On This Day in 2010, Slash Was Targeted by a Concertgoer in the Middle of “Sweet Child O’ Mine”

Other than the music itself, the other elements that make rock ‘n’ roll so fascinating are the vulgarity, anger, angst, hedonism, and general antics. Every major rock ‘n’ roll band and musician seemingly knows about at least one or two of these things. However, Slash is one musician who seemingly knows about all of them.

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The Guns N’ Roses guitarist has lived the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle to the fullest extent. So, he is no stranger to the antics it typically entails. Thus, when something out of the ordinary transpires, he brushes it off his shoulder and scores a big smile. One instance that showed Slash in his element was on this day, June 10, 2010, at the PalaSharp Arena in Milan, Italy.

It’s All Just Rock ‘n’ Roll for Slash

In April of 2010, Slash released his debut self-titled solo album that featured guest vocalists such as Alice Cooper, Chris Cornell, Ozzy Osbourne, Fergie, and many other musicians. Following the release of his album, Slash’s album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. It was the first album Slash put out since releasing Libertad with his band Velvet Revolver in 2007.

Like most musicians do, after he released the album, he embarked on a tour to promote the album. The We’re All Gonna Die tour lasted for roughly four months and featured the lineup of Slash, Myles Kennedy, Bobby Schneck, Todd Kerns, and Brent Fitz. While the tour marked a major milestone in Slash’s career, the highlight of the tour was when a concertgoer tried to full-on form tackle Slash while he was on stage playing the Guns N’ Roses classic, “Sweet Child O’ Mine”.

During the performance, the guitarist is right in the middle of his iconic guitar solo when a rogue fan runs on stage and tries to tackle him. With the help of security, the fan missed Slash and fell into the crowd. Like a true rock star, Slash continued playing the solo and finished the song without hardly missing a beat.

Concerning the eventful concert, he simply stated that it was “a kick-a— rock show.” How would you expect Slash to react to such an event? Do you think he’d complain? No, as the man is tailored for instances such as this one. And per his comments, he seemingly lives for them to a certain extent.

(Note, if you want to see Slash dodge the attacker like an NFL running back, fast forward to 1:12 in the video featured above.)

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images