Final Stop Of Band's "Living The Dream" Tour

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All Photos By Travis Failey/Rocket Sports And Entertainment

The Hard Rock Live and Universal Studio played host to the final stop of the SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS’ “Living The Dream” Tour in Orlando. It was another rainy Tuesday evening, but the weather did not hold back the fans from attending the show. Many fans went up to the window to purchase tickets but to no avail as the show was completely sold out. Two lucky fans scored free tickets when they walked up to the box office and a couple offered them their two extras as they were going in. The look of amazement and thanks on their faces was priceless.

After a solid but short set by Canada’s ROYAL TUSK, SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS hit the stage earlier than scheduled and performed a 21 song set that spanned Slash’s career. Opening with “Call of the Wild” from the 2018 Living The Dream release, the band was all smiles from the beginning to the end 2 hours later. They might have been stoked because it was the last show but the guys seriously looked like they are having a great time on stage with the crowd feeding off their energy.

They followed up with “Halo”, “Apocalyptic Love” and then “Back from Cali” with the latter coming off of Slash's self-titled solo album. It is one of the two songs on the album to feature Myles Kennedy on lead vocals with the other being "Starlight". Slash was so impressed with Kennedy's vocal performance that Slash then asked Kennedy to front his solo touring band. Both songs have since become set-list staples in Slash's live shows since 2010.

Kennedy isn’t the only amazing musician in THE CONSPIRATORS as him and Slash are joined by rhythm guitarist Frank Sidoris and bassist Todd “Dammit” Kerns. Both of them provided amazing harmonies with Kearns taking over lead vocals on “We're All Gonna Die” and “Dr. Alibi”. Kerns is a madman on stage and even though I’ve seen this band a few times, I didn’t appreciate his musical talent until tonight. He has the experience to know when to go out front and take the reins and when to pull back and let Slash or Myles take the lead. The band also didn’t miss a beat with drummer Shane Gaalaas filling in for Brent Fitz as he was out due to emergency surgery for a detached retina. Gaalaas was great not only from a musical standpoint but also from a visual one as he flashed stick gymnastics while crushing the skins ala Mickey Dee from MOTORHEAD.

The pace was fast and furious throughout the set with Kennedy only addressing the crowd a few times and finally picking up a guitar during Slash’s extended solo in “Wicked Stone”. Slash was as good as ever as he was drenched with sweat while performing with a red Mickey Mouse shirt and his trademark black hat. His stack of Marshall cabinets were topped by figurines with a rack of multi-colored, signature Les Paul guitars waiting to be played. Slash also did backup vocals on “Dr. Alibi” with Kerns.

The fans that came to hear a bunch of GUNS N' ROSES songs might have been disappointed with the setlist as SMKTC only played “Nightrain” late in the set. They finally slowed things down for the first and only time in the set with Slash and Myles sitting and taking center stage for a duet during “the aforementioned “Starlight”.

The last three songs included arguably the biggest three songs on Slash’s solo career in “You’re a Lie”, “World on Fire” and the encore “Anastasia”. Myles and the band introduced each other during “World on Fire” and thanked the crew for an amazing job on tour after Slash finished up an extended solo during the song.

As we changed locations prior to “Anastasia”, we recognized that the guys from Myles’ other band ALTER BRIDGE were in the lobby and we hoped that they might join the guys on stage but to no avail. Guitarist Mark Tremonti had on a 2019 IRON MAIDEN Crew shirt and said that the guys were there to support their brother and band mate.

After “Anastasia” concluded, the band took a bow to rousing cheers from the crowd as people started to file out of Hard Rock live. During the long journey back to the car, you could hear people singing the chorus to “Anastasia” as other Universal City Walk patrons looked on.

It was a great night of music at arguably the best music venue in Central Florida. SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY AND THE CONSPIRATORS put on a memorable show that highlighted a band of amazing musicians in complete sync with each other. No backing tracks were needed as the crowd witnessed two legends in Kennedy and Slash.

Both of them won’t be out of the spotlight for long as ALTER BRIDGE is on the road in the fall and GUNS N' ROSES hits the road once again on their “Not In This Lifetime Tour” kicks back off for the first time in 2019.

For dates near you:
https://www.gunsnroses.com/tour
https://alterbridge.com/

Check out some more photos from the show!
All Photos By Travis Failey/Rocket Sports And Entertainment