Guns and Roses Review
So I suppose I should write up some thoughts on Friday nights Guns and Roses gig. During the concert I was updating my Jaiku with the set list and immediate thoughts, so lets start with simply running through what my thoughts were:
- At the guns and roses gig.. Rose tattoo just came on stage..
- Rose tattoo set over.. Next up: sebastian bach
- 18 and life.. Ah memories of skid row.. School bullies.. And cute girls who didnt like me..
- We live.. We die.. We kill.. We rise...
- Old guy beside me complaining that sebastians songs all sound alike and he was hoping for a performer like mick jagger
- I remember you... And all the feelings come rushing back.. I miss her..
- Youth good wild.. Good encore song to end out with before guns and roses
- Overheard drunken comment "its not about working hard.. Its about working smart."
- Guns and roses baby... Fuck yeah..
- Welcome to the jungle.. Its so easy..
- Mr brownstone..
- Live and let die..
- Robin fink solo - This is like the blues on drugs..
- Sweet child o mine
- Better.. I think..
- Knocking on heavens door
- You could be mine..
- Jam session and keyboard solo
- Mmm not sure what song this is.. One of the new ones ive not heard the leak of i think..
- Band intros..
- Richard fortus solo and duet with fink
- Outta get me
- Axl piano break moving into november rain
- Another new song i think.. Sounds some what disjointed and confused.. No real flow.. (based on the video images shown, I think this might be the song called Madagascar)
- Sebastian bach on stage given axl coffee... Then into my michelle
- Patience..
- Nighttrain..
- No bumblefoot solo.. Im saddened...
- Encore with rose tattoo singer.. Name escapes me.. Dont play rock and roll.. (Rose Tattoos 'Nice Boys')
- Drumloops and roses? This is different..
- Yet another new song.. Axl apologised for going long.. People are walking out.. There new songs sound shit..
- Paradise city.. Crowd thankful for something they know at last..
For the most part the concert was excellent - starting around 8:30 with Rose Tattoo, followed by Sebastian Bach and band around 9:30, with Guns and Roses hitting the stage just after 11pm with the gig ending around 2:30am.
One thing I must say about new line up - whilst Robin Finck is a great rhythm guitarist I didn't overly think too much of him as a lead soloist. His blues instrumental left me with the feeling that he wasn't overly a good lead player, thou I suspect it may have just been his style - I do know that a few people around me made negative comments about his playing.
From what I heard of Ron Thall's leads during songs he was definitely the best sounding guitarist of the THREE guitarists and it was disappointing that he didn't get a chance to let rip and shred himself silly (I wonder if he did so on the Saturday night gig at all).
The crowd seemed to go limp and lifeless whenever one of the new songs were played - but thats somewhat understandable given that Chinese Democracy hasn't actually been released and that no one knew what they were hearing. Even thou the sound of the venue wasn't that great where I was sitting, I've heard a few leaks off the new album and the songs sound much better than they did on Friday night. Hopefully the new album comes out soon so I'll be able to hear them in the full glory.
Sebastian Bach's performance for me was clearly the highlight of the evening - it's weird thou, I kept thinking to myself "I hope he sings I Killed You, This is Gonna Hurt, or What Kind of Animal forgetting that he was only a guest vocalist for the Frameshift album An Absense of Empathy so of course he wouldn't be singing any of that material - thou I would have just gone nuts if he had (its one of my favorite albums of 2006).
I could have easily done without the Rose Tattoo performance at the start of the show, the music was good but Angry Anderson vocals just put me off. Although I must confess to being amused by Anderson rants between songs - sounding very much like a preacher calling down the power and the love of Rock And Roll to fill peoples souls and change them from within. One memorable portion of "sermon" went along the lines of "No one don't want to leave here the way the came - you want to be changed, you want your life altered by the power of rock and roll". I swear I could have easily been in a church service (at least, if you removed Andersons own swearing).
At the end of the day - whilst the sound was a bit of a let down, the concert was a great night out.
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