Slash’s S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival at the Rooftop at Pier 17

Slash is among the greatest rock guitarists in history, according to virtually all the top music publications. Born Saul Hudson in London, England, rooted since age six in Los Angeles, California, Slash helped invigorate the Hollywood music scene in the 1980s. He is best known as the guitarist in Guns N’ Roses, as well as Slash’s Snakepit, Velvet Revolver, Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators, and Hollywood Rose. Occasionally, he also has embraced solo projects.

Slash’s most current project is his second solo album, Orgy of the Damned, which he released on May 17, 2024. The 12-song collection is essentially a tribute to the blues, melded with elements of rhythm & blues and classic blues-rock. The album consists of Slash’s guitar-blazing treatment of 11 cover songs, plus one new original composition, the album-closing “Metal Chestnut.”

Slash's first blues works date back to 1996, when he parted with Guns N' Roses and toured with the group Slash's Blues Ball. Three decades later, in 2023, he reunited with two of his former Blues Ball musicians, keyboardist Teddy “Zig Zag” Andreadis and bassist Johnny Griparic, as well as drummer Michael Jermone, to record the instrumentals that would become the groundwork for the Orgy of the Damned album. Slash then recruited celebrated vocalists for each of the songs, including Chris Stapleton, Gary Clark Jr., Billy F. Gibbons, Paul Rodgers, Brian Johnson and more. Orgy of the Damned spent nine weeks at #1 on Billboard’s blues chart.

In tandem with the release of Orgy of the Damned, Slash curated an all-star blues tour of North America from July 5 through August 17. The S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival is a celebration of one of America’s oldest music forms, with three well-known blues artists in the support slots at every concert. Slash partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 per ticket was directed to the SERPENT Fund, which supports organizations that promote positive change and inclusivity. S.E.R.P.E.N.T. is Slash’s anagram for Solidarity, Engagement, Restore, Peace, Equality N’ Tolerance.

Slash brought his S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival to a rain-soaked Rooftop at Pier 17, where entrance to the open-air venue was delayed for almost an hour due to the threat of lightning. The storm passed, and Robert Randolph, ZZ Ward and Keb’ Mo’ performed well-received support sets under sporadic drizzle. Many is the audience removed their ponchos upon seeing a large rainbow over the East River before the Keb’ Mo’ set.

Starting at 8:30 p.m., Slash and his band played a 90-minute set under clear skies. Slash had the support of two Blues Ball bandmates, keyboardist Teddy Andreadis and bassist Johnny Griparic, plus drummer Michael Jerome and singer/guitarist Tash Neal (formerly of the London Souls). Andreadis and Neal alternated on lead vocals throughout the set.

The set launched with a cover of Bukka White’s “Parchman Farm Blues” before visiting the Orgy of the Damned album. In all, nine of the 14 songs performed live were on Orgy of the Damned. An all-blues rocking repertoire, Slash did not cover any music from his other projects. The closest he came to his other bands was strumming “Love Theme from The Godfather” as an introduction to a cover of T-Bone Walker’s “Stormy Monday” instead of Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine.”

Slash barely spoke at all. Dressed in his trademark a black top hat, dark sunglasses, skinny jeans, and Medusa-like black hair, along with a black Rolling Stones t-shirt, Slash instead sparked flames on his guitars throughout the concert. His guitar riffs sizzled and his solos soared. At times, he was laid back, playing tasty traditional-sounding blues melodies instead of rallying fist-pumping hard rock anthems. Yet, when he shredded, which he did often, his guitar licks were distinctly superpowered.

Slash’s band supported Slash well. Andreadis specialized in gritty blues vocals to Neal’s more contemporary rhythm & blues vocals. Both offered juicy keyboard and guitar fills to many of the songs. In essence, though, they simply framed the meat of each song, which was Slash and his extended guitar pyrotechnics.

The repertoire’s highlights included modern reworkings of the pre-pop/Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac song “Oh Well” and a Steppenwolf-inspired version of Hoyt Axton’s “The Pusher.” Before starting "Key to the Highway," Slash introduced Dorothy, who leads the hard rock band called Dorothy; she recreated the Booker T & the MG's song that she sang on Orgy of the Damned. Slash used a Peter Frampton-styled talk box and wah-wah pedal on the Temptations' “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” and played slide on a pedal steel during a cover of Bob Dylan’s “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry.” Slash also paid honor to the single greatest hard rock guitarist, Jimi Hendrix, by covering his “Stone Free.” Aside from all the cover treatments, however, Slash was most in his element with his original instrumental “Metal Chestnut.”

While the audience was drawn to the concert because of Slash’s work with previous bands, especially Guns N’ Roses, Slash was still Slash, one of rock’s greatest living guitarists. Whether or not his passion for the blues awakens this respect in others, to watch him play his guitars is an experience like no other. Hopefully, he will return soon to his specialty, hard rock, but his hordes of dedicated fans likely will follow him no matter what direction he takes.

Setlist

1. Parchman Farm Blues (Bukka White cover)
2. Killing Floor (Howlin’ Wolf cover)
3. The Hunter (Albert King cover)
4. Oh Well (Fleetwood Mac cover)
5. Awful Dream (Lightnin’ Hopkins cover)
6. Papa Was a Rolling Stone (The Temptations cover)
7. Love Theme from The Godfather (Nino Rota cover)/Stormy Monday (T-Bone Walker cover)
8. The Pusher (Hoyt Axton cover)
9. Key to the Highway (Booker T. & the MG’s cover, with Dorothy)
10. Metal Chestnut
11. Cross Road Blues (Robert Johnson cover)
12. Stone Free (The Jimi Hendrix Experience cover)

Encore

1. It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry (Bob Dylan cover, with Slash on the pedal steel guitar)
2. Shake Your Money Maker (Elmore James cover)

Slash with Dorothy

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The Manhattan Beat reports on New York City's live music circuit. All articles are written by Everynight Charley Crespo. All photographs are taken by Everynight Charley Crespo, except when noted otherwise.

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