Critic's evaluation
With gray skies and an icy summer rain, São Paulo kept its routine with 21ºC in the middle of the afternoon. In the vicinity of the Barra Funda subway station, even against this backdrop, certain details stood out from what is commonly considered normal for a Wednesday.
In the corridors leading to the subway, shouts could be heard announcing raincoats 'for the show'. In addition to this unusual sound, there were several makeshift stalls selling the most diverse souvenirs for the show, creating a different scenario for the urban landscape.
At Espaço Unimed, the venue that would host the Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators concert, or simply SMKC, at 5:30 p.m. it was already possible to see bars indicating the layout of the queues by sector and various professionals accredited to provide support to the public at the event. Even with people dressed in character for the performance, the only place with a small concentration of payers was the area for the PwD audience, just in front of the main entrance.
At 6:36 p.m., the organizers started the queues for the entrance to Espaço Unimed, giving a real idea of the number of people waiting anxiously for the gates to open so that they could finally get the best space to enjoy the event. This mute anxiety lasted until 7pm, when the house was officially opened.
Almost an hour later, the paying fans who had entered the venue and won glorious, sweaty square meters on the premium floor were already doing a real press up against each other. Squeezing each other shamelessly, those present ended up squirming as more people tried to get a seat that would give them a privileged view of the stage.
At 7:31 p.m., with the house almost full, the audience was already unusually anxious. However, this emotion would still have to be lived and felt for the duration of the opening show and the remaining 30 minutes to finally enjoy SMKC's long-awaited performance.
Velvet Chains
At 7:55 p.m., after the Espaço Unimed presentation video had been shown, the Velvet Chains took to the stage with a balanced mix of doomy and gloomy elements. It didn't take long for the audience to look on in admiration and acceptance of the band's performance.
With a harsh, metallic sound, the group drew attention for its melodic consistency and pressure, even though the beginning of the performance was watched by a mostly mute audience.
"We're from LA! Vou falar em português… Vocês são foda! We're going to play this next song for the very first time live. It's not officially released yet", interjected vocalist Ro Viper as he introduced the dark, visceral and dramatic Enemy, a track which, like the previous ones, was cheered by the audience at its conclusion.
In Eyes Closed, with an invitation from Viper, the audience responded well to the clapping, performing it organically from the second half until the end of the song. This setting gave the performance the first high point of the Velvet Chains' performance in view of the audience's surrender.
"Essa próxima música, nós gravamos um videoclipe aqui, em São Paulo!" announced Viper as he introduced Stuck Against The Wall. From then on, the Velvet Chains continued with Suspicious Mind, a cover of Elvis Presley that sent the audience into frenzy and hysteria, and Last Drop, a romantic track that, according to Viper himself, is the group's best song.
The Velvet Chains were a band that surprised with their resourcefulness and chemistry as a band. Individually, the group gave the São Paulo audience a good stage presence, moving around the stage and showing visible confidence.
What was most striking, however, was the sincerity and dedication of the lead singer, who used the last song to introduce Nils Goldschmidt, bassist, Burton Car, lead guitarist, Jason Hope, drummer, and Larry Cassiano, rhythm guitarist, as his bandmates.
With a visible immersion in the local culture, Viper spoke to the audience more in Portuguese than his native English, as well as showing good control over the crowd with his cheerful, smiling and attractive charisma. In this way, Velvet Chains were definitely a good choice to open for headliner SMKC.
It was interesting to note that, after the introductory show, the crowd remained surprisingly calm during the 20 minutes before the headliner finally took their place on stage. It was moments later, when the stage took on a dark, mystical blue hue and the photographers were allowed into the bathtub, that the crowd went wild. The long-awaited hour had finally arrived.
SMKC
At exactly 9pm, Brent Fitz was the first to appear, walking on stage and taking up his position on the drums. Slash followed soon after, along with his other band mates, and kicked off the main show of the evening with The River Is Rising, sending the audience into complete, catatonic hysteria.
With a slight lull, Driving Rain had the crowd slightly more excited, but still noticeably crazed. It was during the third track, however, that Espaço Unimed collapsed for the first time. At Halo, the audience jumped as one body, clapped their hands uncontrollably due to the insanity caused by the dense injection of adrenaline and sighed in a frenzy that was almost schizophrenic in its intensity.
Following the same path, Too Far Gone arrived with a reciprocal intensity between the band and the audience, which remained frighteningly wild. From this rhythmic-melodic punch, SMKC went on to put the brakes on a little with Back From Cali. Surprisingly, however, the track was received in a hysterically libidinous manner by the audience.
It wasn't until three songs later, with Always On The Run, a Lenny Kravitz cover, that the audience's blood was reheated. As the first track of the show to feature bassist Todd Kerns on vocals, it was received with remarkable excitement and shouts of delight at seeing the musician in the center of the stage.
Bent To Fly took the hook from the previous song and set the scene for a new frenzy. In it, Slash ventured into the sun between rapid and intense twirls in the right corner of the stage, also showing a high degree of mutual excitement and making the song another important moment of the night.
Sugar Cane followed with an infectious degree of libido that easily captured the listener and sent them into a delirious ecstasy between screams and uncontrolled jumping. The song was another in the list of songs of generous intensity played on the occasion.
Spirit Love, Speed Parade, a cover of Slash's Snakepit, and We Will Roam were moments of good performance, but they acted as a breather until Kerns took over the vocals to perform Don't Damn Me, a cover of Guns and Roses. In it, the bassist clapped his hands and said 'heys' in orderly intonation, which was very well received by the audience.
Starlight had a more profound effect than We Will Roam, as it recalled the beginning of everything, the successful history between Myles Kennedy and Slash which, in 2024, will be more than two decades old. Single plunged the audience into a velvety, romantic delirium with its ecstatic delivery.
Wicked Stone reintroduced punch and a metallic sound, with Kennedy and Frank Sidoris supporting the rhythm guitars, while Slash performed an extended solo. In April Fool there was no fuss, but Kennedy gave the audience a theatrical lyrical interpretation, as well as instigating hand claps and waltzes that were quickly reciprocated.
Feel My World followed without frenzy. However, the next song was met with only mild hysteria for the tribute to Lemmy Kilmister that Slash always pays when he lets Kerns sing Doctor Alibi, a track that had the intro performed by Sidoris. Since Wicked Stone, however, the energy only picked up after these two songs.
You're A Lie was responsible for reviving the audience, who screamed and jumped in a new burst of energy. Following this path and with their blood even more boiling, the audience gave themselves over more viscerally to World On Fire, jumping, screaming and singing along throughout its entire duration.
With energy now bubbling, the audience was greeted with a bucket of cold water as, after the incendiary scene built up in the previous song, they were taken to a dramatic pause that consisted of the interval before the encore. Even so, the audience was soon clapping and whistling for the group to return.
Upon returning to the stage under soft, intimate lighting, the quintet played their own adaptation of Rocket Man, a cover by Elton John. The interesting thing was that Slash was responsible for the lap steel and Fitz was in charge of the keyboard, while Kerns, Kennedy, who surprised with his R&B interpretation, and Sidoris remained in their positions.
After Kennedy's debauchery with his triangle 'solo', Slash pulled out the intro to Anastasia, the finale. The audience was in a state of ecstatic frenzy even during the long, drawn-out solo which, as in Wicked Stone, had the support of two other guitars in the rhythm section. Even so, the delay in ending this virtuosity also delayed the end of the show, which was inevitably confirmed at 23:15.
What was interesting about the show, it has to be said, was the appearance of a smiling Myles Kennedy, looser and noticeably more at ease. With a more confident attitude, the musician even ventured to joke with the audience at specific moments with his humor à la 'uncle pave', as happened in the moments before the introduction of Anastasia.
As for the band as a whole, there was also a different kind of activity. More integrated, synergistic and in tune, the band delivered a more precise, balanced and equalized sound, as well as creating a more harmonious energy that transcended throughout the Espaço Unimed. No wonder, the group gave a 2.15 hour performance with a repertoire of 24 songs that covered, without exception, her entire discography.
In this regard, it is necessary to point out Fitz's resourcefulness, who, throughout the performance, maintained a hard and rigid posture. Not only did the drummer show looks of sheer tiredness and even desperation during Slash's improvisations, but he was clearly at a loss as to what to do, executing the same stiff turns in order to gain a better sense of mobility, while the guitarist showed creativity and energy.
As for the audience, they were also very receptive, unlike the other times SMKC had played in São Paulo. On the night of that rainy January 31st, the audience was truly committed and receptive to the group's songs, with a schizophrenic hysteria never seen before.
Based on the time between the 2019 concert and this one, it doesn't matter if another five years have to wait for the group to return to Brazil. After all, on the São Paulo leg of their The River Is Rising Rest Of The World Tour '24, Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators showed maturity as a group, musical awareness and a great ability to captivate audiences based on the versatility of the musicians and the wisdom of composing great hits.
