07/20/17 - NYC - Apollo Theater

[NicoRourke]

1 hour ago, RussTCB said:

I hate that the "I LOVE YOU AXL" guy is all over the recording, but I'll get over it eventually lol

Yeah he's pretty annoying, to say the least. Wonder what Ask thinks of that if he heard it. But I'm sure they've all had their good share of rabbis nut fans following them.

[marlingrl03]

29 minutes ago, BangoSkank said:

Just catching up on all of this now. I managed to get in and the show rocked my fucking balls off. I also got offered a free ticket to Maiden at Barclays last night, so had no time to breathe between the two.

I showed up to The Apollo at 3:00pm and ran the drop line (which, after talking with Sirius staff, reeeeeally helped all of us get in). Huge props to @DanielCT and his fiance for showing up at 5:00am and starting to number everybody. They were very rightly the first ones to get in and their dedication was outstanding. Forget where they came from, but I know they got up at 1:00am. When I went to get a beer I ran into a dude who was #126 on the line so my guess is about 150 people got in. Sirius staff was strict but generous.

Some personal highlights:

- Me and a buddy ended up row 6, dead center of the orchestra (ironically, it's about where I snuck up to for the Springsteen show at The Apollo a few years ago).

- Speaking of Bruce at The Apollo, waiting in line with me was a dude I met in that drop line back in 2012. Was great to catch up.

- Sofia Vergara and her husband were right behind me. No idea who they were but her husband rocked out way hard to obscure songs and caught Axl's mic. and he graciously let me touch it.

- Patrick Wilson was immediately next to me and caught Axl's whistle. 

- I can barely tell you how Axl sounded because it was a loud and intense performance inside and wasn't thinking about that.

- I thought for sure we'd be getting a two hour show at most, but was floored with the 3:20 length.

- Never in my life did I expect to see Axl & Slash in the same room together, let alone one that holds 1500 people. Mindblowing.

- I thought that the slight tempo change at the end of "Nightrain" might be because of there's a curfew in NYC that you can't play past. GNR, of course, blew right by that though.

- I got interviewed on Sirius radio outside and I have no idea where that audio ended up but would love to hear it.

- Honestly, this was the coolest GNR show I've been too. Intimate venue, the band was fucking killer, everyone was in good spirits, and they played for fucking ever.

- I never expected anything AFD30 related, so eh. 

- I got in right before McBob came on, I missed the free shirts, but got a free poster (and beer!). If anybody's got an extra shirt, let me know.

- "This I Love" is one of the only songs I do not like by GNR, but Axl's fucking voice was awesome and Slash kills the solo each time, so consider me a changed man. 

- A lot of hardcore fans in the place kept the energy high.

- I took one picture that came out like shit, but my friend next to me got this one. 

All in all, an outstanding fucking night at The Apollo. So glad I bailed on work and went.

Thanks for sharing all of that.....what an amazing experience in such a beautiful setting. I'm glad to hear so many fans got to go in.. 

[Ratam]

30 minutes ago, BangoSkank said:

Just catching up on all of this now. I managed to get in and the show rocked my fucking balls off. I also got offered a free ticket to Maiden at Barclays last night, so had no time to breathe between the two.

I showed up to The Apollo at 3:00pm and ran the drop line (which, after talking with Sirius staff, reeeeeally helped all of us get in). Huge props to @DanielCT and his fiance for showing up at 5:00am and starting to number everybody. They were very rightly the first ones to get in and their dedication was outstanding. Forget where they came from, but I know they got up at 1:00am. When I went to get a beer I ran into a dude who was #126 on the line so my guess is about 150 people got in. Sirius staff was strict but generous.

Some personal highlights:

- Me and a buddy ended up row 6, dead center of the orchestra (ironically, it's about where I snuck up to for the Springsteen show at The Apollo a few years ago).

- Speaking of Bruce at The Apollo, waiting in line with me was a dude I met in that drop line back in 2012. Was great to catch up.

- Sofia Vergara and her husband were right behind me. No idea who they were but her husband rocked out way hard to obscure songs and caught Axl's mic. and he graciously let me touch it.

- Patrick Wilson was immediately next to me and caught Axl's whistle. 

- I can barely tell you how Axl sounded because it was a loud and intense performance inside and wasn't thinking about that.

- I thought for sure we'd be getting a two hour show at most, but was floored with the 3:20 length.

- Never in my life did I expect to see Axl & Slash in the same room together, let alone one that holds 1500 people. Mindblowing.

- I thought that the slight tempo change at the end of "Nightrain" might be because of there's a curfew in NYC that you can't play past. GNR, of course, blew right by that though.

- I got interviewed on Sirius radio outside and I have no idea where that audio ended up but would love to hear it.

- Honestly, this was the coolest GNR show I've been too. Intimate venue, the band was fucking killer, everyone was in good spirits, and they played for fucking ever.

- I never expected anything AFD30 related, so eh. 

- I got in right before McBob came on, I missed the free shirts, but got a free poster (and beer!). If anybody's got an extra shirt, let me know.

- "This I Love" is one of the only songs I do not like by GNR, but Axl's fucking voice was awesome and Slash kills the solo each time, so consider me a changed man. 

- A lot of hardcore fans in the place kept the energy high.

- I took one picture that came out like shit, but my friend next to me got this one. 

All in all, an outstanding fucking night at The Apollo. So glad I bailed on work and went.

What great description!! I read article what husband of  Sofia Vergara is fan of GUNS and he in  one party  sing SCOM his name is Joe Manganiello, i happy for you what enjoying the show ☺

[Dean]

1 hour ago, Lies They Tell said:

Damn, was that the first time, he's used that kind of a voice on that part of the song? Really awesome! Hopefully he'll sing it like that always from now on. I guess Axl does listen to the fans and tries to come up with different ways he could sing certain parts without sounding like Mickey. That voice was really cool and improved the live version of that song a lot!

These are amazing videos. Love seeing the band so close.

He used it for the majority of the European leg. It sounds a lot better than him using the clean voice throughout!

[DanielCT]

41 minutes ago, BangoSkank said:

Just catching up on all of this now. I managed to get in and the show rocked my fucking balls off. I also got offered a free ticket to Maiden at Barclays last night, so had no time to breathe between the two.

I showed up to The Apollo at 3:00pm and ran the drop line (which, after talking with Sirius staff, reeeeeally helped all of us get in). Huge props to @DanielCT and his fiance for showing up at 5:00am and starting to number everybody. They were very rightly the first ones to get in and their dedication was outstanding. Forget where they came from, but I know they got up at 1:00am. When I went to get a beer I ran into a dude who was #126 on the line so my guess is about 150 people got in. Sirius staff was strict but generous.

Some personal highlights:

- Me and a buddy ended up row 6, dead center of the orchestra (ironically, it's about where I snuck up to for the Springsteen show at The Apollo a few years ago).

- Speaking of Bruce at The Apollo, waiting in line with me was a dude I met in that drop line back in 2012. Was great to catch up.

- Sofia Vergara and her husband were right behind me. No idea who they were but her husband rocked out way hard to obscure songs and caught Axl's mic. and he graciously let me touch it.

- Patrick Wilson was immediately next to me and caught Axl's whistle. 

- I can barely tell you how Axl sounded because it was a loud and intense performance inside and wasn't thinking about that.

- I thought for sure we'd be getting a two hour show at most, but was floored with the 3:20 length.

- Never in my life did I expect to see Axl & Slash in the same room together, let alone one that holds 1500 people. Mindblowing.

- I thought that the slight tempo change at the end of "Nightrain" might be because of there's a curfew in NYC that you can't play past. GNR, of course, blew right by that though.

- I got interviewed on Sirius radio outside and I have no idea where that audio ended up but would love to hear it.

- Honestly, this was the coolest GNR show I've been too. Intimate venue, the band was fucking killer, everyone was in good spirits, and they played for fucking ever.

- I never expected anything AFD30 related, so eh. 

- I got in right before McBob came on, I missed the free shirts, but got a free poster (and beer!). If anybody's got an extra shirt, let me know.

- "This I Love" is one of the only songs I do not like by GNR, but Axl's fucking voice was awesome and Slash kills the solo each time, so consider me a changed man. 

- A lot of hardcore fans in the place kept the energy high.

- I took one picture that came out like shit, but my friend next to me got this one. 

All in all, an outstanding fucking night at The Apollo. So glad I bailed on work and went.

Is this you Tom? I'm glad you were able to get such a good seat - it definitely was a blast. We were up in the lowest box seats right above Slash's side of the stage. Definitely an experience we won't forget. When we first got there there was a woman's purse under Laura's seat, eventually she came back to retrieve it before the show started, and it turns out it was Frank Ferrer's daughter. Later on towards the very end of the show Duff threw a pick up into our box, no one could find it and it ended up being buried under Laura's t-shirts from the show. She's a hardcore Duff fan so she was pretty stoked. Neither of us suffered from heat stroke amazingly and made it out of Harlem in one piece, so it was all good. Now we need to work on saving some $$ for the arena dates. 

FYI we're from Beacon Falls, CT - about 20 miles north of Bridgeport. Very quiet and peaceful. 

Edited July 22, 2017 by DanielCT

[gunsfanoldie]

Also, I don't like that I've only posted negative and didn't do a full review. I didn't feel it was necessary as so many others heard it. It was just easier to respond to the complaints. But it should be said that I just finished listening to the whole broadcast back after having been there the night of:

I had an incredible time. It was an awesome show. The broadcast is a good momento. There are DEFINITELY moments and just plain full songs where Axl doesn't sound that great. At the show it didn't matter and even with this soundboard I still don't think it matters. This is who he is and I have to give him credit, he was a fucking madman on stage the other night. He crushed it, totally fucking crushed it. For 3 fucking hours. In his 50s. Give him credit. As did the other big 2. Just outstanding.

Again, there's not much to be said. Others have said it better that were there or just stuff you can gleam from the soundboard recording. But I wanted it on record that I had a phenomenal fucking time. This was arguably a dream come true. I could complain, I obviously think this stale setlist needs some spicing up but I do have to put some blame on myself for seeing them so much. Other than the setlist, it was an awesomely small venue which was really cool, the staff was so unbelievably friendly, they played a full 3 hour and 10 minute show which really surprised me (I was positive it would be an hour 45 or two hours at most), we got two free T-shirts, a free poster, it was an open bar, it was free. To really complain after all of that is kind of silly. And I got Yesterdays which I've never seen which was really cool, and Sorry and Black Hole Sun which I've never seen this lineup play, and anything new is welcome at this point.

Overall wonderful show. Got moved up at the end of the main set to front row on the balcony cause it was just going late and there were no bad seats, but it reached a whole other level when I got moved up. Then you really were literally on top of them and it was just cool. An awesome memorable night, even though they didn't play Appetite in full and no Izzy or Steven when I do think they should be there. I didn't really know when I'd be that excited after Vegas last year to see this band again but this did it and I can't think of another situation where I'll be at this level or Vegas level excitement again so I cherished every moment and having soundboard audio, good or bad, is a major plus to me.

Just wanted that said so my comments before don't make me come off as an ungrateful bastard. I was in near tears out of joy, believe you me.

[TeeJay410]

Honestly, I haven't been as engaged or excited about anything GN'R music-wise in a while. Great audio, great performance, the show being in an intimate venue, it being available like this is a nice treat in itself. I've become only a casual listener of the band while remaining a strong follower. This sort of comes back to if you're analyzing every note of every show for the entire tour, you may be hearing things I'm not that would lead you to believe this performance isn't up to snuff. I thought it was dope.

Edited July 22, 2017 by TeeJay410

[BangoSkank]

8 minutes ago, DanielCT said:

Is this you Tom? I'm glad you were able to get such a good seat - it definitely was a blast. We were up in the lowest box seats right above Slash's side of the stage. Definitely an experience we won't forget. When we first got there there was a woman's purse under Laura's seat, eventually she came back to retrieve it before the show started, and it turns out it was Frank Ferrer's daughter. Later on towards the very end of the show Duff threw a pick up into our box, no one could find it and it ended up being buried under Laura's t-shirts from the show. She's a hardcore Duff fan so she was pretty stoked. Neither of us suffered from heat stroke amazingly and made it out of Harlem in one piece, so it was all good. Now we need to work on saving some $$ for the arena dates. 

FYI we're from Beacon Falls, CT - about 20 miles north of Bridgeport. Very quiet and peaceful. 

It's me! Saw you guys hanging up there and enjoying it. Axl 100% pointed up at you guys near the start of the show. I'm betting you got home around 4?

Great meeting you and glad you guys made it in. What a night.

I'm still protesting the arena show prices, but man, after the other night, I might be persuaded to swallow my pride and fuck my wallet. 

Also, another highlight I forgot to add to my earlier post: We got to meet Frank and chat with him a bit, really cool guy from what I can tell.
 

[vail2004]

NOBODY who was at the show would say anything but Axl sounded phenomenal.  You can nitpick a radio feed all you want...more power to you.  But you are working from a flawed product.  Every single review of the show (Billboard, Vulture etc) singles out exceptional vocal chops for a reason, everyone who was there would agree.  Everyone.  

I was mid orchestra level next to John McEnroe and it was funny as I remembered thinking mid performance "well the naysayers can go to town about lack of Izzy and Adler or proper tribute to AFD but they cant say squat about one of the top 3 greatest rock vocalist delivering a lights out performance."

The bitterness of some of the vocal minority of "fans" here is truly mindblowing.  Enjoy your time in living in your parents basements in your tidy whiteys.  

[alfierose]

39 minutes ago, NicoRourke said:

But I'm sure they've all had their good share of rabbis nut fans following them.

I have a fantastic image of them being chased by rabbi's now. 

[BangoSkank]

Just now, vail2004 said:

NOBODY who was at the show would say anything but Axl sounded phenomenal.  You can nitpick a radio feed all you want...more power to you.  But you are working from a flawed product.  Every single review of the show (Billboard, Vulture etc) singles out exceptional vocal chops for a reason, everyone who was there would agree.  Everyone.  

I was mid orchestra level next to John McEnroe and it was funny as I remembered thinking mid performance "well the naysayers can go to town about lack of Izzy and Adler or proper tribute to AFD but they cant say squat about one of the top 3 greatest rock vocalist delivering a lights out performance."

The bitterness of some of the vocal minority of "fans" here is truly mindblowing.  Enjoy your time in living in your parents basements in your tidy whiteys.  

I was two rows in front of you and couldn't agree more. When you're sitting back and listening at home (and on the computer setlist watching) there is nothing to do but analyze and breakdown. At the show, that all goes out the window (and it should). 

As an aside: Did McEnroe leave part of the way through?

[Tom-Ass]

2 hours ago, Mendez said:

Dude uses a hollow body Gretsch and a Supro, how can that even sound electronic

I just figured it was effects.. But it is Melissa.. I heard it clear as day from the Troubador videos and again watching the Apollo videos... Never heard it during the stadium shows.. Either way, it is not needed for that song..

[vail2004]

Just now, BangoSkank said:

I was two rows in front of you and couldn't agree more. When you're sitting back and listening at home (and on the computer setlist watching) there is nothing to do but analyze and breakdown. At the show, that all goes out the window (and it should). 

As an aside: Did McEnroe leave part of the way through?

yes - he left about 4 songs prior to the encore.  had an early appointment fri apparently.  nice guy and very into it.  

was an interesting mix of folks there huh?  def some real hard core fans but more celebs than I realized.  I am 90% sure jimmy iovine was right there in our vicinity as well

to me the #1 takeaway of watching Axl in that kind of crazy intimate environment was the extreme amount he pours into a performance.  doing what he does to that degree for 3+ hrs at 55 is just absurd

[IncitingChaos]

The reviews were very nice to Axl from what I read. USA Today and Billboard seem to have most of their write up on Axl. Good to read, I hope it doesn't enable more of his current vocal work but it's always nice to see your favorite band get praised like they are 

[Ratam]

15 minutes ago, vail2004 said:

NOBODY who was at the show would say anything but Axl sounded phenomenal.  You can nitpick a radio feed all you want...more power to you.  But you are working from a flawed product.  Every single review of the show (Billboard, Vulture etc) singles out exceptional vocal chops for a reason, everyone who was there would agree.  Everyone.  

I was mid orchestra level next to John McEnroe and it was funny as I remembered thinking mid performance "well the naysayers can go to town about lack of Izzy and Adler or proper tribute to AFD but they cant say squat about one of the top 3 greatest rock vocalist delivering a lights out performance."

The bitterness of some of the vocal minority of "fans" here is truly mindblowing.  Enjoy your time in living in your parents basements in your tidy whiteys.  

True, i read amazing reviews ?

[liqddynamite]

That version of better is amazing, love the low end he used.

[dontdamnmeuyi2015]

Saw some footage on youtube.com

Damn GNR looked and sounded great in the Apollo.

Wish I could have been there. I'm sure most fans took the train up to Harlem. Not much parking in NYC that doesn't cost a fortune.

Anyway, this will go down in history!

[Cory Trevor]

24 minutes ago, vail2004 said:

NOBODY who was at the show would say anything but Axl sounded phenomenal.  You can nitpick a radio feed all you want...more power to you.  But you are working from a flawed product.  Every single review of the show (Billboard, Vulture etc) singles out exceptional vocal chops for a reason, everyone who was there would agree.  Everyone.  

I was mid orchestra level next to John McEnroe and it was funny as I remembered thinking mid performance "well the naysayers can go to town about lack of Izzy and Adler or proper tribute to AFD but they cant say squat about one of the top 3 greatest rock vocalist delivering a lights out performance."

The bitterness of some of the vocal minority of "fans" here is truly mindblowing.  Enjoy your time in living in your parents basements in your tidy whiteys.  

axl sounded like poop and now theres a soundboard. go listen to shoot to thrill from lisbon, then my michelle from apollo, and tell me thats good. the people in attendance thinks he sounds great because of hi SPL's 

[slash was buckethead]

1 hour ago, Pishy said:

I was really hoping Perfect Crime would be played but with ferrer, it could be a disaster. In axl' s current state, he couldn't pull it off, a no intensity PC would be a crime against all.  I also want to hear Locomotive, Breakdown, The Garden, Bad Apples and Izzy on Dust n Bones and 14 Years. But I'm glad Coma and Estranged get played. Why not the UYUII version of Don't Cry?  If real GnR was playing, it would be possible and I leave space for Fortus because that man is awesome. But with axl's new voice, and no Izzy or Adler, none of this happens. 

Update: I would die to hear "You're Crazy", Lies version and Appetite version . I love both. The Lies version really demonstrates Axl's profound intuition, it's brilliant.  

if axl wants richard and frank in let richard play the Chinese democracy stuff as well as frank and frank can play most of the illusions stuff

[ZoSoRose]

Just listened to Sorry, some really tasteful guitar playing from Slash

[PsychoKiss344]

30 minutes ago, ZoSoRose said:

Just listened to Sorry, some really tasteful guitar playing from Slash

Yup!

I'm just re listening to this show right now, very enjoyable!!

[TOS--LOA]

Watching some of the videos I'm reminded just how much more GN'R the band looks without all the video screens. Just that cool ass backdrop is all they need. 

[ana pri]

Nightrain video, please.

[mrw80]

Anybody know what celebrities were in attendance?  I was there in the lower mezzanine. Didn't see any near me, but I also wasn't really looking. 

[Iron MikeyJ]

1 hour ago, ZoSoRose said:

Just listened to Sorry, some really tasteful guitar playing from Slash

Of the 4 CD songs, honestly this is the only one that I think the album solo is better. Having said that, Slash's overall guitar work is superior imo. He adds some really BAD ass soloing during the outro. So even though the main solo on the album is better, I prefer this version, as you said it's got some tasty elements to it. As far as CD, Better, and TIL goes... Slash takes a massive piss on the album versions, and I think the album versions are stellar.

Edited July 22, 2017 by Iron MikeyJ