After reading all of the biographies and accounts of the band’s history, most rock fans are shocked to learn that any members of the original Guns N Roses are still alive. Physically alive, of course; it’s even a bigger shock to find a member of the band that’s career is still alive.

I mean, Duff McKagen has his own band and had a cup of coffee with Jane’s Addiction, but he hasn’t done much since Scott Weiland fucked up Velvet Revolver; same for Matt Sorum. Izzy Stradlin, Steven Adler-happily doing their own thing in anonymity. Then there’s Axl Rose, who continues to cause trouble around the world as he fronts a version of GNR that’s really only recognized by him-most of America could care less about it.

And then there’s Slash. Our happy-go-lucky, Cousin It-looking guitar hero, can still tour, churn out good music and bring joy to his fan base, which is something totally lost on his former lead singer/now antagonist Mr. Rose. Slash’s current solo tour kicked off a leg in San Francisco recently, I can happily tell you it was one the best rock concerts presented in Northern California this year.

Slash has had the good sense to sober up and show up on time, which puts him miles ahead of the other band still playing songs from Appetite for Destruction out there. He also has put together a great band that can play GNR, Velvet Revolver and his solo songs, which is no easy feat considering that more than 10 different vocalists participated in the recording of his solo album.

His touring vocalist is Myles Kennedy (who contributed two songs to the Slash solo record), the Alter Bridge singer whose name has turned up as a potential frontman for Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith, as well as Velvet Revolver, which is why he is now working for Slash. He can sing the banshee wail of Rose, the sleazy cool of Weiland and just about anyone else (Ian Astbury of The Cult among them), which kept the show here rolling along and on track; it never seemed like a song was out of place, despite the difference of those bands and singers.

Backing Slash and Kennedy are three guys who like they showed up at The Rainbow one night and were told to pack and get ready to go on the road-guitarist Bobby Schneck, bassist Todd Kerns and drummer Brent Fitz all look like your typical sleazy/cool Hollywood guys who play 80’s covers for a few bucks on off nights and tour with whoever will have them the rest of the time. That doesn’t mean they are bad-far from it, it just means that over the last 25 years or so an underground subculture of long-haired, scary looking tattooed guys who can play drums, bass and guitar have shot up in Hollywood, and Slash was smart enough to employ three of the better ones.

Slash was remarkably cool himself, considering he just filed for divorce from his wife. His playing was sharp, the riffs huge and his solos cleaner and crisper than I’ve heard in years. It could be the sobriety, the relationship with his band or the fact that he doesn’t have to worry about a mike stand sailing by his head or having to figure where the lead singer is five minutes before showtime, but Slash played as well as I’ve ever heard him on this night

Highlights were plentiful, most featuring Slash’s soloing or Kennedy’s vocals. Kennedy took his own “Back to Cali” to a place not heard on the record, and showed why Zeppelin considered him on a smoking cover of “Communication Breakdown.” Slash was particularly good on “Sweet Child of Mine,” with that searing, soaring guitar solo sounding just as good as it did in 1986. The guitarist punched through the loud, clean sound on virtually every song presented, and the crowd roared its approval on everything, even the songs it didn’t know as well as the classics.

So the question remains, which band would you rather see? Rose and his traveling band of hobos who show up late to virtually every show (or not at all)? Or our buddy Slash, who has turned his little solo career into something of substance. I’ll take Slash every single time.