Guns n Roses
 

So I went to the GnR concert at the Air Canada Centre last week.

The good:

Axl still knows how to rock. Seriously. The new band sounds pretty damn good, although the new guitarist doesn't quite have Slash's chops. That's to be expected, I guess. The played all the old favourites; Mr. Browstone, November Rain, Welcome to the Jungle, You Could Be Mine, Paradise City and all the other great songs. The only two tunes I would've liked to've heard and didn't were Yesterdays and Whole Lotta Rosie, although it's possible those were in the encore; we left before they got to it.

The opening acts all kicked ass. Sebastian Bach rocked out, the Suicide Girls were hot as hell, the surprise appearance of the Trailer Park Boys rocked and there was some seriously hardcore act that started the show.

The bad:

We didn't catch the name of the opening act. It was a female vocalist/guitarist and she was crazy. She was down in the stands, she was body surfing... she was insane, in short. But I don't know who they were.

Parking in downtown Toronto was shitty, but that's the norm.

The ugly:

I had to lose my fedora. Axl may be able to rock, but he's slipping a bit. The security guys said that if he saw anyone who even remotely resembled Slash he'd freak out and not do the show. And apparently a fedora looks like a top hat.

The rumour was that the opening acts were all so kick-ass in case Axl did flake out and GnR didn't end up performing. It was a good show, anyway. I was especially amused when Axl got Sebastian Bach and Bubbles of the Trailer Park Boys out to do a three-way collaboration. That was awesome.

So, yeah. Hardly up to Use Your Illusion era standards, but they still rock, it seems.

Though I haven't seen him as recently as you have. I have to disagree about Axl.

First off, if he can still rock, why did you leave early?

Secondly, You can't rock if you don't believe that "the show must go on". Causing riots because the singer has a neurotic 12 year old princess-type complex and won't play is not rockin'. The fact that everyone is worried that he might get his feelings hurt and not play is very telling.

Thirdly, the guy just can't sing anymore.

I used to be a big fan of theirs. Please don't think that I am a hater. I really do wish that Axl wouldn't have flaked out like he did.

I have seen guns twice in the past few months. I have to say his voice is still as good as ever. A few years back I heard him on MTV and thought his voice was awful. But they are back and they were rocking!! I loved their show, was intense and incredible. The first one was a once in a lifetime type, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC, it is a small place which made it so much more intense.

I believe the opening act you saw was The Suicide Girls. The other opening acts that they have throughout the tour are papa roach, Sebastion Bach (not sure if his band is called skid row again)...

As far as Axl being crazy, and eccentric well that is Just Axl.

I was considering spending $200 for two tickets to see them in LA. The prospect of Axl bitching out, walking off stage and me losing the $ is whats holding me back though... And jeez the guy looks like a turd now..

They played in Detroit over the weekend, and I almost, almost brought myself to buy tickets to go. I could have gotten tickets at the door. I'd rather see Velvet Revolver than see Axl, IMO.

Ding ding!

We have a winner. :thumbsup:

It's hard for me to believe that he can walk off stage or not go on at all and NOT refund ticket costs to the audience

Axl has turned into a flake, that's not up for discussion . On the other hand, he can still sing and he can still put on an awesome show. We would've stayed for the encore, but the show had already run to 2:00 am and we all had to work the next day.

You are, of course, entitled to your own opinion. I enjoyed the show immensely.

FYI - It looks like the opening band was "Die Mannequin" http://www.myspace.com/diemannequin

As long as you enjoyed it, that's all that matters.:) Support your local music scene!

i got hooked up with a free ticket to the show in Edmonton last Thursday. The openers (especially Helmet) blew GnR off the stage. i started to get bored after the fifth or sixth hour-long (or so it seemed) piano/guitar solos. still a decent show though. i would've gone for Helmet alone.