Okay, I know I’ve been away for too long now, and I can explain, I seriously can. The thing is, you guys will just have to wait for my explanation after this one special post, because people, I’ve got to tell you about my first musically life-changing experience in my first international band gig I’ve ever attended.

It was a Saturday night like no other. Me; my nephew, a hardcore metal guitarist in the making; and my dad, a soulful blues guitar-shredder in his own right, along with Surabaya’s rock music fans were united in front of Jatim Expo to witness Slash as he visits the city for the first – and hopefully not the last – time.

We were very fortunate to be able to stand really close to the stage with only three rows of people in front of us. That’s a perfect place because 1) you get to see your idols up just close enough and 2) that’s where Slash threw his guitar picks at, although I have to say you’d need some extra luck if you wanna catch them *sigh*

Needless to say, Mr. Saul Hudson was stellar. Whether it’s a classic Guns n’ Roses number or a new song from his solo eponymous album, he rocked the instrument like no other. The two most memorable performances for me are when he mashed up Civil War‘s ending part with Jimi Hendrix’s legendary intro of Voodoo Chile and when he played his Les Paul on the back of his neck. The latter gave me real chills because that is something I thought I would never see with my own eyes except on TV!

What’s equally important is, joining Time magazine’s second best electric guitarist of all time on stage was the man featured as the lead vocalist of this whole world tour, Myles Kennedy of Alter Bridge, who is such hot stuff himself. The dude’s got amazing pipes, no doubt about that, and the way he interacted with the audience was just as awesome. AND I SWEAR AT ONE POINT HE LOOKED AND SMILED AT ME. Okay, the last bit is probably unnecessary and untrue but it was that much of a treat watching and listening to him belt out some crazy rock and effing roll notes from less than three meters away. Him and Slash together gave me my real first starstruck moment ever, one so bad that during the first couple of songs I couldn’t even manage to sing and dance along to the music like everyone there did!

So, all in all, five out of five from me, boys! Keep rockin’ Iiii|; ),

Attachments: Photos! They aren’t of great quality because they were taken from my cell phone, though :(

Slash solo

Myles Kennedy and Slash