When Pearl Jam came to Taipei's International Convention Center in 1996, the staff virtually forced the rockers to get back in their theater seats and watch in relative peace. When Weezer was in town the next year, security again had to interrupt the performance and make everyone sit down. Odds are, the same will happen tomorrow night when Slash and his new band, Slash's Snakepit, show up at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall to shred their guitars for a packed house.
Slash brings his band to Taipei fresh on the heels of the release of his new album, Ain't Life Grand, and a quick promotional tour of California. Taipei will kick off the Asian leg of his tour, which will also include two shows in Korea and five more in Japan. Then it's on to New Zealand, Australia and Europe -- all before the Christmas holidays. After that, he's going to South America.
Slash's Snakepit was originally formed in 1995, one year before Slash officially quit Guns 'n Roses. Aside from its eponymous headliner, however, none of the original members are left. In fact, the band dissolved for a while before Slash reformed it earlier this year to write and record Ain't Life Grand, which was released on Oct. 10.
So far, the album has been given a high rating of four and a half stars by the die-hard fans who've bought and reviewed it on Amazon.com. The Billboard top 100 albums chart, however, tells a different story, as Ain't Life Grand has so far failed to appear.
The music itself is the same hard driving guitar rock of the 80s glam era you'd expect from Slash. It has the same gritty edge he brought to G 'N R, only the tunes don't have the same way of working their way into your head and staying there. Instead, they just kind of rock right through you, then they're gone -- which is a good indicator of how they could really bring the house down in a live show. The only question is whether the staff at the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall will allow it.
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