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KINGS OF CHAOS ARE ROYAL ROCKERS!

| Sande Caplin |

People have asked, “Who are Kings of Chaos?” Some rock lovers already know but if you haven’t heard of the Kings of Chaos, listen up! A touring supergroup founded by Matt Sorum of Guns N’ Roses. It changes lineups of rock royality to include such luminaries as Steven Tyler, Nuno Bettencourt, Joe Elliot, Sebastian Bach, Slash and others but have mostly played outside of the U.S. They brought one of their rare shows to the Sunshine State on Saturday night.  Hitting the Hard Rock Live in Hollywood, Floridians were lucky to be in the presence of this band of kings of rock! This lineup included, Robin Zander, of “Cheap Trick”, Billy Gibbons, “ZZ Top”, Guitar great Steven Stevens from Billy Idol’s band, Glenn Hughes “Deep Purple” and those bad boys of “Guns N’ Roses”, Matt Sorum on drums, Gilby Clarke on guitar and Duff McKagan on the bass to round out the Kings.

A setlist that ranged from Idol’s “Rebel Yell” to Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” made a hit by Guns in the 80’s, was a formidable task for these musicians to take on these rock classics and then blow the crowd away in the process. It was an exciting spectacle to watch.  In their special tribute to BB King, Glenn Hughes and Billy Gibbons took the crowd on a bittersweet ride with the King of the Blues on his hit “The Thrill Is Gone”.  It was appropriate that rock bluesman Gibbons was leading this memorial.

Cheap Trick’s Robin Zander surprised and delighted the crowd on lead vocals by stretching his repertoire to include singing lead on Rebel Yell, Paradise City, Mrs. Brownstone, and on Gibbons own “Tush”.  Zander had the crowd amazed by his vocal skills.  Be sure to catch him on tour with Cheap Trick or the Robin Zander Band, always a great show.

Glenn Hughes sang Deep Purple like it was 1975!  “Smoke On The Water”, “Burn” and “Highway Star” brought back the days of “Machine Head” All rockers owned that album back in the day.  Mr. Hughes and Zander then really packed a punch with the encore of “Whole Lotta Love”! Switching off on lead vocals, these two powerhouse voices were amazing, hitting high notes that Robert Plant would applaud!

A great night of guitars licks, drum solos and some of the best vocalists rock has to offer is a King’s Feast for the rock aficionado! Be sure not to miss “Kings of Chaos” the next time they tour since now you will know what you don’t want to miss!

Photos by Vicky Sullivan, Rock the Lens Photography

Kings of Chaos

Rock the Lens Photography

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