chitownfan

He seemed to paint a picture of a passionless band who just in it for the money. New material is deemed as boring and AFD nostalgia is what people came for. But people still had good time he didn't say it sucked but did do a subtle deflating job.

my thoughts exactly, greg kot is a good reviewer. i read a lot of his articles in the trib

I would just like to say a couple things since i was at the show. The show wasnt sold out (about 3 quarters full), for those of you who thought it was, and people starting leaving before the show was even half over. After the first few songs the show got worse and people began to sit and then book out of there. 4 solos and 5 new songs destroyed the show.

"At Allstate Arena, a polished Guns N' Roses now more brand than band

By Greg Kot

Tribune music critic

Published November 28, 2006, 6:20 AM CST

When last seen at the Allstate Arena, in 2002, Guns N' Roses had retooled its lineup and was previewing tracks from its years-in-the-making album, "Chinese Democracy." Pyro and fireworks exploded, guys not named Slash played fancy guitar solos, and the songs from "Appetite for Destruction" still sounded unbeatable.

On Monday at the same venue, it was 2002 all over again. The Gunners lineup had once again been shuffled around singer Axl Rose, and "Chinese Democracy" had still not been released. Several songs from that endlessly forthcoming album were once again trotted out to little notice, but "Sweet Child O' Mine" and the rest of the "Appetite" tracks still rolled through the joint like a freight train on fire. There were more long guitar solos by Slash stand-ins, and the pyro was still hot enough to flush cheeks in the lower balcony.

If Rose and his revolving door of bandmates sound like they're spinning their wheels, that didn't bother an audience that filled the arena to three-quarters capacity and lingered through three opening acts and a two-hour-plus Gunners set that didn't end till nearly 2 a.m. They came to relive the era when Rose, Slash, Duff McKagen, Izzy Stradlin and Stephen Adler put the sleaze back in Sunset Strip rock 'n' roll, and sold millions upon millions of records. Since his 1987-92 heyday, Rose has managed to alienate all his sidekicks and many of his fans. Now he stands alone atop GNR, but there's the inescapable notion that it is now more of a brand than a band.

Monday's show was a polished procession of oldies and a smattering of new tracks. Rose's recent material sounded more labored than the swaggering older material. The "Chinese Democracy" songs were outfitted in once-trendy touches, such as trip-hop beats, but they already sound dated. The fans were unmoved. They came to hear "Appetite" played in its entirety, and Rose played most of it. Night-prowling anthems "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Paradise City" framed the concert, and "Mr. Brownstone," "Sweet Child O' Mine," "It's So Easy," "Nightrain" and "My Michelle" (which Rose sung with opener Sebastian Bach) still packed a wallop.

Rose's snake dancing charisma isn't what it once was. With his beefier frame, sun-glasses, and braids pulled back in a pony tail, he looked like one of those oily '80s talent scouts who once might've signed Guns N' Roses. But when his yowl wasn't badly undermixed, as it was in the early portion of the show, it still cut like a rusty blade. He was at his best on "Patience," first whistling the melody, then crooning it with grizzled authority against a subdued acoustic backdrop.

The singer was unfailingly gracious, and the set rolled along without a hint of trouble. The musicians around him, including bassist Tommy Stinson and guitarists Robin Finck, Richard Fortus and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, sounded well-rehearsed. They were pros doing what pros do when on six-figure retainers.

And so the night was a journey along the back road of mega-stardom, where professionalism rules. Like Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart, the Gallagher brothers and countless others, Rose is just the latest rock 'n' roll rogue to take final refuge in its comforts.

gregkot@aol.com "

Cool, somebody's gonna have to tell the people not from that area what he says.

wlup.com you can listen live, you have to sign up though

i just called the station and its a previous interview he had done in nyc but wlup is playing the whole thing tonight at 10 for anyone who is interested

http://www.wlup.com/

whatever, the shows not sold out and never was and there are still plenty of decent seats left on the upper level

first off ive been checking tickets on ticketmaster ever since they went on sale and ive been able to get tickets everytime ive checked. there was not one time i wasnt able to get tickets so....BOOYAH

they should have put it in the opposite order with 01 starting first but whatever.

whats really funny is that i remember joining these boards under a different name around 02 when they toured the states and i remember seeing so many people on here including some of the mods, whose names i wont mention(you know who you are), defending axls voice and stating that it sounded great and that there wasnt that much of a difference. well heres the proof and oh my god he sounded like complete shit on that last tour lol. he still doesnt sound like he used to but hes older so you cant expect him too but congrats to him for getting his voice in much better shape this time around.

i havent been listening to the loop at all today but just listen live on the site, you have to sign up but who cares. my bud said that the dj was hypin it up big time.

i was just on ticketmaster and there are going to be plenty of empty seats in the balcony section of the arena tommorow, lol

oh yeah, my bud just called me and said that the loop which is the biggest hard rock station here in chitown is having an interview with axl rose tonight at 10pm.

It's not just a name, it's the history of such an amazing band, which such amazing bandmembers and the chemistry between them.

SAD that "Guns N Roses" just a name for you and not the blueprint of a kick-ass rock band.

nice one

is there even a better version of IRS out there instead of that piece of shit one i have thats barely listenable cause the quality is shit

come on now people, slash left gnr in the first place because axl was bringing in too many outsiders into the group. why would he leave his ex gunners and go to just axl. slash knows what gnr is and he would never do this.

somebody close this ridiculous thread

sombody mind sending it to this new b right here

ok so, i heard somebody in my dorm building ask me if i heard the new song on the radio out here in boston. i thought he was joking but then i jump on line and theres all this talk of the new songs being leaked. i quickly downloaded the 3 songs since neither was being played on the radio anymore...

IRS...the version i have is terrible quality so im not gonna say much, it didnt sound mind blowing from what i could hear though??

There Was A Time...It seems like there were wayyyy too many layers going on in this song. too much going on to really sound good imo. the verses werent bad but the chorus i thought was terrible sounding, especially the guitars. The solo however was pretty good, very slash sounding too. you can tell the made use of slashs famous "sustain" on this solo. Ive listened a few times to this and still cant get into it. like i said, i think theres too much going on in this song at one time.

now onto Better...this was the first song i had heard out of the three and when it first started i thought it was a joke and not really an axl song, especially with the really high singing and "hip hopish" beats in the backround. Once it kicks into the guitars and verse i was blown away. This song could easily be the first single or definatlye a single. I will say that when axl sings high in this song his voice just doesnt have it anymore, its sounds way different.

well theres my thoughts on them. i think Better is clearly the greatest of the three and way better than the blues, mad., and chinese democracy. Now considering these are only demos i will expect his voice to sound way better and more clear.

let the madness begin