It was, December 2022 when Mammoth WVH last stood on this stage. They were opening for Alter Bridge that evening, and in so doing they proved, they could deliver an Arena Rock set with the greatest of ease.
In March 2024, they’re here again but with a different show, a newer album, but the same outlook. Wolfgang Van Halen may be softly spoken, but there is nothing demur about the riffs that he plays or the sound his band makes.
A half hour made up of a clutch of from their second record mostly, sees “Another Celebration at the End of the World” take centre stage, “You’re To Blame” (from the first collection) has Frank Sedoris earning his money on the first of his double shifts, while “Pastime” just has that effortless massive sound.
Van Halen is a wonderful guitar player. His solo on “Take A Bow” is right up there, and he belongs – like the rest of the band do – on stages like this and in rooms like this. He makes it look almost effortless.
“Don’t Back Down” things a set that if anything is too short, it would be interesting to see Mammoth WVH play a full length show. There is a very real possibility it could be incendiary.
“Can you make sure you sit close,” the friendly steward in the disabled section had said when we arrived at the resort world arena this evening. “We are very busy tonight”.
She’s not wrong either. It is probably busier in the room this evening, than it was 10 days ago or so when Judas Priest had played an near hometown show.
Such, I guess, is the enduring power of Slash.
There is a moment during “Halo” the third song he plays, when he’s on the big screen, playing that brown guitar, wearing is top hat and sunglasses, leaning backwards, and just for a minute, he is cool as he ever was.
And his solo stuff, although perhaps bearing the hallmark of the day job, is more focused on massive sending arena rock, than anything dangerous. Over a series of albums over the last 20 years or so he’s built up a fairly formidable back catalogue. “River Is Rising” from his latest album with Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators proves that.
And credit to them that is what they focus on at this evening throughout what becomes a lengthy set.
The first hour or so had flown by. “Driving Rain”, a magnificent “Back From Cali” for that 2010 record with all the collaborations, which perhaps convinced Slash to use Kennedy has his front man and “C’est la vie” which is drenched in vocoder, were all marvellous. Then there was a cover of “Always On The Run”, the magnificent Lenny Kravitz song the slash had co written.
That one saw bassist Todd Kerns on vocals, and he’d done a good job (in truth he was less convincing on the night’s only G n R song “Bad Apples” a little later) but Kennedy returns for “Avalon” and “Bent To Fly.”
Then comes the elephant in the room. Towards the end of “Magic Stone”, which had been rocking along, Kennedy disappears, returning with a guitar and the two men, plus Sedoris play a solo that frankly goes on and on. Slash is a wonderful guitarist of course, and no doubt many would have had this down as the highlight of the show, but its all about opinions and in mine momentum is lost. In truth, it never really returns.
“Fill My World” sees Kennedy ask people to put pictures of their pets into the air, Kerns sings “Doctor Alibi” taking the place of Lemmy on the studio version, and any set the ends with the a song as good as “World On Fire” should sparkle but they punctuate it with band introductions and flow is slightly disrupted again.
For the encore, there is unexpectedly brilliant version of “Rocket Man (I Think Its Going To Be A Long, Long Time)” where Slash excels on the lap steel guitar before “Anastasia” rounds things out.
The class on show cannot be underestimated, the level of skill and quality in the songs must never be forgotten, but the show possibly could have done with being a little shorter.
Still, anytime Slash is on a stage, it is never less than compelling. And he’s never less than the coolest man in the room.
