Slash, Myles and the conspirators light up Mumbai with sparkling act on Saturday night

Nov 8 • Indian News, News • 6389 Views • No Comments on Slash, Myles and the conspirators light up Mumbai with sparkling act on Saturday night

Himanish Bhattacharjee, Mumbai

Picture courtesy: Ridhiin Panchmatia

Picture this: You wake up in Mumbai with a severe sore throat, a throbbing headache, a numb right ankle and multiple bruises across your torso, and your immediate reaction to last night’s jamboree that foisted all of that on you is: “Wow, I am going to be doing this to myself once again next week, in Bangalore!”

Last night, Mumbai got @Slash‘ed. Bengaluru, your turn now! #SlashAtXtreme Picture courtesy: Ridhiin Pancchmatia pic.twitter.com/v1OjkK0Ud9

— MTVi Xtreme (@MtviXtreme) November 8, 2015

Mtv Indies Xtreme and LIVE Viacom 18 did for rock and roll fans in India what several organizers, by their own admission, have tried and failed to do for more than a decade now. They brought Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, who put out one of the best shows the country has witnessed in a long time, to them, leaving the thousands who gathered at the Reliance Jio Gardens in Bandra Kurla Complex on Saturday (November 7) evening mesmerized with what was probably the most complete setlist one could hope for.

Mumbai fucking rocked our asses off! Unbelievably passionate & enthusiastic crowd. Truly great 1st time visit/show! Cheers! iiii]; )’ — Slash (@Slash) November 7, 2015

Some great opening acts in the form of Gingerfeet (Kolkata), Them Clones (New Delhi), Thermal and a Quarter (Bangalore), andXtreme stunt performers set the ball rolling for the epic evening, before the excitement reached it’s peak in anticipation of the headlining band.

The curtains came down right after Thermal and a Quarter’s last song, and if you were close enough, you could see the crew rushing in from backstage to set up Slash’s signature Marshall AFD and SL5 amps through the translucent screen. That cue was enough to trigger the ‘Slash, we love you’ chant, and within five minutes, the fans went berserk when the band rushed out with the sound of You are a lieresonating across the venue.

One would expect the crowd, which started coming in by 2 pm – six hours before Slash, Myles Kennedy, Brent Fitz, Todd Kerns andFrank Sidoris took stage – to be exhausted after being on their feet for so long. But the set powered on, and for the next two hours or so, there was not the slightest drop in energy.

Kennedy aced every song he sang, including some that are unbelievable difficult to pull off live, and Slash ripped through the setlist with tremendous zeal. Fitz, Kerns and Sidoris, who often take the backseat with Slash and Kennedy hogging most of the limelight, were equally impressive, covering songs ranging from Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, Slash’s 2010 solo record, Apocalyptic Love and World on Fire with impeccable accuracy.

The highlights of the show included Kerns doing a great job with the vocals for Welcome to the Jungle (GNR, Appetite for destruction), Slash throwing in a surprise tweak in the solo of Nightrain (GNR, Appetite for destruction), followed by a mind-blowing seven-minute extended solo on Rocket Queen (GNR, Appetite for destruction), the legend bringing out his famous double neck SG for Anastasia(Apocalyptic Love), Kennedy involving the crowd, and getting them to repeat parts of World on Fire, Double Talkin’ Jive (GNR, Use your Illusion I) and Starlight (Slash’s solo record) with him, and then finally, making them sing along with the guitar parts of Sweet Child o’ Mine (GNR, Appetite for destruction), Slither (Velvet Revolver, Contraband) and Paradise City (GNR, Appetite for destruction).

It was evident from the look on their faces that the band was taken by surprise by the phenomenal response in Mumbai, and if the thought of seeing them live at the Supernova Arena and Convention Centre in Bangalore once again next Saturday is not fulfilling enough for the Indian fan, there was another very positive one-liner from Slash at the end of the show:

“You guys are amazing, and we promise to be back. We will be back, for sure.”

From the backstage! @Slash, @MylesKennedy & Conspirators rocking the stage of #Mumbai, Tonight! ©Meegan Thx @ansolau pic.twitter.com/9JX6M42XAP

— Myles Kennedy Rock (@MKennedyRock) November 7, 2015

If you were in the show share your experience with us in the comments. Next up Bangalore.