The blues could be the oldest form of American music. With his Orgy of the Damned release and companion S.E.R.P.E.N.T. (Solidarity, Engagement, Restore, Peace, Equity, N’, Tolerance) festival, Slash has given the blues a shot in the arm and brought some of the greats in the genre on the road with him. The traveling festival featured a lineup of Robert Randolph, ZZ Ward, and Keb Mo’ to Connecticut and certainly lived up to its billing as a celebration of the blues! Please scroll below for Slash and S.E.R.P.E.N.T. festival photos and review.
First up is Robert Randolph, the king of the pedal steel slide guitar. Randolph brings a joy to the blues, his set feels more like a revival than just a concert. The short but energetic set ended with a blistering version of the Hendrix classic “Foxy Lady” which showed why Randolph is considered one of the best guitarists in the world.
Vocalist ZZ Ward took the stage next in her trademark fedora. Ward recently released a new single “Mother” to celebrate the birth of her second child, the song fits perfectly in her set and was a definite highlight. In addition to her incredible voice, Ward showed off her harmonica skills as well as her acoustic guitar playing. There was a buzz in the crowd when her set ended, it felt like Ward and her ace band picked up a lot of new fans by the time they finished.
Keb Mo’, the elder statesman of the group, took the penultimate spot. Echoing the theme of the evening, Mo’ was surrounded by an amazing backing band that deftly moved from traditional blues, to front porch-style blues, and modern sounds. Keb Mo’ showed he is still one of the great performers in the genre and packed his set with his classics like “The Worst Is Yet To Come”, “Suitcase”, “Government Cheese”, and more.
Finally, it was time for the main event. Slash’s Blues Ball took the stage to Bukka White’s “Parchman Farm Blues”. While there may have been some skeptics when the guitar legend announced a blues album and tour, much like when you drop the needle on the record, the first notes on the stage more than satisfied the skeptics. Flanked by Johnny Griparic on bass, Tash Neal on guitar and vocals, Michael Jerome on drums, and former Guns N’ Roses sideman Teddy “Zig Zag” Andreadis on keys and vocals, the band blazed through the majority of Orgy of the Damned and combined old school blues with hard rock swagger.
Slash was clearly the star, but Andreadis played the frontman role. He handled most of the vocals with his whiskey and gravel-soaked voice and kept the crowd engaged with song introductions. The record features different vocalists on each track, but live Andreadis carried most of the vocal load while Tash Neal took the mic for a few tracks.
A huge highlight of the night was the funk-drenched celebration of “Papa Was A Rolling Stone”. The Orgy of the Damned version is sung by Demi Lovato and could be the only misstep on the record. Live, Neal handles the vocals while Slash works the wah and talk box throughout the song and Graparic lays down one of the funkiest bass lines this side of Bootsy Collins.
The main set was exclusively covers from the Orgy record (and the one original instrumental “Metal Chestnut”). The encore saw the band break out some other covers, a wonderfully inspired version of Bob Dylan’s “It Takes A Lot To Laugh and A Train To Cry” perfectly sung by Andreadis, and then the finale featuring the Blues Ball take on “Shake Your Moneymaker”. Not a person remained in their seat during the Elmore James classic, the entire crowd was up and dancing.
Despite an unusually small crowd (Slash tweeted about it after), the acts played as though it were a packed stadium. The crowd was a mix of blues fans familiar with all the acts and those there to see a guitar icon. The S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival really is a celebration of the blues and I have no doubt that many of the fans in attendance with their GN’R shirts and tophats have a greater appreciation of the genre and will hopefully support it in the future!
