Two guitarists not known for blazing speed in their solos, instead, they weave their souls into their music. There’s something to be said for both these players – each has only been in one band as a national act. They have defined their respective band’s sound, and there is no way you can imagine Pink Floyd without Gilmour, and no way to hear U2 without the riffs from the Edge.

Both are masters of sustain and special effects layered in delay and chorus. Each brings a style that is almost never duplicated – the reason? It’s impossible to steal someone’s soul.

Who’s the master of his craft?

David Gilmour

The Edge

Here’s one for all you baseball fans; a gem from last season in before a Florida Marlins game. Leave it to Yngwie Malmsteen to extend the “National Anthem” at a sporting event into an all-out wankfest. Yes, Yngwie, it is all about you!

Interesting match here. With perhaps the biggest “Glam Band” from the 80′s in Poison and their guitarist, C.C. DeVille up against the more critically acclaimed George Lynch of Dokken and Lynch Mob.

Both have sinister chops that can shred through multiple layers of sound. But of these two, which one delivered more memorable performances?

C.C.DeVille

George Lynch

Compared to Zakk, where he’s still performing and can still continue to amaze us with some new licks that we may not have had the chance to before.

Either way, it’s a tough choice.
Dimebag Darrell:

Zakk Wylde

Here is one of the sickest, most adventurous blues guitar recordings ever. It’s worth the time. Check it!

But whatever.

While I like both, I have to say that I am biased towards KWS, being that Frankie and I just caught him playing in Pittsburgh recently – and it’s been announced that Joe Bonamassa is arriving to the Burgh soon as well.

I don’t don’t the talent, I just question the labeling. Regardless, from what I have seen and heard so far, Kenny still gets my vote.

What say you?

Joe Bonamassa

Frankie: Joe Bonamassa – He is getting a really killer tone out of that Les Paul. Wonder how. Very good tune, go to about the 3:55 mark to see the smoke start flying. He uses a lot of virtuoso in his solo to get the tone I think, and then when he switches to a rhythm section still has that low end crunch you get with a Gibson to sell the rhythm.

Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Both are un-conventional players in their own right. Where Stu brings a finesse and fusion style to his playing, Les is more of a groove/funk/weird type of sound. And yes, he has a friggin WHAMMY BAR on his bass!

Regardless, both bring some unique elements to the table. Which one would you want for your band? Which one do you think is more influential? Which one do you like best?

Stu Hamm:

Les Claypool:

Another great battle between two of the most successful guitarists of the last 20 years. While Kirk has remained in Metallica for the entire stint, Slash started with GNR, and due to Axl being a complete phucktard, has moved on to solo projects.

At one point in time, these two bands toured together, and I was fortunate enough to see them play. I’ve seen Metallica many times more than Slash, and from a performance perspective, Kirk certainly has had more chops to play.

While they have both brought their style to their music, which one do you think has been more influential? Which one do you think is the flat-out better player? Which one would you want to party with? Which one do you think could deliver a knock-out solo on the spot?

Slash:

Kirk Hammett:

Back on his first time through Pittsburgh, he was a nervous kid that had great chops, but his stage presence was something that needed to be upgraded. That was back in 1997.

Fast forward to today and it’s quite clear that he’s found his comfort zone on stage.

The Venue: Carnegie Library of Homestead

The seating holds over 1,000 people and even if you are in the back row, it’s still intimate enough that you’ll see a great show.

Unless you have THIS GUY STANDING UP ALMOST IN FRONT OF YOU as I was trying to look at the gear and pedals getting laid down to help out with his set.

At least he sat down when the talent came on.

The opening act would’ve been better if it weren’t for the muddy sound of the bass and drums. Honestly, I couldn’t tell, but my partner in crime tonight is a sound board guy and he’ll be adding his thoughts on a regular basis here soon…

So, the lights get dim and Kenny opens with “Never Lookin’ Back”. Immediately the tone is way better, hence part of the reason he’s a national act and the opening band remains local.

They continued to play some more songs from the new album before playing some older stuff. As the concert progressed, there was only one thought that continually ran through my mind. What was Chris Layton thinking about as he heard all of this? Sure, SRV has been gone for over 21 years now, but there has to be some similarities that popped into his head.

Of course, the encore wrapped up with “Voodoo Child” and it was absolutely mind-blowing to see this song performed by my generation’s best Blues player.

There are some other great moments that took place, but those are reserved for those who saw the show. All I’ll say is, anytime that you can see a great artist perform, DO IT. The web is great, and social media is cool and everyone has fun playing angry birds on their phones.

But nothing beats seeing a great artist work his craft on stage. Those moments can’t be shared through this medium. You just have to see it live and experience for your self.