Kings Of Chaos

Putting together former Guns N’ Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Gilby Clarke with Joe Elliott from Def Leppard, Myles Kennedy from Alter Bridge, Glenn Hughes from Deep Purple, Dave Kushner from Velvet Revolver and Ed Roland from Collective Soul, was a feat of genius.

This collaboration going by the aptly named Kings of Chaos, performed in the Sun City Superbowl this Saturday past, and in Cape Town a week earlier. And I was not going to miss it for the world; the bout of flu that took me by surprise on Thursday was just going to have to wait…

The girls and I cruised on up from Johannesburg to Sun City on Saturday, stopping by a pub on the way that served home-made beer. You could say that drinking beer while nursing a cold, is like having an appetite for destruction, but thankfully the sheer excitement of getting to witness rock royalty, kept me going.

So there was no Axl Rose, but when Myles Kennedy got stuck into Sweet Child O Mine, it was hard to tell he was missing. Myles of Alter Bridge is an awesome vocalist. But let’s not forget Glenn Hughes amazing delivery of the Deep Purple classics, Smoke on the Water and Highway Star and Joe Elliott’s retake of the Def Leppard favorites Animal, Pour Some Sugar On Me and Two Steps Behind. And off course Slash… a guitar god.

When the lounge chairs were pulled up on stage for the acoustic set, the crowd went wild in anticipation. Off course Glenn Hughes and Joe Elliott did not fail to meet expectations. An added bonus was Kings Of Chaos renditions of the Dylan classic Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door, Zeppelin’s Communication Breakdown and Bowie’s All The Young Dudes.

A special mention must got to Ed Roland who sang all my favorite Collective Soul favorites with gusto and aplomb. He’s getting on in years, but is still a superb performer.

For a little over two hours, we were all in rock heaven. South Africa has not been this spoiled for a long time. And then came Myles Kennedy with the closing song Paradise City, and it was over…

Sigh! Oh, to see it all again, and again.

Freshly Played #9: Stevie Ray Vaughan

Another in my series on great guitar riffs…

Little Wing

The original song was written by none other than the legendary Jimi Hendrix. It has been covered by guitar playing greats such as Eric Clapton, the Allman Brothers Band, Def Leppard, Santana, John Mayer, and Pearl Jam, among many others. However, my personal favorite cover is the instrumental version by another legend who has sadly also passed on – Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Watch, listen and be moved with this live YouTube version:

 

The Original by Hendrix