The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle

Aftenbladet
Skambankt frontman Terje Winterstø Røthing slaughters Slash, Ron Wood and Ozzy Osbourne over the show at Quart yesterday.


Skambankt frontman Terje Winterstø Røthing played at Quart yesterday. Later in the evening he complained about Slash.

The group which went by the name "Slash & Friends" arrived on the scene Tuesday evening at Quart. Slash shared the stage with Ron Wood, Ozzy Osbourne, Jason Bonham and Fergie. How well this worked, opinions varied during and after the concert. One of those who wasn't satisfied was guitarist and vocalist Terje Winterstø Røthing. He played with Skambankt earlier in the evening.

"This is the great rock 'n roll swindle. And you can quote me on that."

"Can you elaborate a little?"

"What can you really say beyond that? The biggest karaoke show ever."

Reviews after the concert were varied. Torgrim Øyre of Dagbladet described it this way: "Slash & Friends - one of the most unlikely gigs in Norwegian festival history." He gave it four stars, and described the group as a "high-profile cover-band." Harald Fossberg of the BBC was "not impressed," and called the scheme "Slash Karaoke." He gave it three stars, as did VG.


Audiences we spoke with after the concert were divided in their opinions. Arne Grimerud walked out before Ozzy went on stage.

"It was just sad. To see my old heroes up there doing karaoke wasn't anything special. It was a fun experiment, but nothing more," he said on his way out of Bendik Bay.



Sonia Nes had traveled from Denmark to get to the concert. "Fantastic! We'll never see this again. People from Guns N' Roses, The Rolling Stones, and Black Sabbath together on the same stage. It was great," she said.

Vidar A. Hansen who came with a large group of friends spoke with us immediately after the show.

"Slash is a genius, but Fergie on vocals for "Sweet Child O'Mine" was not so great. Ozzy, however - well, he is Ozzy, 'The Prince of Fucking Darkness!' It's amazing that he's able to sing at all, and he actually did quite well. This was the best show - it worked surprisingly well," he said.

Slash at Quart - Today's Main Stage Lineup

• Slash & Friends
• McQueen
• Skambankt
• Juke Kartel

Opening the show today will be Melbourne, Australia-based band Juke Kartel.


Hand-picked by Slash himself to open the show "Juke Kartel is about one thing only. Forget the branding, strip away the hype. All that matters is the music.Rocking loud and hard, with a respectful nod to the blues, Juke Kartel is a charismatic blend of talent, passion and dedication with a downright mischievous streak."

Next up is Skambankt, a Norwegian hard rock band from Klepp.


They play a mixture of classic rock'n'roll, punk and hard rock in the tradition of bands like Motörhead, AC/DC, Sex Pistols, Ramones and The Stooges. All the lyrics are in Norwegian, and they convey the real spirit of punk: against the state, against the system, against corruption, capitalism, monitoring, religious fanaticism, and generally hate and treachery. (Wikipedia)

Playing the penultimate slot is Brighton's own McQueen.


One of Slash' own personal favorites, in 2008 McQueen signed-up with new Manager Tom Zutaut, former head of A&R at Geffen Records and the man who signed Guns N' Roses.

"Zoot" wasted no time getting McQueen on the bill with Velvet Revolver for their UK tour before shipping the band out for a bullet tour of Australia and New Zealand, supporting Finnish band HIM.

Slash told Classic Rock Magazine that "the main band that I am excited about at the moment is McQueen. They’re one of those off-the-wall sorta left-field bands, all-girls, sorta heavy metal, but they’re really fucking committed - they take their shit very seriously. I played Nightrain with them in Nashville - and I haven’t played that song since before I left GN’R - and the singer, Leah, sang Paradise City at a Camp Freddy gig. It was impressive - she sang in key; there was no auto tuner on her voice. They have a lot of attitude, but if you don’t fuck with them, they’re very well behaved!"

However, the biggest star of this show may be the stage itself. The largest stage ever built in Norway - 576 square meters not including support stages or ramps - is situated at the base of the "Amfiet," a 10 acre lawn with spectacular view of the skerries outside Kristiansand.