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16 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

Somewhere around the first guitar solo (which I want to say was Robin) is when things got weird. You (or at least I) could feel a shift in the air. The audience went from rocking and almost rooting for GN'R to just kind of being indifferent.

People first probably went "OMG Axl." "OMG the songs." "OMG GNR." and after the excitement went down, they got at good look at the band and were "Wait a minute, that guitarist got a bucket on his head... and that one over there, that's not Slash, he looks like an alien.... and my, Axl is really fat." and the good vibe was gone. I never was at one of those shows (which I do regret...that one line up, since I joined, that got away, even though I had a ticket) and even I get a strange vibe.

Could you post a pic of that shirt?
 

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1 hour ago, RussTCB said:



The best way I can describe the "weird feeling" is to just have you watch Patience. I don't know if the mix was better on the other side of The Palace, where the video was shot from, but you couldn't hear anyone but Robin on my side of the stage. I can only guess that that's what pissed Axl off. The sound mix was good to great up til then so maybe he was having in ear problems the whole night or something. I really have no clue and it's always bugged me to be honest. I just wish I knew what exactly was wrong to get the show cut off.

 

Whatever it was that was going on, screwing up Patience probably didn't help his mood any. :lol:

When I listened to the video I noticed the crowd sounded different than I am used to when I watch other live shows. I was wondering if was the location of the recording or maybe the acoustics of the building, but it sounds it wasn't just a weird affect- the crowd did sound different.

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On 3/13/2017 at 6:59 AM, RussTCB said:

We drove through damn near blizzard conditions to get there. Had seats about 10 rows off the floor on Bucket's side of the stage. I can't remember which opener went on first but I think it was cky. Either way, cky got booed off the stage and somebody in the band was starting shit with the crowd as the house lights were coming up. I don't know all the details because I couldn't give two shits about cky, but I do remember those two things.

In between the last opener and GN'R, the sound guy played the entire Audioslave album at least twice through. The lights went down, Jungle hit and we were off and running. As with most GN'R shows of that era, you couldn't touch the electricity in the air during the first 5 songs or so. The band looked and played like they were there to prove something and so did Axl. 

Somewhere around the first guitar solo (which I want to say was Robin) is when things got weird. You (or at least I) could feel a shift in the air. The audience went from rocking and almost rooting for GN'R to just kind of being indifferent. Things were at their worst during Bucket's solo. You could tell the crowd was 50/50 split on him and it was causing an almost hostile environment. I actually saw two guys flat out yelling at each other during Bucket's solo. One guy was saying he was a genius, the other was saying he was a freak. This was my first live experience with the new line up, so I was just kind of taking it all in. 

They did 3 CD songs in a row (I think); CD, The Blues & Riad. I know they did Madagascar that night too, but I think it was later. Anyways; I'd barely heard any CD material up til then, so I was digging that they were playing stuff from the album. I really liked CD, LOVED The Blues and that Riad was an absolute hot mess. I actually remember leaning over to my buddy and saying "Swing and a miss, Axl" at the end of Riad. I think I mentioned this before, but the vibe in the room wasn't helped by the fact that Axl barely said a word all night. I'm not saying he needed to go off on rants, but anything at all would've helped. "Hey this is a new song", "Here's another new song".... anything like that would've gone a long way to keep the audience engaged I think. 

So the show kept going and eventually the Patience incident happened. When Axl tossed the mic before the solo, I actually put my coat on, got my keys and figured we were done lol. I was damn near in shock when he came back out to finish the song. I thought "No shit? Maybe he's gonna finish the show!" but NOPE haha. He just said "Thank you, goodnight", the band left the stage and the house lights came up. They'd played for around 90 minutes at that point, so it's not like we didn't get a full show for our money but it would've been cool to hear the next (probably) 2 songs in the set. 

The best way I can describe the "weird feeling" is to just have you watch Patience. I don't know if the mix was better on the other side of The Palace, where the video was shot from, but you couldn't hear anyone but Robin on my side of the stage. I can only guess that that's what pissed Axl off. The sound mix was good to great up til then so maybe he was having in ear problems the whole night or something. I really have no clue and it's always bugged me to be honest. I just wish I knew what exactly was wrong to get the show cut off.

Overall it was a good show and during those first 5 songs I remember thinking "Holy shit. He actually rebuilt Guns N' Roses. I can't believe he did it". I went in with an attitude of "This isn't GN'R, but I'll see Axl at least". I did have an open mind though and I'm glad I did. That show is the one and only reason I viewed that line up as "Guns N' Roses", because I saw GN'R myself with an open mind. It was the first time I'd seen them since '93 and it was the same vibe as the last time I'd seen them no matter who was on stage. On the way out, I bought what I now believe is the world ugliest tour shirt lol. I keep the shirt around only because it has dates on the back for an entire leg (2003) of the tour that never happened.

Sorry if this is all disjointed. I just thought I'd bust out some random thoughts on the show since you asked. :) 
 

That was awesome man. Thanks for your thoughts. The only time I saw this lineup (albeit with Paul instead of Richard) was 01/01/2001, so needless to say the audience vibe seemed overwhelmingly positive (even if people were a bit stunned or at a loss of what to think about Buckethead's solo spot). I always wondered what the vibe of a more "normal" show from the era felt like, and this felt like such a weird anomaly. Maybe, beyond the sound issues, Axl could tell the crowd was off. One of my friends who saw them in Columbus, Ohio said the energy stayed strong through the whole night. I've always figured busting out "Riad n' the Bedouins" was there attempt at getting the energy up or trying something new. Whatever happened, it must have been weird having the band end without "Paradise City." 

On a lighter note, everyone I know who attended one of the 2001/2002 shows mentions the sounds guys playing a whole album two or three times through before the show started. When I saw them, they played Pearl Jam's Ten at least four times; probably five or six. The rumor was that the band was supposed to start right after midnight (the beginning of 2001). They did not hit stage until 3:15 AM. 

Edited by themadcaplaughs
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i love the excitement that this era brought to the table, they had the best sounding band of all gnr versions and axl got better and better as the tour went on 

not only that but they had a great setlist as well 

i went as far as flying to toronto after the no show in vancouver and it was totally worth it 

the guys in the band at the time did not seem douchey at all either, they seemed like good guys that were commited to the future and success of axl's vision 

the reason for axl's CD failure was clearly the Philadelphia incident - that's a good 13 years wasted from 2002 when the album should've been released up until now NITL

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On 3/15/2017 at 1:29 PM, themadcaplaughs said:

That was awesome man. Thanks for your thoughts. The only time I saw this lineup (albeit with Paul instead of Richard) was 01/01/2001, so needless to say the audience vibe seemed overwhelmingly positive (even if people were a bit stunned or at a loss of what to think about Buckethead's solo spot). I always wondered what the vibe of a more "normal" show from the era felt like, and this felt like such a weird anomaly. Maybe, beyond the sound issues, Axl could tell the crowd was off. One of my friends who saw them in Columbus, Ohio said the energy stayed strong through the whole night. I've always figured busting out "Riad n' the Bedouins" was there attempt at getting the energy up or trying something new. Whatever happened, it must have been weird having the band end without "Paradise City." 

On a lighter note, everyone I know who attended one of the 2001/2002 shows mentions the sounds guys playing a whole album two or three times through before the show started. When I saw them, they played Pearl Jam's Ten at least four times; probably five or six. The rumor was that the band was supposed to start right after midnight (the beginning of 2001). They did not hit stage until 3:15 AM. 

this my friend is the holy grail of shows 

axl had secluded himself from the world for a good 7 years and created beyond mythical status for his persona 

to see this show would've been amazing for a GNR fan and for it start at 3:15am is unheard of/bad ass and awesome at the same time

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Thanks for putting this up Russ. 

It's interesting to see this so many years after the fact. I still think this is the only version of the band that was interesting...but interesting in like a "can't take your eyes off this car crash" kind of way. As someone earlier put it, it's tragic but beautiful.

Some thoughts:

Positive:

*They sure look like a unique bunch. It's hard to take your eyes off them for what that's worth.

*Some of the arrangements of the old songs are great - Patience, especially. I also like this band's version of KOHD.

*Bucket, for the most part, seems to own the Slash-era songs.

*The Blues sounds as it should before being ruined.

Negative:

*The band looks like a freak show. They are weird and bizarre in a way that even someone like Manson or Reznor would be scratching their heads going "Huh?". 

*Axl looks like a hot mess. I almost forgot how bad he looked in this era. Holy shit. This is nearly as bad as the "Elvis" period in 2011 with the handlebar stache and bloat. The predator dreads and the baggy jerseys are awful. 

*Fortus is embarrassing to watch. He looks like a hyperactive gnome just furiously punching his guitar at all times. He's the odd man out of this lineup.

*Finck sucks with the old stuff but he's good on his material which is to be expected I suppose.

*Bucket's sideshow antics are very distracting and just completely at odds with the image of Guns. 

*The old songs don't sound all that good. This is just too different of a band to pull that kind of stuff off and it shows. 

 

I think image-wise, there is no cohesiveness to this lineup -- they're all kind of doing their own thing which I guess probably reflects the inner dynamics of how that band operated. I imagine if a good image consultant were to reign them in a bit -- maybe ironed out the rough edges, it could have worked and you wouldn't have had a situation as Russ described with fans being divided with Bucket and co. 

All that being said, the #1 guns show I want to see is the House of Blues show on 01/01/01. The holy grail indeed.

Edited by RONIN
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4 hours ago, Wagszilla said:

The Palace security was fucky for this show too. Scratch that, for every Guns show I've been to there. Fuck the Palace.

I talked to security there in 02 and 06 and they had tight assholes about everything. It was a major buzzkill and that combined with the weather, drunkenness/intoxication, just created a environment where everyone was tired or angry.

I remember in 2006 someone threw something at Axl and he threatened to leave. This after showing up an hour late.

Anyway, I remember him saying something about them having their shit together this time around. If you watch the video of the 2002 show, you'll notice that Brain and Richard fuck up on Patience and they did on the Chinese songs before that.

Axl may be a red panda prone to disappearing acts but he has a long, sharp memory.

 

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuude Palace security does indeed suck ass. I could list off a million examples over the years but I'll give you one that's specific to Guns in 2006. 

So I went to the merch counter prior to the start of the show and bought when can only be referred to as "All Of It". I'm serious. I bought like $600 of merch before that show between jerseys, shirts, posters and shit for other people.

We got down to our seats which were side stage on Robin's side. We were in the first row where the cat walk meets the seats, if that makes sense. This was by design due to my love of Robin, so I wanted to be right there when he came over to our side of the stage. There were a couple open seats to the side of us, so I put all of the merch in them.

When GN'R came out, I was losing my mind of course and when Robin came up right in our face the first time, I was screaming and yelling. Throwing the devil horns, going nuts, having a riot.... ya know... as you do at a rock concert. Here comes Palace security and they're all "HEY.....HEY.......HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!! KNOCK IT OFF!" I was truly confused and said "I do not understand what you mean". The security guy said (I kid you not) "You're getting ready to start throwing things at the stage and we CANNOT have that!". I said "Oooooh, no no no. I love this band, I'm just really excited, it's all good", to which security replied by calling MORE security, all of which crowded around us with their flashlights on, ruining the concert for everyone else in the section. The first guard said to the others "He's gonna start shit with the band, so we'll need to remove him". I stepped around that asshole to address the 4 other guards that showed up. I showed them the Hammerstein shirt I was wearing and the huge pile of merch and said "As I told this guy, I am NOT trying to start shit with the band. This is the shirt I bought when I drove to New York to see them a few months ago. This is all the stuff I just bought before the concert started. I love this band. I'm not here to start shit with them or anyone else!".

They all had to converse with each other about this, flashlights still on, all the meanwhile having this incident stretch through It's So Easy. Finally, all except the original guy decided that I should be allowed to enjoy the show so they all left. The original guard decided to stay right at the end of our row for the ENTIRE show, I shit you not. So, me being me, I decided to continually let him know what a big fan I was. Any time they did CD songs, I'd be singing along loudly and in between verses I'd say shit like "SEE? I know the words to songs that aren't even out yet because I'm not here to start shit!" :lol: 

 

 

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18 hours ago, double talkin jive mfkr said:

this my friend is the holy grail of shows 

axl had secluded himself from the world for a good 7 years and created beyond mythical status for his persona 

to see this show would've been amazing for a GNR fan and for it start at 3:15am is unheard of/bad ass and awesome at the same time

It truly was one of the most fantastic experiences of my life. I essentially gave up having a car when I started college to see this show, and I still consider it one of the best decisions I ever made. Whenever a new tour starts after a few years/months off, we get the typical questions. "What will Axl look like?" "What will he sound like?" "Will he play new songs?" It had literally been over six years since Axl was at a public event (seven since he played with Guns N' Roses) and no one knew what the hell to think. Would we even recognize him when he took stage? Would the set be all new songs? Why were there two keyboard players (although I suppose that still remains a question today :P). Who is this Paul Tobias guy Duff, Matt, and Slash hated so much? You can hear it in bootlegs, but they do not do justice to how immensely psyched the crowd was when Axl took stage. People next to me had literally been sleeping but when the beginning of "Welcome to the Jungle" started, the crowd went nuts. 

As memorable as it was, this truly was a time before video camera, or cameras in general, became widespread in crowds at concerts. Security was TIGHT about cameras, and I remember reading the handful of pictures we have from that show resulted in concertgoers being kicked out. As much as you swear you will never forget anything like that, time truly does play tricks on your mind. When a boot finally became widely available a while back, I was shocked at how much of the banter I'd forgotten. Also, I could have sworn, up and down, the band played "Madagascar" that night, but I discovered they did not break that one out until the Rock in Rio show. 

Russ, for what it's worth, "Riad" definitely received the weakest response out of all the new songs played that night. It still remains my least favorite GN'R song on that album. 

Edited by themadcaplaughs
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2 minutes ago, themadcaplaughs said:

It truly was one of the most fantastic experiences of my life. I essentially gave up having a car when I started college to see this show, and I still consider it one of the best decision I ever made. Whenever a new tour starts after a few years/months off, we get the typical questions. "What will Axl look like?" "What will he sound like?" "Will he play new songs?" "Who is this Paul Tobias guy Slash, Duff, and Matt hated so much." It had literally been over six years since Axl was at a public event (seven since he played with Guns N' Roses) and no one knew what the hell to think. Would we even recognize him when he took stage? Would the set be all new songs? Why were there two keyboard players (although I suppose that still remains a question today :P). You can hear it in bootlegs, but they do not do justice to how immensely psyched the crowd was when Axl took stage. People next to me had literally been sleeping but when the beginning of "Welcome to the Jungle" started, the crowd went nuts. 

As memorable as it was, this truly was a time before video camera, or cameras in general, became widespread in crowds at concerts. Security was TIGHT about cameras, and I remember reading the handful of pictures we have from that show resulted in concertgoers being kicked out. As much as you swear you will never forget anything like that, time truly does play tricks on your mind. When a boot finally became widely available a while back, I was shocked at how much of the banter I'd forgotten. Also, I could have sworn, up and down, the band played "Madagascar" that night, but I discovered they did not break that one out until the Rock in Rio show. 

Russ, for what it's worth, "Riad" definitely received the weakest response out of all the new songs played that night. It still remains my least favorite GN'R song on that album. 

cool stuff 

axl should've kept going with his 2001 lineup or ditched the entire NU GUNS project - coming back in 2006 and 2011 just sank the band into the ground with nothing new and interesting to watch 

now for those that have seen the nu version and now see NITL which is essentially sort of feels like an extension of NU won't be that overwhelmed by the end product 

the only way to revert to greatness is to either magically release new good music or get the original 5 all together - axl you did this to yourself 

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On 3/15/2017 at 3:29 PM, themadcaplaughs said:

That was awesome man. Thanks for your thoughts. The only time I saw this lineup (albeit with Paul instead of Richard) was 01/01/2001, so needless to say the audience vibe seemed overwhelmingly positive (even if people were a bit stunned or at a loss of what to think about Buckethead's solo spot). I always wondered what the vibe of a more "normal" show from the era felt like, and this felt like such a weird anomaly. Maybe, beyond the sound issues, Axl could tell the crowd was off. One of my friends who saw them in Columbus, Ohio said the energy stayed strong through the whole night. I've always figured busting out "Riad n' the Bedouins" was there attempt at getting the energy up or trying something new. Whatever happened, it must have been weird having the band end without "Paradise City." 

On a lighter note, everyone I know who attended one of the 2001/2002 shows mentions the sounds guys playing a whole album two or three times through before the show started. When I saw them, they played Pearl Jam's Ten at least four times; probably five or six. The rumor was that the band was supposed to start right after midnight (the beginning of 2001). They did not hit stage until 3:15 AM. 

And I remember feverishly refreshing the LOSTROSE.COM forum on my aol dial up modem. The site exploded when they hit the stage. Can't even put into words how exciting it was at the time. Luckily it was a holiday as it was way past the time I usually went to bed as a 17yr old back then!

That HOB show was definitely the holy grail show for the new era. Followed by RIR3 & my show, the first Hammerstein show in 06

Edited by Top-Hatted One
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Good post Ronin. I always loved this lineups take on KOHD & Patience. The last time those 2 songs didn't bore me to tears live. Much better take than nugnr2 and this current version of the band. 

And you are right Bucket looks uncomfortable and out of place. You can see why he didn't last long. Standing back waiting for your turn at a Slash solo when you are a guitar virtuoso must've been a real kick in the nuts 

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This line up does nothing for me, this period of time IMO is just a stain on Axl and GNR. It's a collective mess of fuck ups in so many ways that writing it all down would take me all night. 

 

Just my opinion of course. ?

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2 hours ago, wondering where's izzy? said:

It looks like Axl is gesturing toward a monitor (maybe?) during patience. Maybe the words were wrong or something? Or just a good ol bipolar night.

I always wonder that about the monitors as well.

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On 2017-03-15 at 0:29 PM, themadcaplaughs said:

One of my friends who saw them in Columbus, Ohio said the energy stayed strong through the whole night.

 

Best show of the 2002 tour IMO.

 

As far as Riad, I dunno about trying to win the crowd over, I always thought he was just feeling the CD songs since they did all 4 songs in a row. And like almost everyone else, I'm jealous you got to see the 01/01/01 show :P

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The only reason I made that guess about "Riad" was because, even at that time, it was such a rarity. As a matter of fact, I believe that show was the last time any lineup played the song. On the 2002 North American tour, the band seemed to stick, pretty exclusively, to "Chinese Democracy," "Madagascar," and "The Blues." Who knows though. We've seen Axl likes to randomly pull out songs every so often ("There was a Time," "Prostitute," and "Yesterdays"). 

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2 hours ago, Modano09 said:

A Brett Hull jersey? That's random. 

Hull was a Red Wing at the time, right? In any case, the Hull and Wallace jerseys seem to be whatever was laying around for Axl to wear because they're Detroit lol

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1 hour ago, RussTCB said:

Hull was a Red Wing at the time, right? In any case, the Hull and Wallace jerseys seem to be whatever was laying around for Axl to wear because they're Detroit lol

He was, it was just a stacked team and when you think of the Red Wings you don't think Brett Hull. Seemed like a random choice. Axl in hockey jerseys is odd anyway because I know throwbacks and jerseys were trendy at the time, but hockey jerseys never really were.

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1 hour ago, Modano09 said:

He was, it was just a stacked team and when you think of the Red Wings you don't think Brett Hull. Seemed like a random choice. Axl in hockey jerseys is odd anyway because I know throwbacks and jerseys were trendy at the time, but hockey jerseys never really were.

Hull was one of the best underrated snipers and scorers for the wings on the PP. His off wing shot was blistering and probably the hardest one timer in the league at the time. 

Edited by double talkin jive mfkr
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That era was weird but great imo. I feel as if the people dismissing it or "hating on it" weren't around for it, there was a lot of hype on this forum surrounding every show. It was weird/funny in that every review posted by a forum member had a section dedicated to Axl's outfits :)

i mean Axl had A grade players in every position who were "first picks", not the replacements of the replacements of the replacements we saw laterally, in the heavily watered down versions of "nugnr". Everyone in my view was taking their role very seriously and it showed and Axl was right that that band "could play the fuck out of the old songs".

Buckethead was great, Brain was great, Axl was great, Robin was ok, The Blues was great, Madagascar was great, WTTJ was great, Pateince was great, LALD was unreal.

Yes, HOB 01-01-01 is the show I want to see. RIR3 is the best show by a distance between '93 and '16.

Everything since '06 was downhill imo (more so in hindsight). I attended '02 London, England and it was great (from what I remember!).

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27 minutes ago, Carburetta said:

That era was weird but great imo. I feel as if the people dismissing it or "hating on it" weren't around for it, there was a lot of hype on this forum surrounding every show. It was weird/funny in that every review posted by a forum member had a section dedicated to Axl's outfits :)

i mean Axl had A grade players in every position who were "first picks", not the replacements of the replacements of the replacements we saw laterally, in the heavily watered down versions of "nugnr". Everyone in my view was taking their role very seriously and it showed and Axl was right that that band "could play the fuck out of the old songs".

Buckethead was great, Brain was great, Axl was great, Robin was ok, The Blues was great, Madagascar was great, WTTJ was great, Pateince was great, LALD was unreal.

Yes, HOB 01-01-01 is the show I want to see. RIR3 is the best show by a distance between '93 and '16.

Everything since '06 was downhill imo (more so in hindsight). I attended '02 London, England and it was great (from what I remember!).

i couldn't agree more, they showed promise and had a great drummer and buckethead was a freakshow that was doing his best to outdo slash but at least them live was a lot better than the later NU GUNS and in fact madagascar was a pivotal hit for the time and it hadn't been released, they surely knew how to deliver that song which in my opinion was the only worthwhile and good version of it was live with this era 

furthermore as you say they had electricity and a vibe about them 

the later NUGUNS had nothing going for them i don't know why axl is so disillusioned when he mentions in the london questions that he has big a fan of the later lineup, why?? in what way!!!??? the funny thing is that i know what he means, he means that he loves or loved their yes man loyalty to him 

the 2001 -2002 lineup at least it felt like they had some balls to them 

 

 

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