowd noise.

http://www.slashonline.com/livingthedreamtour/

By Bob Engelman