It was cold and wet when the crowd entered The Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ on Saturday evening. However, the winter weather did not deter the fans excited to see Kings Of Chaos. Kings Of Chaos is a supergroup who originally consisted of Guns N Roses members Matt Sorum (drums), Duff McKagan (bass), and Gilby Clarke (guitar) along with a list of ever-changing guest members. Originally known as Rock N Roll All-Stars, the supergroup has included several rock legends including Gene Simmons, Sebastian Bach, Myles Kennedy, Slash, Corey Taylor, Joe Perry, Sammy Hagar, and Steven Tyler.
On this particular tour, only Sorum was present and he was joined by vocalists Chester Bennington (Linkin Park, formerly of Stone Temple Pilots), Robin Zander (Cheap Trick), and Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), guitarists Billy Duffy (The Cult) and Steve Stevens (Billy Idol), and bassist Robert DeLeo (Stone Temple Pilots).
The group performed many top hits including Stone Temple Pilots’ hit single,“Vaseline,” Billy Idol’s “White Wedding,” Cheap Trick’s “I Want You to Want Me,” and ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man.” There was also an acoustic rendition of Cheap Trick’s “The Flame” and ZZ Top’s “Jesus Left Chicago.” At one point, Sorum took the reigns with a version of “Ace of Spades” by Motorhead which he sung while playing the drums.
Bennington’s performance was reminiscent of his days with Stone Temple Pilots. He was full of energy and was all over the stage. He was also very interactive with the crowd, all while belting out the lyrics with perfection. Though he is from a different era of rock, he meshed very well with the band.
Zander was dressed in an iconic white rhinestone jacket, top hat, and glittery pants. The women in the crowd started screaming in excitement at his presence. He had a smile on his face throughout the entire performance and appeared genuinely happy to be up on stage. Although he mostly stuck to Cheap Trick material, he did a nice cover of Billy Idol’s “Rebel Yell.”
Gibbons was unmistakable with his classic leather jacket, sunglasses, hat, and long blonde beard. He brought a blues tone to the end of the show with “Tube Snake Boogie” and “La Grange.” It was his birthday and his wife Gilligan brought a cake out on stage while the band sang “Happy Birthday.”
The Kings Of Chaos is an amazing amalgamation of several talented artists. They put on one hell of a show and if they happen to come near you in the future, I highly recommend it.
Photos by T. Strubel
