NEW GNR AT THEIR BEST IN 2002

[Randy Lahey]

This lineup was New GNR. Sorry if you missed them.

[Gordon Comstock]

Always been a fan of the '02 line-up. Boston, MSG and Columbus are better shows than Albany though, IMO.

The absolute best we can hope for regarding future releases is that some kind of CD boxset comes out with the '99 and '02 era albums.

[NRomanov]

No lie. I'm glad I got to see em!

[KipWinger]

I don't know, Axl's vocals were pretty awful during this period. Mickey to the max; how he can't seem to find some sort of happy medium between nail-gargling rasp and clean singing, I'll never understand.

Still don't get the obsession with Finck. What did that guy ever write? I know, I know, you'll say "Better," but what parts did he actually contribute? If it was just the lick in the beginning and the verses, that ain't saying much for his songwriting abilities! He's a hired-hand touring musician, just like the rest of Axl's troupe. I'm actually quite cool with all of the New Gn'R lineups as long as Axl sounds good.

[RussTCB]

I only saw one show in 2002 (Detroit) and it got cut short but my oh my was that a fuckin' great rock show!

[trqster]

I don't know, Axl's vocals were pretty awful during this period. Mickey to the max; how he can't seem to find some sort of happy medium between nail-gargling rasp and clean singing, I'll never understand.

Still don't get the obsession with Finck. What did that guy ever write? I know, I know, you'll say "Better," but what parts did he actually contribute? If it was just the lick in the beginning and the verses, that ain't saying much for his songwriting abilities! He's a hired-hand touring musician, just like the rest of Axl's troupe. I'm actually quite cool with all of the New Gn'R lineups as long as Axl sounds good.

This.

[inthisriver]

This lineup was New GNR. Sorry if you missed them.

I'm sorry for you, not sorry for me.

http://instantbazinga.com/

[Axl_morris]

Ha, and people complain about Axl's Rocket Queen now. Listen to it back then. He is 10 x better at it now.

Sorry, but that line up doesn't do it for me. BH is a great guitarist, but it is ruined by his image, to go from Slash to a guy wearing a KFC bucket on his head is completely ridiculous.

I'm glad we have Ron, DJ is a better guitarist at covering GNR than robin. Robin was sloppy.

[Damn_Smooth]

Definitely the absolute worst of the 3 lineups I've seen.

[Randy Lahey]

Going from Slash to DJ Ashba is far more ridiculous. At least Buckethead was talented. And don't even get me started on Coverfoot...LOL

Edited August 29, 2013 by Randy Lahey

[Damn_Smooth]

Was it the plastic hands or the skullet that turned you on so much? Anybody with ears knows that it definitely wasn't the playing.

[Gordon Comstock]

Ha, and people complain about Axl's Rocket Queen now. Listen to it back then. He is 10 x better at it now.

He was definitely better at RQ in '02. Rocket Queen is one of the low points of the current set, occasionally it's not bad, but usually it's pretty bad. At least in '02 he was into it performance wise, having fun with it, lots of energy... Can't say the same about it now.

[Young_Gun]

Ha, and people complain about Axl's Rocket Queen now. Listen to it back then. He is 10 x better at it now.

Sorry, but that line up doesn't do it for me. BH is a great guitarist, but it is ruined by his image, to go from Slash to a guy wearing a KFC bucket on his head is completely ridiculous.

I'm glad we have Ron, DJ is a better guitarist at covering GNR than robin. Robin was sloppy.

Robin was sloppy but Ashba is no Paul Gilbert either.

[Axl_morris]

Ha, and people complain about Axl's Rocket Queen now. Listen to it back then. He is 10 x better at it now.

He was definitely better at RQ in '02. Rocket Queen is one of the low points of the current set, occasionally it's not bad, but usually it's pretty bad. At least in '02 he was into it performance wise, having fun with it, lots of energy... Can't say the same about it now.

I agree with that part.

[rockerman]

Umm no...have to disagree with you on this one...to some degree.

Scratch that.....just watched this video again and there is more of a fire in Axls belly in these than he has had recently.....this was a good show. There is more of the deliverance of the songs like they need to be.

but still....

THis band was a joke in image, performance and Axls vocals were all over the place. I love Bucketheads material and his shows are excentric but him doing his gig in the middle of a GNR show made GNR look weak and lost. Fink was shoddy as well and his cat in the hat sox with pancake makeup was pitiful....it just was to strange to think that something as real as old GNR suddenly became so contrived.

When Buckethead did his little interview with mtv having "herby" the sock puppet do the talking for him ..telling the world what a freak BH was as the new GNr guitarist.. how he was afraid of girls etc... That was when I knew Axl had jumped the shark .

I saw them in Moline and Chicago and I thought they were good but as the tour unfolded and ultimately crashed in Philly the cracks were there for the whole world to see that Axl had clearly lost his way home.

HAd Axk released some new music THEN..things would be vastly different in my opinon though...people at my shows were damn glad to see him..i know I was over the top. It wasnt until the tour crashed that I started to see it for what it would become.

Edited August 29, 2013 by rockerman

[mathieu]

Memorable Axl rant at 1:30:00 from this show just before Patience. The Boston gig shortly after Albany was more tight in my opinion. Great memory of going to the last 3 shows of that tour. For me the highlights in 2002 were: Nightrain with the Buckethead solo, Patience was nice, Madagascar is stronger with Finck back vocals at the end, Think About You was played at about every show.

I just wish the 2002 lineup would have got the chance to play This I Love and Better.

[Randy Lahey]

Axl's screams on Live and Let Die were amazing too.

[mr-fukaji]

I've been here for just about ten years and it's amusing to see the same tired arguments about image and sloppiness and all that other bullshit nobody sane gives a fuck about. This line up with Axl's 2006 voice and attitude could have fucking destroyed. I'd take Robin in a white satin suit and a guy with a bucket of chicken on his head over Bam Margera's dad.

[Axl_morris]

That rant is classic, can't help but think Axl head was still pretty all over the place though, which probably why the long break from 02-06. He hasn't rant as much about the old band since then, and like he said on TMS, he's had the most fun since 06.

Edited August 29, 2013 by Axl_morris

[Tyler Drama]

The Blues and Chinese Democracy sound amazing.

[Crash Diet]

One thing was particularly better at that time: Axl still hungry for more success,despite the label and touring problems. buckethead is one of my fav guitarists and it would be cool if we saw releases from that period, but i highly doubt it (the new lineup will play their parts over it)

but my fav lineup is the 2006 lineup (with brain or Frank no matter)
Axl sounds 10 times better than in 2002. The overall tone of the band was 10 times better than the current tone. (okay maybe Axl's 2010 voice and the setlists "improvements" are better)

Edited August 30, 2013 by Crash Diet

[RussTCB]

Memorable Axl rant at 1:30:00 from this show just before Patience. The Boston gig shortly after Albany was more tight in my opinion. Great memory of going to the last 3 shows of that tour. For me the highlights in 2002 were: Nightrain with the Buckethead solo, Patience was nice, Madagascar is stronger with Finck back vocals at the end, Think About You was played at about every show.

I just wish the 2002 lineup would have got the chance to play This I Love and Better.

I've always loved that Albany rant.

And I would go to great, great lengths to get to hear Finck play TIL live.

[liers]

They were the best. They felt magical and mysterious.

Axl was energetic and had ambition.

Bucket was a great guitarist. His nightrain solo was awesome in boston.

Finck wasn't great at playing the old stuff, but the new stuff he helped write was great.

Richard, Brain, Tommy, Dizzy, Chris, Bucket, and Finck made a great band with Axl.

They looked wierd together, looked like a circus, but they were memorable before that. That was their style, and I think axl did it that way on purpose. The 2002 version of "The Blues" proved what great things that band could've accomplished. If the blues had been released that year with those solos, it could've easily became a hit.

That rant is classic, can't help but think Axl head was still pretty all over the place though, which probably why the long break from 02-06. He hasn't rant as much about the old band since then, and like he said on TMS, he's had the most fun since 06.

Supposedly he checked himself into a mental hospital after the 2002 tour for "exhaustion".

His voice was mickey mouse, but he had energy.

[drtydane]

The 2002 Boston show was def in my top two gnr shows along with Hammerstein 2006.

Had tickets to Portland Maine 06 but we all kno wat happened there, so I went to Worcester instead, where they played down on the farm, which was completely epic.

Also Worcester 2006 was cool cuz they played scraped. Always hated that song but appreciated it in a live setting.

Also saw roseland 2012, but Boston 2002 tied with Hammerstein 2006 were my favorites. And I was at the 4th show with the first izzy stradlin appearance, so that'll tell you how great Boston 2002 was.

Ppl knew they could expect izzy after that gig, but the very first time was INCREDIBLE..

[Young_Gun]

Bucket is probably the best instrumental songwriting guitarist out there along with Satriani.