Duff McKagan at Irving Plaza

Michael McKagan, better known as Duff McKagan, grew up in Seattle, Washington, where his brother taught him to play bass. In 1979, at age 15, McKagan formed the punk band the Vains, in which he played bass, and also played guitar in another punk band, the Living. In 1980, McKagan joined the pop-punk band the Fastbacks as their drummer. In 1982, McKagan became the drummer for the hardcore punk band the Fartz, which evolved into the post-punk band 10 Minute Warning, in which McKagan played guitar. In 1983, McKagan moved to Los Angeles, California, where he co-founded Road Crew with guitarist Slash and drummer Steven Adler. In 1985, McKagan joined Guns N' Roses; Slash and Adler joined two months later. In 1987, Guns N' Roses released its debut album, Appetite for Destruction, which sold more than 28 million copies worldwide, 18 million in the United States, making it the best-selling debut album of all time in the states. In 1995, with Guns N' Roses largely inactive, McKagan formed the Neurotic Outsiders, which disbanded in 1997. Following his resignation from Guns N' Roses in 1997, McKagan moved back to Seattle and reunited with 10 Minute Warning until 1998. In 1999, he formed the hard rocking Loaded, in which he sang and played bass and rhythm guitar. Between 2002 and 2008, he played bass in Velvet Revolver. He briefly joined Alice in Chains, Jane's Addiction, the Rock N Roll All Stars, Kings of Chaos, and the Hollywood Vampires. After several guest appearances over the years, McKagan officially rejoined Guns N' Roses in 2016. McKagan, now residing in Seattle, released his second solo album, Tenderness, on May 31, 2019.

Billed as Duff McKagan featuring Shooter Jennings at Irving Plaza tonight meant that Shooter Jennings (keyboards) and his band (fiddler Aubrey Richmond, guitarist/pedal steel player John Schreffler, bassist Ted Russell Kamp, drummer Jamie Douglass) played an opening set, and after intermission they became McKagan's backing band. Almost like a live listening party, McKagan performed all 11 tracks of his current album, plus three Guns N' Roses deep cuts  along with covers of songs by the Clash, Mad Season, and Mark Lanegan. (McKagan brought his wife, Susan Holmes, onstage so he could sing Lanegan's "Deepest Shade" to her.) While McKagan pushed the punk element in Guns N' Roses, here he showed little evidence of this affinity; instead, he and the band hinged his music on mellow country roots. The pedal steel and the fiddle especially kept the music twangy. McKagan's lyrics surveyed the new America, meanwhile, addressing the #MeToo movement, clickbait culture, school shootings, opioid abuse, mental health and suicide. The set featured few rockers; even the Guns N' Roses songs were channeled through a country music twist. McKagan's project was an admiral stretch considering his musical past; one can only hope that in the future he will have a few hard-banging rockers in his live set.

Setlist:

1. You Ain't the First (Guns N’ Roses cover)
2. Breaking Rocks
3. Tenderness
4. Chip Away
5. Feel
6. Wasted Heart (Duff McKagan’s Loaded song)
7. River of Deceit (Mad Season cover)
8. Dust N' Bones (Guns N’ Roses cover)
9. Last September
10. It's Not Too Late
11. Falling Down
12. Cold Outside
13. Parkland
14. Clampdown (The Clash cover)
15. Dead Horse (Guns N’ Roses cover)
16. Don't Look Behind You
17. Deepest Shade (Mark Lanegan cover)