AC/DC w/ Slash's Snakepit Live @ Glen Helen Blockbuster Pavilion, San Bernardino, Ca. Saturday 9/16/00 by Goth Brooks

Whoever came up with the saying "Rock is Dead" would surely have a hard time convincing the as-far-as-the-eyes-can-see crowd at the Blockbuster Pavilion that there was even the smallest shred of truth to that statement. Rock n' Roll is alive and well and it's never gone away, nor is it going to go away any time soon. The thing that people need to understand is that the oversaturation of music by the "shoegazer" alternative bands in the 90's, fooled a lot of people into believing that sparse songwriting was a viable form of music, and that songs sounded cooler stripped down without any of the dynamics provided by solid riffing and the kind of guitar leads that suck the life right out of you and leave you gasping for breath. It's obvious that a lot of these 90's bands used this as an excuse for their lack of musical proficiency and good old Rock n' Roll showmanship. Thank God for AC/DC being the Vanguards of Rock n' Roll that they are, and for their good sense to bring a band as great as Slash's Snakepit along for this tour.
The clock struck 8 and the lights went down. The emcee announced to the crowd in a no bullshit manner, "Are You Ready? Ladies and Gentlemen, from the mean streets of Yucaipa, SLASH'S SNAKEPIT!!!" A single spotlight hit the right side of the stage and there he was, the man himself, in his black leather and trademark top hat with a Les Paul slung low. Slash wasted no time getting the attention of the audience with the opening riffs to "Life's Sweet Drug" off of the upcoming release "Ain't Life Grand". The rest of the band mercilessly kicked into the song right on cue, and damn it sounded good! Slash has assembled an ace group of musicians for this second incarnation of Slash's Snakepit. Former Virginia based vocalist Rod Jackson is a very capable front man who has what you'd call a classic "Barrelhouse Blues" voice. It's very powerful, kick ass stuff when combined with an onstage persona that's a mix of David Lee Roth, Clint Eastwood, and Jim Dandy Mangrum from Black Oak Arkansas. All I can say is, Rod Jackson is one Bad Mutha! I'd like to see Axl "Get in the Ring" with this guy!

Guitarist Keri Kelli is in a choice position with this band. Slash gives Keri plenty of opportunity to shine as his rhythm/lead guitarist and puts his own guitar hero status on hold to get the best results out of the new guys. Keri, along with bassist Johnny Blackout does a great job of covering the whole stage with high-energy style. I especially like Johnny Blackouts way of stalking the stage from end to end and then picking a spot as close to the crowd as he can get, just so he can egg them on to rock-out harder. Matt Laug is incredible on drums and has that Bonham sound where the bass drum goes BOOM and the snare cracks loudly like a shot straight from a cannon. The band played almost every song off the upcoming release "Ain't Life Grand" including the title track, "Shine", "Mean Bone", and "Back to the Moment". In addition to those songs, about three quarters of the way into it we were treated to "Mr. Brownstone" slowed down a couple of beats per minute, giving it a real cool groove oriented feel. Rod Jackson does a great job of NOT singing it like Axl sings it and makes the song his own by singing it the way Rod does.

This was the first time I'd ever seen AC/DC live and it was just as awesome an experience as I could have ever hoped for it to be. I remember being a 16 year old kid and going to South Coast Movie Theater to see the AC/DC movie "Let there be Rock", which sadly came out about the time Bon Scott died. I was hooked right then and there and went right out and bought "Highway to Hell". In the years that followed I either bought or somehow accumulated every other AC/DC album there was. Although "Back in Black" is a great album, I've always favored the Bon Scott era AC/DC. I was not at all disappointed at this show regardless of people writing off AC/DC as old, washed-up, or has-beens. I saw the band on Saturday Night Live a couple of months ago with WWF Superstar "The Rock" hosting the show, and although I was left feeling a little disappointed at Angus and the rest of the bands inability to really go-off on television, I never wrote them off as old, washed-up, or has-beens. Has-beens? Hell no! AC/DC is as Rock n' Roll as Rock n' Roll gets! From the opening chords of the show opener "You Shook Me All Night Long", every person in the place was up on their feet and never sat back down. From there, they continued the Rock n' Roll assault with the title track from their latest release "Stiff Upper Lip" complete with clips from the video and the unveiling of a GIGANTIC forty-foot tall statue of Angus. (That for the remainder of the show grew horns anytime a song with an "evil" subject matter was played.)

Did I just say I favored Bon Scott era AC/DC? Well, I do. But I have to tip my hat to Brian Johnson because he really does the older stuff justice and does Bon proud. All the while singing the songs in his very own, distinctively more grimacing than Bon voice. As a matter of fact, the two and a half-hour set consisted mostly of Bon Scott era material, which was fine by me (and thousands of cheering fans -ed.) Having been the AC/DC frontman for twenty years now, Brian understands that the fans love the songs that Bon sang as much as they love his own. He doesn't shy away from the bands past; he embraces it with a level of respect and appreciation that would make Bon proud. He showed that appreciation with a lighting packed rendition of "The Jack" which energized the crowd to new heights when Brian asked them to sing along. There might be something more powerful than 20,000 to 30,000 people shouting "She's got the Jack" at the top of their lungs, but I sure haven't heard it yet.

Angus has not slowed down one bit and still commands the stage with his demonic, otherworldly energy and natural ability to entertain the largest crowds any Rock n' Roll band has ever had any business entertaining. The rhythm section of Malcolm Young on rhythm guitar, Cliff Williams on bass, and original drummer Phil Rudd (Welcome back Phil) lay down their signature blues based rhythm to round out the AC/DC sound. While the set consisted of mostly AC/DC classics, the band did manage to squeeze in three songs off of their latest album including "Stiff Upper Lip", "I feel safe in New York City", and a powerful rocker I hadn't heard yet called "Meltdown". Another thing I noticed was just how cohesive the set of songs they're playing on this tour really are. The new songs sound great right there alongside the classics like "Shoot to Thrill", "Rock and Roll ain't Noise Pollution", "The Jack", "Bad Boy Boogie", "Hell ain't a Bad Place to Be", "Dirty Deeds", "Hells Bells" (complete with the huge bronze AC/DC bell and Brian swinging from it), and "Highway to Hell". For the first encore they pulled out a real gem from their bag of tricks and rocked us with "TNT". Then they delivered the final knockout during their foot stomping performance of "For Those About to Rock" with cannons exploding from the stage when Brian hit the lyric "Twenty one gun salute…FIRE!"