Last week Slash’s S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Festival made a stop at Tucson’s AVA outdoor Amphitheatre on a stormy night. S.E.R.P.E.N.T. is an anagram and stands for Solidarity, Engagement, Restore, Peace, Equality N’ Tolerance. Guns’n Rose’s Slash, is one of the world’s most admired guitarist in existance today. Add an allstar cast of blues musicians and you have a celebration of the blues with a portion of the proceeds going to charity.
The tour accompanies the release of Slash’s latest album Orgy of the Damned. The album is filled with soulful melodies and electrifying performances. The entertainers on the tour are a who’s who of today’s best blues musicians and will change during the summer. It was announced that this was the last night for Eric Gales, Samantha Fish, and Warren Haynes.
Everyone was in a hurry to get the show started due to the weather being unpredictable. Eric Gales opened the festivities with as much guitar swagger as the law would allow. My only complaint was that the set was much too short being only 30 minutes (four songs). Gales packed the set with riviting rendions of “You Don’t Know the the Blues,” “Voodoo Child,” and a blend of “Kasmir,” and “Back in Black.”
Samantha Fish followed Gales with another kickass 30-minute set. Fish performed here last year as a part of Buddy Guy’s last tour. It was obvious that the crowd rememebered her guitar prowess as they were out of their seats clapping and dancing to her hard driving guitar licks. Her four songs included “Kick Out the Jams,” “Bulletproof,” “I Put a Spell on You,” and “Somebody’s Always Trying.” Fish was on fire. She brought out a surprise guest, Warren Haynes, for a song and then it was quickly over.
Warren Haynes and his band extordinaire took the stage after Fish. His band included John Medeski on keysboards, Kevin Scott on bass, and Terrence Higgins on drums. Haynes was playing guitar. The 45 minute set included “Man in Motion,” “Banks of the Deep End,” “Hattissburg Hustle,” but also the song that the fans kept shouting for throughout the set, “Soulshine” was performed at the end.
Slash’s set was the main event at the end of the show and a celebration of one of the world’s guitar heros. It was filled with classic blues songs like “Born Under a Bad Sign,” “Stormy Monday,””Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” and “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry.” Tash Neil was the vocalist for the night, add bassist, Johnny Griparic and keyboardist, Teddy Andreadis, and drummer, Michael Jerome.
It was supercharged blues with the volume turned up for the crowd. Warren Haynes was the first guest to join Slash during his set and before the evening was over, all of the previous performers joined Slash during the set. The weather turned out to be cooperative for a great night outdoor fans. It was a set of improvisational magic.
The S.E.R.P.E.N.T. festival runs through August 17th with more excellent acts including Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram, Larkin Poe, Keb’ Mo,’ Robert Randolph, ZZ Ward, and special unannounced guests. If the show comes to your area, do yourself a favor and go. You won’t regret it. Check out the dates here.
Words and Photos by Mary Andrews