Review: SLASH ‘Live at the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival
By Hal Horowitz
Even fans of Slash probably didn’t have him deep-diving into classic blues on their 2025 BINGO cards.
But after releasing the ‘Orgy of the Damned,’ studio set with high-profile guests such as Iggy Pop, Beth Hart, Paul Rodgers and Billy F. Gibbons assisting on vocals (Slash doesn’t sing), the Guns N’ Roses guitar slinger coalesced a tough, tight band and hit the road for his S.E.R.P.E.N.T. (Solidarity, Engagement, Restore, Peace, Equality N’ Tolerance) festival. The album immediately lodged itself atop the Billboard Blues Albums chart for 13 weeks. It has since dropped down but remains there, reflecting its continued popularity.
The 14 songs, recorded at a single show in Denver, reprise all but three tracks from the recording; covers of straight blues and bluesy rock chestnuts with one original instrumental. Vocals are mostly handled by longtime associate and keyboardist Teddy “Zig-Zag” Andreadis. Six selections were added and others were extended resulting in this double CD/DVD package.
Opening acts changed depending on the city, but were all blues-based. Some returned after their sets to join Slash’s band, dubbed Slash’s Blues Ball for this tour, but none appear here.
It’s a high-energy gig, naturally featuring Slash’s, well, slashing guitar. Riff-drenched rock oldies such as Fleetwood Mac’s rip-roaring “Oh Well” and “The Pusher” lean towards a harsher edge. And even if reprising the established Cream arrangements of “Crossroads” and “Born Under a Bad Sign” or Cactus’ take on “Parchman Farm Blues” isn’t pushing stylistic boundaries, they are handled with spirited vigor and fiery performances. The band taps Freddie King for a sizzling “Big Legged Woman” and reprises “Key to the Highway” as if channeling Foghat at their peak.
Likewise, running down “Stormy Monday” isn’t digging particularly deep for material but makes sense if Slash aims to expose his perhaps less-blues oriented audience to an iconic title they may be unfamiliar with. Regardless his six-string work takes the familiar slow blues into rougher waters for ten minutes that are as explosive as anything done with Guns N’ Roses.
The vibe shifts substantially for another ten minute workout, this one on Motown’s “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” displaying Slash’s heretofore unexplored R&B proclivities and adeptness at stomping wah-wah pedals on a wild extended solo. The outfit pays tribute to Jimi Hendrix with a thunderous extended “Stone Free,” including a side trip into “Third Stone From the Sun,” combining Jimi-infused soul with jagged, pulsating rock. Slash again opens up for a more contemporary classic not on the studio collection.
His pedal-steel talents (who knew?) are displayed on a countrified encore of Dylan’s “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry” and the closing hip-swingin’, boogie-heavy “Shake Your Moneymaker” undoubtedly had the crowd on its feet.
Singer Andreadis growls, howls, barks and roars the lyrics, matching and accentuating Slash’s aggressive attack. Veteran drummer Michael Jerome, who usually plays with more subtle acts like Richard Thompson, k.d.lang and Dave Alvin’s Third Mind, dispenses serious crashing and booming percussion.
Everything on ‘Live at the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival’ is ramped-up a few notches from its still raucous studio predecessor, as you’d expect from a concert with Slash’s endorsement. And if some of the audience gets exposed to these powerful blues corkers for the first time, then searches for the originals, he has done the genre a service that others without his marquee name and credentials couldn’t accomplish nearly as effectively.
Listen to “Crossroads (Live” HERE
Pre-order the live album HERE
Nicely Done