lost un the jungle

Ok guys, here goes my review of 11/05/2016

I arived to the stadium 8:45 PM, but the show didn't start until 10 PM. It was a hot night, and inside the field with the crowd packed in the front was really great!

First songs Easy + Brownstone were great, I like the idea of starting with quiet songs and escalate to heavier ones. People wasn't receptive with Chinese but after that the perfect storm ocurred with Jungle! All went insane with the song, it is something only possible to describe if you see a video of the crowd. I must say that I don't listen to the classic hits by my own (Jungle, SCOM, etc) but I totally agree that they have to be in the setlist because it is what people wants to hear. At this point Axl's voice sounds very good, Jungle never fails and the low tone first songs are perfect. Double Talking is a song that I never listen but believe me that sounds great live! Better intro made during this tour makes the song more fluent and you don't sick about the guitar melody in the first minute, all credits to Slash here.

Estranged is performed perfect, what can I say about Slash solos... he made them and plays them like hell! Axl's voice here is in resting-mode (or Mickey for others) but is the way he sings this song since it was brought back to the setlist in Rio 2011. Live and Let Die shows Axl again with his most powerful voice and people gone crazy bumping each others. Rocket Queen is an awesome song, one of the best in my opinion, but I didin't like the way it was played. Fortus fucked up the first solo and for a moment I thought the band lost the track. Maybe it was rehearsed this way, but I didn't like it. You Could Be Mine was incredible, the energy this song brings is great, I love the rythm guitar parts (copyright: Izzy) and Frank's intro sounds like if it was played by a machine: simple but fast at the same time, can't describe it...

In the forum here says that next song was attitude but not, it was New Rose and performed by Duff. This I Love is a beautiful song, one of the best of CD, and Axl always sings it perfect. Civil War, another great song performed extraordinarily and closing with Voodo Child by Slash, recalling Illusions tour. Coma is a very good song but in my opinion it shouldn't be played, it is insane the amount of lyrics Axl has to sign at the end and you can see the guy really struggles to hit the notes. It is an excellent studio song but that's it. After that another hit that made the crowd, specially ladies, explode: Sweet Child. Steven was there for My Michelle, but he only did this song, I expected Out Ta Get Me too (love this song). Slash and Fortus played Wish you were here their way, and seems like these two guys really enjoy playing each other.

November Rain has Axl on the piano and the play a song (instrumental) at the beggining. Pyro at the end is great!. Then Knockin', a song that to me should have been out of the setlist 15 years ago, but again, it is what people wants to listen, this guys know it and I respect it. After that the best song: Nightrain. The guitars are amazing, drums are amazing and Axl is amazing too. Patience was played with electric + acoustic guitars and then The Seeker. Finally we had Paradise City, and that was it for a 2:15 hours show.

These are my thoughts about this tour:

- Is it a "cash grab"? Of course cash plays a very important role. Adding Slash + Duff makes GNR jump from 80% arenas to 100% stadiums (do your maths). But also I think the guys were tired of fighting, specifically Axl and Slash. Duff was reconciled with Axl long ago, even toured with him. Axl couldn't do another tour without new material and bringing the guys back was the right move.

- Axl's voice is fucked up? No, the guy proved with AC DC that he can sing an entire show with the higher tones and kill it. With GNR songs he "administrates" his voice and uses it in specific songs (Jungle, Nightrain, Rocket Queen, LALD, etc). Let's face that the guy is 54 years old and still kick ass.

- Fortus is a horrible player? No, the guy is really talented and there is no way Slash played with him if the guy sucks. Remember the Paul Tobias thing that was the last drop that made Slash quit in the past.

- Is Melissa necessary? I think with Dizzy only is more than enough. There are not many sintethizers parts, but I think Axl's hand is here.

- Frank sucks? No way. The guy is a correct player. Don't be naive, they picked Frank instead of Steven just to not have any issues. Steven is a great guy, he has a spot now, but they don't want to fuck up any concert. As "dangerous" as Duff and Slash look, they are totally pros and there is no way that there is any incident with the band.

- Is it really a reunion or New GNR + Slash + Duff? The facts show that this is it. CD songs are played, the same covers (Seeker, etc) and what we earned with Slash and Duff were some Illusions songs and, of course, their presence. We will have to see if new material comes out next year to see if GNR as a band is really back.

Thanks for you time reading. I love this forum.

César