Popular Post Kaneda Posted April 10, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted April 10, 2016 Hey gunners, 23 years for the band and 25 years for me. That's how long it's been seen Axl and Slash have been on stage together. It's hard to think about these shows without putting everything in context. Like many of you, this band has been a HUGE part of my life. I still miss the days when all we did was wait for Chinese Democracy year after year. When we all counted each Tuesday thinking one of them would be the day. When we first heard new tracks. When us, the fans, were the only one with the new tracks. And then there were the tours. I was there in 2002 front row center at MSG. I was there at Hammerstein, CBGB's, MSG again, NJ, Paris, Hiro Ballroom, Rosebar, Hartford CT...and more I'm probably missing. I became friends with Bumblefoot. I've met Axl a couple of times. Some of you got Dr Peppers And I was there in 1991 at MSG when I was 13 years old and then Faith No More / Metallica / GNR a couple years later. So I think I've got the whole "GNR FAN" thing down. For those of us who really waited for Chinese D and knew the vitriol Axl had for the old members, we never thought this moment would come. And now that it's here, how does it feel. I can't answer for all of you, but I can tell you that I am happy and sad at the same time. So happy they are finally back where they belong. Sad because so many years were wasted. But we always knew GNR would go this route. Axl was never just going to put out irrelevant album out one after the other like the Rolling Stones (no offense to Stones fans). He always wanted the music to be some sort of statement and finding the inspiration must have been nearly impossible after such early success. I still love Chinese Democracy because of what it represents...a genius musician totally unsure of which way to go in life...it's all there...it's a sad album, but it hits hard and rocks. What's weird for me is how much time has passed since they initially "came back". That was 15 years ago! The fan base has all aged 15 years since then. It was exciting to think what Axl had in store for us. But more and more the tours became a greatest hits tour so it only made sense to play the classics with the guys who wrote those songs, with the guys who FELT those songs, with the guys who LIVED those songs. So seeing Duff and Slash back up there is just magical. I'm going to try and give my review broken out into Pros / Cons. PROS: 1. THE SOUND: The new band could never get that classic SLASH sound right. You sort of need Slash. It's back. Him on a Les Paul playing November Rain, that's it. That's Guns N Roses. He just crushes it. Axl sounded amazing too. He was really hitting the high notes. Sure his rasp would go in and out at times, but who the hell, during a live show is caring / noticing? NOBODY. Don't let the internet babies over analyze this because they will. 2. THE SET LIST: Lots to be happy about with the songs they are playing. COMA live is worth the price of admission right there. Axl nailed the outro, which is damn tough to sing. 3. GNR T-Shirts EVERYWHERE: I don't think we'll ever see so many GNR fans take over an entire city the way they took over Vegas. Literally saw a shirt every few minutes in every hotel, all across Vegas. So it was cool to see an Arena completely sold out and filled with fans. 4. Layla: The 3 of the jamming out again...priceless. CONS: 1. No SLASH Interaction / Appreciation Moment, At All: So I sort of had a big issue with this since all of us spent so much money to get there and priceless amounts of emotional energy supporting this band for decades. They sort of just started the show with a song that doesn't put SLASH front and center. Why didn't they have SLASH just stand there for a minute so the crowd could welcome him back and then have him hit those first chords to jungle? They sort of just went on like it was another day. And maybe that was the point. But you only get one chance to give the fans that moment and I wish they would have done something a bit more...Also, Slash never spoke to the crowd once. Again, this moment meant a lot to the people attending and there just wasn't any acknowledgement of that by the band. Maybe I am reading too much into this and just being there was enough. 2. Tired / Lame Fans: Not the bands fault, but I'm always shocked at how few people sing / dance at these shows. Me and the crew I was with were going crazy for each song. And there were moments I would just look around and see people just standing there, staring blankly at the performance. Really? Guns N Fucking Roses are back after 23 years and you're just gonna watch emotionless? Part of this boils down to the fact that the fan base is older, and let's be honest, these shows are past most of their bed times Mine included. There's also an energy to the shows that goes up and down, which is my next point. 3. Sporadic Energy From Songs: It's sort of been like this for a while, but some songs just ZAP the energy from the Arena. I know Axl needs to pace himself, so it's understandable. One song that just won't end is Knocking on Heaven's Door. The part at the end where Axl sings one then the crowd sings one goes on for a good 5 or so minutes. After each Axl / crowd part theres a long guitar solo that really breaks up the energy that used to happen in that part...what happens is the crowd is pumped to sing along and then you are waiting, not knowing when to come back in...again, maybe just me, but I would just sing that song they way the originally sang it. As much as I love songs like COMA / Estranged, TIL...they really bring the energy down. Would happily trade one for Out to Get Me or Used to Love Her...Like when Sebastian Bach came out, he really got the crowd going with My Michelle. Why? Because he talked to the crowd and got them pumped. Back to point 1....not having Axl running around was bound to take the energy level down a bit, but you can easily get fans pumped with a few speeches / rants All of which will come, I'm sure as they settle in together. Overall, I had a great time and the last point I'll make is the most important one. ENJOY YOURSELF AT THE SHOWS! Don't worry about the ticket prices. Don't worry about the people around you. Just lose yourself in the music and you will remember it. Bring friends who love the band and rock out. Don't just go to see them. Go to feel like that kid you used to be when you first discovered Guns N Roses. It's not very often you can sing and dance to GNR for 2 1/2 hours straight without annoying the fuck out of someone. HAHA. This is your chance. Can't wait to see them in NYC at Met Life stadium I'm taking my girlfriend to see them for the first time. She lucked out SLASH! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Słash Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 Really nice review man, all the things you have said, I can relate to it. You just reminded me of the old days How I used to wait for CD to come out, like man it was delayed and delayed and delayed. It is annoying when people are standing like Zombies, like man some people don't even know Sweet Child, im like how the fuck you don't know that song? I hope to see this band, im saving money from now. Were you in the GA pit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GNR 1991 Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 It was great meeting you and us tearing it up in the back of the pit. So much fun, surely never to be forgotten! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaneda Posted April 10, 2016 Author Share Posted April 10, 2016 I was GA both nights. Really enjoyed the second night SO MUCH MORE because we stayed back near the end of GA and just rocked out! Was great meeting GNR 1991 ....he's a REAL FAN. Who you go with will either make you love the show or just have an OK time. It's impossible to not like a GNR show. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWINGTRADER Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 (edited) Concerts used to be more fun before cell phones existed. there is no excuse for the floor to not be rocking. I don't care what the fans in the seats do, but the floor should never be still. nice review. Edited April 10, 2016 by SWINGTRADER 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madison Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 58 minutes ago, Kaneda said: 2. Tired / Lame Fans: Not the bands fault, but I'm always shocked at how few people sing / dance at these shows. Me and the crew I was with were going crazy for each song. And there were moments I would just look around and see people just standing there, staring blankly at the performance. Really? Guns N Fucking Roses are back after 23 years and you're just gonna watch emotionless? Part of this boils down to the fact that the fan base is older, and let's be honest, these shows are past most of their bed times Mine included. There's also an energy to the shows that goes up and down, which is my next point. Great review Kaneda! Glad you had a great time. Regarding your comment about fans not singing or dancing at the shows ... I think it's because many are busy using their phones to record the show instead of just enjoying the show. it must be frustrating for the band to look out into the crowd and see a sea of phones instead of headbangers and diehard fans dancing to the music. I have mixed thoughts on this. As someone who enjoyed watching the periscope streams from home these past two nights, I greatly appreciated the fans who took the time to stream the shows with their phones. On the other hand, if I was at the show, I would prefer there were no phones inside the venue (similar to what they did at the Troubadour) so that fans could truly take in all the sights and sounds of the show while they're there. .... It's like the running joke people used to make about guys who would take a ton of photos when they were on vacation. And when someone asked the guy how his vacation went, he'd say he has to look at the photos to find out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highvoltage Posted April 10, 2016 Share Posted April 10, 2016 2 minutes ago, madison said: Great review Kaneda! Glad you had a great time. Regarding your comment about fans not singing or dancing at the shows ... I think it's because many are busy using their phones to record the show instead of just enjoying the show. it must be frustrating for the band to look out into the crowd and see a sea of phones instead of headbangers and diehard fans dancing to the music. I have mixed thoughts on this. As someone who enjoyed watching the periscope streams from home these past two nights, I greatly appreciated the fans who took the time to stream the shows with their phones. On the other hand, if I was at the show, I would prefer there were no phones inside the venue (similar to what they did at the Troubadour) so that fans could truly take in all the sights and sounds of the show while they're there. .... It's like the running joke people used to make about guys who would take a ton of photos when they were on vacation. And when someone asked the guy how his vacation went, he'd say he has to look at the photos to find out. This is what they used at the Troubadour show: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2014/10/i-let-yondr-lock-my-smartphone-in-a-sock-so-i-could-live-in-the-moment/ I had wondered if they'd consider using Yondr when I heard there were no phones in the venue, and sure enough - they did. I think we will see this technology becoming commonplace for events for the reasons you mention... it's freaking awesome for people to be able to watch at home, but it's very, very distracting attending a live event and seeing people holding everything from smartphones and cameras to fucking tablets above their heads trying desperately to film the show from the pit. Not just for the artists, but other audience members too. I think you'll see stuff like this becoming more common - hopefully people can begin to get back to enjoying the experience, rather than feeling the need to document everything they see for social media. Anyway, nice review Kaneda. Man, I remember the days when your repetitive threads were some of the most entertaining on here.... we really had nothing to talk about at all back then. Now we've got Axl and Slash sharing a stage, playing Coma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWINGTRADER Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 All they have to do is ban phones on the floor. People in the seats can always record shows and give us footage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Money Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Good review, sir. What a great weekend! I'm with you about the GN'R shirts everywhere. I love it. I'm at the airport now and about 15 or 20 ppl at my gate are wearing their shirts. I feel like I just attended a Guns N' Roses annual convention of sorts where 30,000 or more fans gathered to all be a part of this big moment. The band should consider playing here every year until they completely hang it up. Im excited about everything to come in this next chapter. I'm skipping coachella. Not my scene but if any of you are going to be in Ciudad de Mexico next week. Hit me up. Long live Guns N' Fucking Roses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom-Ass Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Agree that KOHD was kind of a buzzkill. It is a shame because it never was back in the day. I don't really like Fortus on this song or the current arrangement. Was one of the low points of Friday's show. I didn't notice and drop in energy for Coma or Estranged. At times I think people were just absorbing it and soaking it all in. The slow part in the middle of Coma got a pretty big cheer both nights showing that people were paying attention. I don't agree about nobody caring or noticing whether Axl sounds good or not. I could certainly tell when he was off Friday night and it was quite a bit. That was my first time seeing those 3 together in 23 years so I was riding the excitement from that so Axl's vocals weren't going to ruin anything for me that night. I watched a bunch of videos from Saturday's show this afternooon and he sounded much better the 2nd night. Hopefully it continues. Also would have loved some Out Ta Get Me and thought Layla was fantastic.. Layla all the way through November Rain was one of the highlights of the night and I would have never guessed that going into the night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Comstock Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 (edited) Regarding your comment about fans not being into it, I don't know where you were in GA but I was up front to the far right on night 1, of course I went nuts a few times but honestly I spent a lot of time just soaking in the show. After Coma ended I kind of had to recover, I couldn't believe I'd just seen that. And my voice was sore But night 2 I was up top and yea, the phones were annoying. I honestly don't mind if people wanna film a bit or take some pics, but have some common sense - hold your phones near your chest or maybe eye level. But if you raise your phone above your head for a 9 minute song, FUCK YOU. I didn't spend a bunch of money and fly to Vegas to stare at some asshole's phone screen Edited April 11, 2016 by Gordon Comstock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasted Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 That's kind of what I see as a stadium show. They can't go all out for 3 hours. But there's these epic songs that fans love. Some people apreciate the music, guitar solos, ambience and chilled parts. It doesn't have to be party all the time. My favorite part of Coma is that so quiet down by the sea then that build up. This is the UYI tour part III. I could see later maybe Steven and Izzy come back and do theatre tour in 2017. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DR DOOM Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 6 hours ago, wasted said: That's kind of what I see as a stadium show. They can't go all out for 3 hours. But there's these epic songs that fans love. Some people apreciate the music, guitar solos, ambience and chilled parts. It doesn't have to be party all the time. My favorite part of Coma is that so quiet down by the sea then that build up. This is the UYI tour part III. I could see later maybe Steven and Izzy come back and do theatre tour in 2017. And then sometimes you go and make a post that is just 100% clarity Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Archer Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 Great review. Good to see you Kaneda. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts