It’s safe to say that Guns N Roses have roared out of the depths of mediocrity with the biggest comeback the industry has seen in years. While all isn’t completely right (No Izzy Straddlin), things are very excellent in the GNR camp. Axl has lost a considerable amount of weight and regained his voice back, Slash and Duff are back in the band, and Richard Fortus (While he lacks the style of Izzy) is one of the greatest players on the planet. Steven Adler even came out for two numbers, ‘Out ta Get Me’ and ‘My Michelle’. Previously Adler had only played one song and only appeared at two shows. His presence was a very pleasant surprise and it’s safe to say that he still has skills. I may even go as far as to say that if he practiced with the band for days in and days out, he might be able to join full time. The Cult opened with a fiery fervor. It’s also safe to say that Billy Duffy and Ian Asbury are back in full force. Ian’s voice sounded like it did in the 80’s after years of struggling with weight and vocal issues. Maybe the bill should have been ticketed as the ‘Return of the Great 80’s Frontmen Tour…They’re No Longer Fat’. The Cult have also released their strongest album in 15 years earlier this year. Once Guns N Roses hit the stage with ‘It’s So Easy’ it was clear, this band is back and it’s real. They surged through ‘Chinese Democracy’ and ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ before arriving at their first epic ‘Estranged’. The highlight for me was the extended version of ‘Rocket Queen’ with Slash’s talk box solo. Unlike, many of his peers, Slash has kept up and practiced. He’s cleaned his technique to the point of thrash level clarity and skill. He was always a little sloppy in the early years, a side effect of a medicinal liter of Jack Daniels a day. Now older and wiser, Slash plays with sobriety and discipline all while remaining ‘Slash’. The surprise of the evening, besides Adler of course, was a brilliant performance of ‘Coma’. It was perfect and affirmed that Axl has his voice back in full. The show continued and finished in typical Guns N Roses fashion. They played the songs we all wanted to hear. Of course, I’m a deep cut kind of person, I didn’t go to the show to hear ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’. However, when you’re in stadium with 50,000 people and every single person knows every single word and is signing together, it’s hard not to get a little emotional. At the end of the day that’s what this reunion is all about. It’s about coming together to celebrate this music on a mass level, something no other band is doing. Sure, there are a lot of rock veterans out touring. But how many of them are selling out stadiums and bringing organic, heavy music to nearly a million people in a few months? How many of these groups are getting people to think about this music again on this large of a scale? The answer is no one. That’s why this reunion is so important. It’s reminding people that you can accomplish great things organically with a little hard work. You don’t need a box with buttons that are pre-programmed. All you need is a real instrument and a little drive to learn music.
Steven Adler shows up
Unbelievable guitar work from Fortus and Slash
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFnm-WRDbug
Rocket Queen talk box solo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0ewQMSKXNU
Closing the show in true GNR fashion.
Saw GNR on this tour myself, and agree, the show was awesome and it’s just so great to see Slash and Duff back in the band again. Steven only appeared 3 times on the tour so you were lucky to catch one of them! Must’ve been a thrill for him to play with Guns in LA again after so many years. Also agree that Coma was a highlight – probably my favourite performance of the concert I was at!
It really was. And you could see how grateful Adler was for having the opportunity. I loved Coma so much. I feel like it really showed that this band can continue with this line-up. It showed that Axl can really deliver when he gives a shit, but he has to give a shit. I couldn’t believe how good the show was overall. Estranged was incredible and of all the many many shows I’ve seen, I’ve never seen a finally like they did. Fingers crossed that this line-up stays together and does a new album.