Snakepit--With Guitarist Slash--Shows Its Fangs

Back in the late ‘80s, Guns N’ Roses brought a dangerous edge to the otherwise wimpy glam-rock scene that had infected the Sunset Strip--and the band became punk-like antiheroes in the process.

The group’s guitarist Slash returned to his old stamping grounds on Wednesday when his post-GNR outfit, Slash’s Snakepit, performed songs from its new album, “Ain’t Life Grand.” The result was a walloping dose of whiskey-and-women rock that was as soulful as it was vehement, and Snakepit performed with all the venom and swagger one would expect.

Wearing his signature top hat (and sporting some noticeably graying facial hair), the skilled guitarist took center stage many times throughout the show, and despite singer Rod Jackson’s bottomless pipes and Lenny Kravitz-like looks, it was mostly the riff king’s show. Tunes such as the sensuous “Shine,” the spunky “Alien” and the record’s jazzy title track were highlighted by Slash’s complex yet clean grooves.

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Recalling everyone from Aerosmith to Living Colour to Slash’s old band, Snakepit’s collection of pumped-up, classic rock-style ditties may be different from the aggro rock-rap currently flooding the airwaves, but then so was GNR’s manic metal--which, by the way, still holds up.

The crowd was most responsive when the group played some Guns N’ Roses tunes, though the renditions only invited comparison between the two groups, and left one hankering for a reunion.