Slash 9/12/12

Foxy Shazam front-man hand-stand

I can't hardly believe it, but Slash was out done by the opening band, Foxy Shazam.  Those guys were off the friggin wall.  Their look, attitude, and over-all stage presence was unforgettable.  Leader Eric Nally did more forward rolls than the 2012 Olympic gymnasts, combined.  That dude can work a mic stand like a dancing partner.  It was hard to get a good pic of them with all the constant thrashing.  Keyboardist, Sky White, had hair just like Slash's only it was growing down out of his face instead of up on his head.  He jumped up on top of the keyboard and planted his feet right on the keys at one point, then took it off the stand and had folks in the crowd hold it while he then had them hold himself laying flat, as if crowd surfing, and kept on jammin.  Honestly, the music wasn't bad, although I'm not sure it would hold up without the rhythmically tight maniacal theatrics.  The band even had a trumpeter that did more backing vocals and head-banging than playing but was still incredibly entertaining.  Slash, however, almost performed the same set list from 2 years ago, just with a few more live debuts from the newest album, Apocalyptic Love.  A lot of the same Guns N' Roses tunes, including "Civil War" with a Hendrix solo at the end, were repeated.  "Out Ta Get Me" and a guitar solo interlude from Pink Floyd's "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" was pretty killer.  He waited to bring out a Velvet Revolver tune until the very last song of the first set with "Slither."  Then started the encore set with "Fall to Pieces," another VR hit.  But they completed the night with a predictable "Paradise City."  Oh well, I could watch him dance his fingers up and down the neck of a guitar any ole day.