This pandemic has been extremely difficult. We all know the hardships of it. One of the biggest things throughout the whole thing so far has been the inability of bands to tour and all of us to go to shows. So, when the opportunity presented itself amongst all the craziness recently to go see Guns N Roses, you know I had to. Not a bad way to start going back to shows. And as this review will show, Guns N Roses is still one hell of a live band and those songs, still hold up so damn well. Armed with my vaccination and mask, the night was about to begin…
It was a perfect clear night in Los Angeles and at a little before 8pm, the lights came down, the intro started and the shadow figures took the stage to a roaring and thunderous crowd. Then, it all starts with “It’s So Easy” and from that it was a barrage of great songs after another. The songs from Chinese Democracy that were played (“Better,” “Chinese Democracy,” and “Madagascar”) sounded so good. Way better than the album versions and having Duff and Slash playing on them changed them just enough that it sounded the way it should’ve when first released. I got to hear my all time favorite GnR track quite early on in the evening. “Estranged” live was everything I hoped for and more. It was beyond epic and there might have been a few tears dripping from my eyes. Throughout the rest of the night, more and more awesome songs were played like “Rocket Queen,” “You Could Be Mine,” “Civil War,” “November Rain,” and “Don’t Cry.” Even the choices of covers were outstanding. We were graced with a very extended version of “Knockin On Heaven’s Door” that knocked it out of the stadium. Also very awesome versions of The Who’s “The Seeker” and The Stooges “I Wanna Be Your Dog” with Duff on lead vocals. One of the coolest parts of the show and set were the way they extended the songs with little snippets of other songs like when they played “Civil War” they included Jimi Hendrix’s “Machine Gun” as part of the outro or Alice Cooper’s “Only Women Bleed” as part of “Knockin On Heaven’s Door.”
For the 3 hours that GnR was on stage, it’s almost as though time stood still. Everyone in the band was on their A game and looked like they were having a blast on stage. Axl was making jokes, running around, playing around with his bandmates and was on fire with his vocals. The chemistry also between the band was outstanding. Richard Fortus is a very great addition to the band. He’s one hell of a guitar player that gives Slash a run for his money but, he knows his role. Frank Ferrer is a monster on the drums. Dizzy Reed is such an underrated part of GnR. His ability to accompany the songs with the right keyboard/piano parts are so good. Melissa Reeves provides great backing vocals for Axl, especially the high notes that might be a little difficult. And of course you have the core 3 of Axl, Slash and Duff who sound better than ever together. The only thing I have to critique is the background videos they had playing. They just seemed a little outdated but, who really needs to pay attention to that with what you have on stage. Guns N Roses is back and hopefully for good. I am very intrigued by the possibility of them releasing new music. The song “Absurd” isn’t the best new song but, live it did sound good. All in all what a great show and night. My friend I was with, he and I couldn’t believe how awesome the show was. The GnR hangover lasted all weekend long too. Definitely would go see them again!
Opening the show was Mammoth WVH, Wolfgang Van Halen’s band. They were a solid opening band. Their set was a little over 30 minutes and they were able to connect with part of the crowd but, you could just tell the audience just wanted Axl and company. This was also the bands first tour and performances ever. Pretty tall order to be opening for a band like GnR but, they did a really good job.
Guns N Roses Setlist:
01) It’s So Easy
02) Mr. Brownstone
03) Chinese Democracy
04) Slither (Velvet Revolver Cover)
05) Double Talkin’ Jive
06) Welcome To The Jungle (w/ Link Wray’s “Rumble” intro)
07) Better
08) Estranged
09) Live And Let Die (Wings Cover)
10) You’re Crazy
11) Rocket Queen
12) You Could Be Mine
13) I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges Cover w/ Duff on vocals)
14) Absurd
15) Civil War (w/ Jimi Hendrix’s “Machine Gun” outro- Band Intros)
16) Slash Guitar Solo (Muddy Waters “Mannish Boy” jam)
17) Sweet Child O’ Mine
18) November Rain
19) Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb/Glen Campbell Cover)
20) Patience
21) Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan Cover w/ Alice Coopers Only Women Bleed intro)
22) Nightrain
Encore:
23) Madagascar
24) Don’t Cry
25) The Seeker (The Who Cover)
26) Paradise City
audioeclectica 