On Friday, September 21, East Coast hard-rockers Saliva came to Vinyl Las Vegas inside the Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas for their final show on their Til Death Do Us Part Tour, with support from the Las Vegas local band, Foundry. There was a palpable increase in energy in the room when Saliva took the stage. It's been just under a year since I last saw Saliva perform live, but since then they have gone through a couple of lineup changes. In May of this year Brad Stewart (bass) announced his retirement, but I was pleasantly surprised to see him take the stage once again this tour. It appears his retirement was short-lived, which is good news for fans, and I am sure for his bandmates as well. Saliva has a new drummer, Tosha Jones (formerly of The Dead Deads), and her hard-hitting style seems to fit well with the band. She can really pound the skins! Then, of course, there are the familiar faces of Wayne Swinny (guitar) and Bobby Amaru (vocals).
While they played a nearly identical set list from the last time that I saw them in December this show had a bit of a twist with them turning "Doperide" into a medley with bits of "In The Air Tonight" and "Another Brick In The Wall" both blended into it. Immediately after that Amaru picked up an acoustic guitar and kicked off a string of eclectic covers, ranging from Zeppelin to Britney Spears (no, that is not a typo)! Amongst those acoustic covers, Amaru took a moment to pay homage to the late Vinnie Paul, and dedicated Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" to the legendary drummer.
Saliva transitioned back into their own material finishing off the acoustic set with "Hero", a song recorded by Chad Kroeger (Nickelback) and Josey Scott (former singer of Saliva), and then easing back into their song “Always”. They finished strong with a pair of hit singles from their platinum album Every Six Seconds (“Click, Click, Boom” and “Your Disease”).
Both bands put on great performances and there was a lot of energy in the room. It was one of my favorite shows of the year, and it was great to see several local musicians including DJ Ashba, Stoney Curtis, and others coming out in support.
Saliva Set list:
Ladies and Gentlemen
Superstar
Army
Survival of the Sickest
Musta Been Wrong
Doperide (medley)
(acoustic covers)
Babe I'm Gonna Leave You - Led Zeppelin
Bother - Stone Sour
Livin' On A Prayer - Bon Jovi
What Hurts The Most - Rascal Flatts
Free Bird - Lynyrd Skynyrd
...Baby One More Time - Britney Spears
Hero - Chad Kroeger/Nickelback, Josey Scott
Always
Click, Click, Boom
(encore)
Your Disease
Saliva Photos from Randy Udell / R U Rocking' Photos
Foundry was support for the Saliva show, and with a featured local cast did a great job warming up the room. Foundry is an American hard rock band featuring Mark Boals (vocals), Chris Iorio (guitar), Scott Griffin (bass) & Marc Brattin (drums). Some might recognize Boals from the Raiding The Rock Vault music show featured at HRH's Vinyl also. He has also done stints with Dokken (bass) and Yngwie Malmsteen (vocals). Foundry has produced one self-titled studio album (2015) and has since undergone a lineup overhaul, with Marc Brattin being the only remaining original member, but word has it they are putting the finishing touches on a second album which should be out early 2019. They have a gritty, hard-hitting sound, with clean vocals and a heavy dose of distorted guitar riffs mixed in, and I'm really digging their song, "Get Over It".
Both bands put on great performances and, while it was not quite a capacity crowd, there was a lot of energy in the room. It was one of my favorite shows of the year, and it was great to see several local musicians including DJ Ashba, Stoney Curtis, and others coming out in support.
Foundry set list:
Not This Time
Mind Radio
Busted
Save Me
Get Over It
Another Way
Prophet
Thunder Rolls
Hellraiser
Money
Intoxicate
Television
Foundry Photos from Randy Udell / R U Rocking' Photos