Review & Photos by Joe Schaeffer
It was just shy of 9:00pm when Slash with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators took the stage at the recently opened YouTube Theater, near Sofi Stadium where just a few days earlier, the Los Angeles Rams won their first Super Bowl.
It was the seventh stop on a 28-date US tour in support of the 2022 album 4.
Dubbed the River is Rising Tour, the band kicked off the show in raucous fashion with “Driving Rain” from 2018’s Living The Dream album.
Kennedy, who never disappoints, has a truly remarkable vocal style and ability. Along with Slash and Kennedy rounding out the band on stage were the very proficient Frank Sidoris on rhythm guitar, Brent Fitz on drums and Todd ‘Dammit’ Kerns on bass and vocals.
With enough material to cull from three full length albums, the Conspirators comprised their setlist with a fairly even number of tunes from each of them. There were even a couple of cover tunes, but to the crowd’s amazement not a single Guns ‘N Roses song was played all night. Slash even threw in older songs such as “Speed Parade” from his Slash’s Snakepit album.
They played five songs from 4, including “River Is Rising,” “Whatever Gets You By,” “Fill My World,” “Actions Speak Louder Than Words” and “Call Off the Dogs.”
Kerns took lead vocals for a rendition of the Lenny Kravitz song, “Always On The Run.” He also sang “Doctor Alibi” later in the set. Meanwhile, Kennedy was faithful in a remarkable cover of Elton John’s “Rocket Man.” It was a significant highlight of the evening’s set.
Of course, Slash’s guitar work was as magnificent as ever. After a few more signature rockers, the group closed out the main set with the incendiary “World on Fire.” They returned to the stage for an encore of “Anastasia,” winding up a two-hour exhibition of fiery rock and roll at its finest.
