Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators: Live At The Roxy Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators: Live At The Roxy Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 16, 2015

That famous old adage says something like “you can’t go home again,” but as Slash mentions in a brief quote attributed to him in the booklet included with this new Blu-ray release, he got his start years ago playing clubs exactly like The Roxy, as well as other iconic venues like The Troubadour, so this 2014 concert was in fact something of a homecoming for him. The Roxy is a surprisingly “up close and personal” performance space, and this concert is occasionally hampered from a visual perspective by the intrusion of audience members in the first few rows getting so excited that they jump, frolic or otherwise gesticulate, effectively barring the cameras from capturing the action. Luckily that anomaly doesn’t affect the soundtrack, and Slash, along with his touring mates Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators (Todd Kerns, Brent Fitz, and Frank Sidoris) put on a high energy show that is notable perhaps at least as much for Slash’s relatively laid back guitar playing as it is for its otherwise boisterous proclivities.

The band marauds through a wide variety of songs associated with Slash’s former groups Guns ‘n’ Roses and Velvet Revolver, as well as solo outings and touring staples. The complete set list is as follows:

• 1. Ghost
• 2. Nightrain
• 3. Back From Cali
• 4. You Could Be Mine
• 5. Rocket Queen
• 6. Bent to Fly
• 7. Starlight
• 8. You’re a Lie
• 9. World on Fire
• 10. Anastasia
• 11. Sweet Child o’ Mine
• 12. Slither
• 13. Paradise City

Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators: Live At The Roxy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators Live at The Roxy 9.25.14 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Eagle Vision, an imprint of Eagle Rock Entertainment (along with a coterie of other entities, including Universal Music, Guitar Center, and just for good measure DirecTV) with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The progressive presentation of this concert effectively mitigates a lot of the typical anomalies we often see in high def concert videos, and so there is a refreshing absence of banding, posterizing and other distractions. There are occasional contrast issues, especially when the camera catches players with lights behind them which are aimed directly at the camera, but otherwise this is a solid and very appealing looking transfer that offers excellent detail and fine detail (you'll be able to count the perspiration drops on Slash's forehead if you're so inclined).

Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators: Live At The Roxy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators Live at The Roxy 9.25.14 features two bombastic audio options, though audiophiles should be aware that the disc defaults to the uncompressed LPCM 2.0 track rather than the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 option. That said, there's surprisingly little difference in focus or prioritization between these tracks, though the 5.1 track adds noticeable extra energy in the mid and lower ranges. Myles' soaring tenor is still easily heard even in the 5.1 track, and fidelity is excellent throughout both audio presentations.

Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators: Live At The Roxy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Bonus Tracks (1080p; 17:55) include:

  Stone Blind

  You're Crazy

  Wicked Stone

  30 Years to Life

Note: While Eagle Rock has authored these so that you can access them individually, the entire bonus section then continues to play after the selected song (so, for example, if you select You're Crazy, the supplements will continue to play through the two songs after You're Crazy).

Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy and The Conspirators: Live At The Roxy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators Live at The Roxy 9.25.14 is a high energy concert on a rather crowded stage with a lot of people trying to reach out and touch the players, something that repeatedly hampers actual camera coverage of the band. That occasionally annoying situation aside, Slash fans should find plenty here to enjoy, though the vaunted guitarist is not quite the shred head that he has been in the past. Recommended.