 
AC/DC
w/ Slash’s Snakepit
Glen
Helen Blockbuster Pavilion, San Bernardino, Ca. Saturday 9/16/00
Whoever came up with the saying “Rock
is Dead” would surely have a hard time convincing the as-far-as-the-eyes-can-see
crowd at the Blockbuster Pavilion that there  was
even the smallest shred of truth to that statement. Rock n’ Roll
is alive and well and it’s never gone away, nor is it going to go away
any time soon. The thing that people need to understand is that the
oversaturation of music by the “shoegazer” alternative bands in the 90’s,
fooled a lot of people into believing that sparse songwriting was a viable
form of music, and that songs  sounded
cooler stripped down without any of the dynamics provided by solid riffing
and the kind of guitar leads that suck the life right out of you and leave
you gasping for breath. It’s obvious that a lot of these 90’s bands
used this as an excuse for their lack of musical proficiency and good old
Rock n’ Roll showmanship. Thank God for  AC/DC
being the Vanguards of Rock n’ Roll that they are, and for their good sense
to bring a band as great as Slash’s Snakepit along for this tour.
The clock struck 8 and the lights went
down. The emcee announced to the crowd in a no bulls*** manner, “Are
You Ready? Ladies and Gentlemen, from the mean streets of Yucaipa,
SLASH’S SNAKEPIT!!!” A single spotlight hit the right side of the
stage and there he was, the man himself, in his black leather and trademark
top hat with a Les Paul slung low. Slash wasted no time getting the
attention of the audience with the opening riffs to “Life's Sweet Drug”
off of the upcoming release “Ain’t Life Grand”. The rest of the band
mercilessly kicked into the song right on cue, and damn it sounded good!
Slash has assembled an ace group of musicians for this second incarnation
of Slash’s Snakepit. Former Virginia based vocalist Rod Jackson is
a very capable front man who has what you’d call a classic “Barrelhouse
Blues” voice. It's very powerful, kick ass stuff when combined with
an onstage persona that's a mix of David Lee Roth, Clint Eastwood, and
Jim Dandy Mangrum from Black Oak Arkansas. All I can say is, Rod
Jackson is one Bad Mutha! I’d like to see Axl “Get in the Ring” with
this guy!
Guitarist Keri Kelli is in a choice position
with this band. Slash gives Keri plenty of opportunity to shine as
his rhythm/lead guitarist and puts his own guitar hero status on hold to
get the best results out of the new guys. Keri, along with bassist
Johnny Blackout does a great job of covering the whole stage with high-energy
style. I especially like Johnny Blackouts way of stalking the stage from
end to end and then picking a spot as close to the crowd as he can get,
just so he can egg them on to rock-out harder. Matt Laug is incredible
on drums and has that Bonham sound where the bass drum goes BOOM and the
snare cracks loudly like a shot straight from a cannon. The band
played almost every song off the upcoming release “Ain’t Life Grand" including
the title track, “Shine”, “Mean Bone”, and “Back to the Moment”.
In addition to those songs, about three quarters of the way into it we
were treated to “Mr. Brownstone” slowed down a couple of beats per minute,
giving it a real cool groove oriented feel. Rod Jackson does a great job
of NOT singing it like Axl sings it and makes the song his own by singing
it the way Rod does.
Continued
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