Duff McKagan ends Lighthouse tour in Seattle

Duff McKagan was in town for the final stop of his Lighthouse Tour at the Showbox Market. The legendary musician who has played in numerous bands and has seen celebrity status with Guns N’ Roses was closing out the run with a hometown show. We’re always proud to hear his name and progress on his outstanding career as fellow Roosevelt Roughriders and members of the Seattle community.

The Showbox filled up with a lot of familiar faces, and of course, a lot of people that knew him and the many fans who’ve supported him throughout the years. Joe Keithley with D.O.A. opened the night playing some of their known tracks along with a Johnny Cash cover. Keithley aka Joey Sh*thead later on joined McKagan on stage for “My Name Is Bob.”

It was time for Duff to take the stage and we were also really excited to see the band together as many are well known Seattle musicians. We knew it was going to be a great show and as soon as he started his first song, “Forgiveness,” everything came together perfectly. We had guitarist Tim DiJulio, drummer Michael Musburger, bassist Mike Squires, and guitarist/keyboardist Jeff Fielder playing and even though we had seen them play in other bands before this setting felt so special. All amazing musicians and as the night went by more and more, the talent came out and complimented Duff’s songs.

McKagan mentioned that he purposely made this the last stop before Europe as many call Seattle home. He said that it was so nice to see everyone in this room and that we don’t know how much it means to him. Lighthouse is an album we really enjoyed listening to and hearing it live was something special. Seeing McKagan in a small space playing his songs was something so personal. We’ve seen him fill the largest venues around the world and being in a room so close to him brought so much perspective of his talent. It’s a great contradiction and probably for him it’s so nice to also look around and see so many familiar faces there to support him directly.

Highlights of the night were “Tenderness,” “Longfeather,” “I Just Don’t Know,” and “This is the Song.” He dedicated “Fallen,” to his wife Susan that he looked for as he shared that he could write many more songs for her as his love grows deeper and deeper with the years and that she has his heart. Duff covered a few of his favorite songs throughout the night but we really enjoyed listening to the Guns N’ Roses “You’re Crazy,” as he performed it flawlessly.

The night ended with the biggest surprise yet as Duff introduced one of his good friends who flew up to perform in Seattle. Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols joined him on stage as everyone cheered along in disbelief. They covered Johnny Thunders’, “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory,” and David Bowie’s “Heroes,” as Jones shredded on the guitar. This night felt so special on so many levels, and it was a pleasure to be a part of it. Celebrating the success of another Seattleite is always great and seeing so many incredible members of our community on stage was a joy.