Slash in concert

As a huge rock n' roll fan, there are certain guitarists that define generations for me. For the 60's, it's Jimi Hendrix. For the 70's, it's Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. For the 80's and 90's, it's Slash. While I've never gotten to see Slash play in Guns N' Roses or any of his other bands, I was fortunate to catch him with his latest band touring for his new solo CD last night at Northern Lights Casino in Walker, MN.

On his new CD, Slash has a bevy of guest artists, ranging from Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy Kilmeister of Motorhead to Ian Astbury of the Cult and even Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas. One guest on two songs on the album is also the singer on Slash's tour, namely Myles Kennedy from the band Alter Bridge. Myles did a great job of channeling Axl Rose on Guns N' Roses classics like "Civil War," "Night Train," "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Paradise City." The band also played the songs "Back From Cali," "Ghost," "Starlight" and the current single "By The Sword" from Slash's new album. Myles even strapped on a guitar as he led the band in playing the Alter Bridge song "Rise Today."

While the other touring musicians (who you probably won't recognize unless you've seen them as part of tour bands for Green Day, Alice Cooper and other bands) were great and brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the show, they pale in comparison to lead guitarist Slash. During one song in the middle of the show, Slash's right hand was moving so fast playing his guitar that it almost seemed like a blur. I stood silently in awe in the second row, realizing I was watching one of the best guitarists in rock today. Fans cheered loudly as he played his familiar solos on songs like "Sweet Child O' Mine," "Civil War" and the Velvet Revolver single "Slither." I was impressed by his strong solo performance in the second half of the show which morphed into a great band instrumental cover of the "Godfather" movie theme, before leading into Slash's often-imitated, but never duplicated into to "Sweet Child O' Mine."

For the first show on their summer tour, I have to say that Slash and his band did a great job - they covered songs from pretty much all of Slash's career, from Guns N' Roses and Slash's Snakepit, to Velvet Revolver and the latest CD. Just another great concert experience at Northern Lights Casino in Walker!

People whose 15 minutes of fame are over

I think we all know Andy Warhol's famous quote about everyone being famous for at least 15 minutes. With that in mind, here's a few "celebrities" who I think need to disappear from the public limelight:

1. Heidi Montag and pretty much any other reality show "celebrity." I use the term "celebrity" here very loosely, because I feel that anyone whose sole motivation in life is to flaunt the fact that they should be famous because they were on a reality TV show really needs to rethink their focus in life.

2. Elizabeth Hasselbeck - another former reality show "celebrity" who parlayed her stint on "Survivor" into a hosting gig on "The View," a show which I think was best portrayed in the "Family Guy" cutaway scene where all the hosts were shown as clucking chickens.

3. Jon & Kate from "Jon & Kate plus 8." I get really tired of hearing about this dysfunctional family. I think they should really focus on their 8 kids than being in the public limelight.

4. "Bombshell" McGee and any of the alleged mistresses of Jesse James, Tiger Woods, and any other celebrities. Does anyone really care what these attention-starved people think?

Those are all the ones that immediately come to mind. If any others come to mind, I'll be sure to add them to this list. Feel free to let me know who you think should be added to this list too. Thanks & have a great weekend!