Deicide

Probably writes for a kids music magazine or even worse than that for kerrang!!!!!

Kerrang is correct

Surprised? Why? This has been a staple in the live show since 88. They never stopped playing that live. You pretty much here it every show.

A staple of the live show? What? Think About You was only played in 1986.... they didn't bring it back out again until the 2002 tour. It's hardly been a 'staple in the live show'.

Thats exactly what I thought

First off, thanks to everybody who spotted my DELIBERATE mistake by putting in Madagascar and not 'The Blues'. Interestingly, it was only people on this here website who noticed that mistake (this review has been posted all over the net today!) so well done!

Yes of course it was deliberate...............

Regarding the review, it sounds a bit like the "the ladybird book of my first rock concert".

And to call Axl childish and then spit your dummy out and say you're ending your musical "relationship" with him (whatever that means - I assume you mean just listening to his records?) is a bit pot, kettle and black.

It was very unfortunate that the concert ended in that way, and I am very sorry you missed PC.... but you can't seriously believe that Axl wished for the concert to go this way? He is hot headed and acts on impulse and I'm sure he regrets walking away. But I think to reject Axl/Guns n roses for good because he didn't do an encore sounds like cutting your nose off to spite your face...

So I think you should get tickets for another show (probably a bit nearer to home!) and re-evaluate the situation, because at the end of the day Axl will have wanted to do that show without walking off before the end, but the person throwing stuff ruined that.

I also think the fact it was 12:15 could have caused the promoter to call the show to stop, and with Axl already pissed off, he didn't need much persuasion to leave.

LP

Of course it wasn't a deliberate mistake!!!! Can you not sopt irony.

The reason it was written like it was my first concert is cos it was. It was my first guns n roses concert after waiting 20 years. I've worked in music journalism for the past ten years so you can trust me when i say i have been to a LOT of concerts in my time.

Anyway, this is all going over old ground. Some people (mainly i guess these people are teenagers, as they have no common sense) just want to idolise the man without thinking about it in perspective.

I can;t be bothered arguing over this anymore.

yeh in the past 2 years ive missed both velvet revolver and guns n roses. but hopefully ill get to see both next year with new material. ino alot people hate the split but theres def an up side to having 2 gr8 bands

Ummm.... I'm not big on Revolver to be honest. I mean, I think the new gn'r are great, but i'd obviously like them all back together. The thing that got my into gnr, and the thing that keeps me there is Axl's voice, and that is why i though Revolver were naff(as too were slashs snakepit etc)

In fact the only solo project i really enjoyed was Duffs!

would u think bout seeing them again? just out of curiousity cause ive yet to see them

I have thought about nothing more all day mate. Last night i was adamant that i would not. Today the answer would be yes. Because I can't throw 20 years of loving this band out of the window.

I did have tickets for Wembley next Sunday but they over-booked standing tickets and could only offer sitting ones, so i took a refund. I would recommend you go and see them at least once because they are so important when you look at music of the past 20 years

due he missed one song. your making a mountain out of a molehill. Sure he left in 2002 without an explanation throughout patience. you enjoyed everything else just go see him again next year. to be honest you shouldnt be worshipping one man theres many other great muscians out there. But ya i feel for ya its not fair that the newcastle gig was the one to get fucked up but im afraid thats life

I did enjoy the gig. I think i make that clear in my review. I really fucking enjoyed it. But the waiting about at the start and the end marred what could have been perfect.

I appologise to those who do not agree with what ive been trying to put across - im an old synic with an opinion, that's all!!!

By the way, I really like "Deicide"!

Becasue they rule!

First off, thanks to everybody who spotted my DELIBERATE mistake by putting in Madagascar and not 'The Blues'. Interestingly, it was only people on this here website who noticed that mistake (this review has been posted all over the net today!) so well done!

I appreciate all the comment made here tonight, but the one below got me so wound up that I though i would address each and every point individually.

Here goes:

I mean no offense here, but after reading your post, I have to question it. I will analyze this first

"PLEASE bare in mind that I am a huge GNR fan"

If this is true, you would sure as hell know that when you go to see GNR you can wait up to 2 hours + [

Anyone who knows about Guns N Roses should know about this. The first time I saw them at MSG in 2002, I knew that might happen. Are you trying to say that I am not a true fan because I expected them to finish the set instead of just going off because he had had enough? I have been to well over a thousand gigs in my time and I have never seen anything like what happened last night. Also, are you syaing that it is okay to cut a set short JUST because it is Axl? Why do we go on treating him like a god, in that he can do anything he wants just becasue he is Axl?

"Little did we fans realize that Axl would keep us waiting until 10:15 before he came on" - They certainly realized.

"We heard many people saying throughout the ordeal that they would give him ten more minutes and then they would go home" - Not true fans Why are they not true fans then? This is the single stupidest, childish comment i have ever read in my life! How can somebody have unconditional love for a band? I mean, I worship the Beatles, but if I was about in the 60's and was pissed off at a gig they did I wouldn't just say it was great because of who they are!

"I was heard saying Craig on more than one occasion, 'How can he do this to his fans? We have paid nearly £50 for these tickets and he just doesn't care.'"

On the contrary, he cares very much. He doesn't need to do this tour. He doesn't need to put out a new album. he is doing this for the fans. All he wants is to be treated with respect, and when you get hit in the face with a coin, that isn't respect. He doesn't even have to play the gig - its his choice. I think he just tries to weed the fans that just don't give a shit - out of the crowd when he waits that long. Also, you waited til 10:30 pm - big deal - I waited til 12:30 am on a weeknight when I went to the 3rd Hammerstein show.How old are you mate? Twelve? If you truly belive he plays these gigs because he wants to please his fans then you are either off your face on drugs or you have some sort of undying love that I can't understand.

"All three guitarists, and keyboard player Dizzy Reed (who looked painfully thin) all had their own solos. To me this meant one thing - time wasting." That is called giving everyone else in the band a chance to get the spotlight. Not many bands do this and we should give Axl credit for giving up the spotlight. Again, silliness. The reason everybody in the band gets a solo is to give Axl a break. I am all for solos, don't get me wrong. I thought Dizzy's solo was absolutely outstanding, one of the highlights of the show, I was simply saying that I didn't believe four seperate solos (including a rendition of Christina Agularia's 'Beautiful') were necessary.

"An example was when one of the guitarists used his solo to play a full instrumental version of Don't Cry. It left me asking why Axl didn't just come out and play the song, vocal and all." This is because Shannon hoon is dead, and he won't play the song anymore as a dedication. If this is true then I appologise. I admit I don't know every last fact about the band recently, as I have things going on in my life other than music.

"The night did pick up, however, with storming success as they belted their way through Sweet Child, November Rain and You Could Be Mine, and Madagascar." A true fan huh? Well then you should be ablt tell the difference beetwen Madasgar and the Blues. MISTAKE - I appologise. Does this mean I'm not a fan? Tell that to my bank manager who has to put up with me spending more than I really should on GN'R related gear. Being a trainspotter does not make you any more of a fan than me mate.

"At around half eleven, Sebastian Bach came out for his usual rendition of My Michelle" His usual rendition? You act like you saw it before. I act like I have read it in reviews and seen it at Download. I wasn;t having a go here by the way. I meant it as in he does it every night - i.e. not a bad thing (although I do think that in this song i would rather here just Axl's voice.

"and then Axl invited 'Old Friend' Izzy Stradlin onto the stage for a moment of jamming "

You should consider yourself lucky that you even got to see Izzy, let alone see him and axl play a Stones song with Maracas! I saw NO izzy at the Hammerstein show. It was a major bumer to hear he came out the next night - and then to hear the news that he does it every show - it killed me. I never got to see him.

A true guns fan would have emphazied the point that they got to see Izzy and Axl back together again. I woulf give anything to see them on stage together. Where do I say there is anything wrong with seeing Izzy? I went absolutely wild when he came on! I couldn't believe my luck. I don't know why you are having a go at me for this

"I was surprised when the band ripped into one of my personal favorites (and most underrated GN'R songs) "

Surprised? Why? This has been a staple in the live show since 88. They never stopped playing that live. You pretty much here it every show. Again, I didn't realise they played this often. Interestingly, though, this brings up something else I've been thinking about, in that Axl doesn't seem to think that any GN'r songs are B-sides. I mean most artists release an album. They release 2-4 single, then there are a couple of good tunes and the rest are considered B-sides. Because GN'R never released many albums it comes across like he thinks most of the songs are worthy of playing live (because he doesn;t have much alternative. I'm having trouble explaining what I mean here, but I would bet that at some point every GN'R song has been played live (even rubbish such as 'So Fine'. Sorry, I'm getting away from the point here. What I mean was that I didn't realise that Think about You was a 'Staple' of a live GN'R set.

"The band burst into Nightrain, with the crowd going crazy, singing every word in unison." Thats the worst part about a guns show - I come to hear Axl sing, not the crowd. I know that you are all into it, but I want to hear axl's voice live, not some dick that is singing a sloppy drunk version. What do you want the crowd to do? Stand at the back and quietly applaud him for being a genius? John Lennon he ain't mate. Of course the crowd will go mad and sing-a-long. Axl asks them to with his 'Knockin on Heavens Door' routine.

"A fan threw a pound coin which hit Axl in the face. He muttered something, told the band to stop playing and then walked off the stage, mid-song, and said ‘Good night.’ He then returned a few minutes later, told the crowd to tell security if they saw anyone throwing anything, and started Nightrain again"

You should consider yourself lucky that he even finished the show. That is true dedication. So he didn' tplay Paradise City? Big deal. That is the most played out and overrated Guns song ever. It does suck that they didn't do it though because you have all that confetti coming down and such, and the crowd going wild. I think they should change the setlist personally. Why play the same show for almost 20 years now? Its Duff's song, he probably is pissed, and Axl should just write another kick ass song to always be the encore, or just end it with Coma or something crazy. I personally don't think Paradise City is a great song - but it is the trademark of a GN'R show and I expect to hear it. I would personally have loved to have heard 'Estranged,' 'Bad Apples,' 'Dead Horse' or 'The Garden,' but I was over the moon with what he did play, because the mojority of fans would want to hear the more famouse tracks. Paradise City (Along with Sweet Child) are GN'R's most famous songs so I would expect to hear them at a GN'R gig. Also, he always ends with this song, which made it obvious that he left it out!

"The song drew to a close, the lights went out and Axl simply said ‘The show is over,’ and the houselights came on." You are mad because of this, but we don't know if security said thats it, we don't know why it happened. We assume it is because of the coin. Security could have seen a possible cause to end the show right then. We have no idea. I initially thought he had been told to cut the show short because of the time - fair enough. But on refelction I don't think this was the case, and if it was, then why did he make us wait for nearly 2 hours before coming on? Why didn't he start within an hour of BFMV finishing, then he could of played till his heart was content? Also, if he was told to hurry things aling, why did he restart Nightrain? Why didn't he go straigh into Paradise City? I don;t underatnd why You seem to think we OWE him something, like we should be gratefull that he turned up at all.

'I couldn’t believe this childishness. We had just seen a GN’R set without Paradise City." How about the childness of the guy that hit Axl?' How about the childness of you, who can't understand why someone would be enfuriated by being hit on stage. Why do you think Axl owes you Paradise City. He doesn't owe you anything. He doesn't owe the guy that hit him. You shuold be glad that he doesn't cancel the whole tour.

He is the greatest musican ever, and it is his way or the high way. That is something the fans have to accept. He is not some guy that writes crappy songs and doesn't care about the music. he is one of the few musicians that care deeply about his music. If the fans stop caring about the music - i.e throwing shit and being violent - than that is when the show ends. If anybody reading this believes what is written here then I have have no place trying to defend what I believe. This is like a 14 year old girl defending why she loves Robbie Williams

"He couldn’t care less what we think of him" He cared enough to end the show. He thought you thought of him as a target. Again, a load of bolony

"I totally agree with Deicide. I've heard the 'supposed' coin ( I don't care what anyone says, no one saw it), hit him in the leg.

But that’s' ROCK AND ROLL!!! Axel is old school, he'll have had much worse chucked at him in the past."

And if he was hit in the eye and blinded, I guess you wouldn't give a shit about that would you? Because that is rock n Roll! Wrong. Just as long as you get to see your precious Paradise City , that is all that matters huh? Fuck axl right? Its all about you you you. I travelled 191 miles from Bristol to see this concert. I didn't get home until around 5am. I took a holiday from work. The whole day cost me more than i would like to even think about. Not to mention that this was the most important night of my life - after a lifetime of worshipping this man. Last weeks I wrote a piece on Planet Sound (C4 teletext) saying how Vlevet Revolver mean nothing to me and that Axl is a musical God. Do you think really think I should unconditionally worship the man after being let down by what should have been a life defining moment? Unbelievable!

I have thought about this so so much today.

Nobody deserves to have a coin thrown at them for any reason, so i do feel for Axl. But there is no way he should have left without an encore. He ruined one of the best nights of my life. And what is really annoying mne is the amount of people who are defending the man! I understand that he is temperamental and he was pissed off, but a proffesional does not leave a job incomplete.

Someone mailed me today and told me that we should be happy cos they played 22 of the 23 songs they usually play. WHY should we be happy? We pay cash to see a full show.

What aslo annoyed me was the way he went off. If he was that worried about what had happened, then why did he come back on at all? And if he was coming back on, then why didnt he play Paradise City then instead of restarting Nightrain?

At the end of the day this was a Rock concert, stuff gets thrown. I was at last nights gig and I saw maybe a couple of bottles at most land on stage. I've seen far far worse. Rumours are abound that a coin was thrown but I didn't see it. But EVEN if one had been thrown, no harm was done. Axel stopped the performance and made his point. END OF.

But no not for Axel.......just out of pure spite he had to rob us of the ending we deserved.

You are my hero. Eventually i see someone has the same opinion about last night as me.

What follows is a piece I have written for various on-line sources about last nights gig. Before you read this, PLEASE bare in mind that I am a huge GNR fan. They are the only band i am interested in - seriously. Since I picked up Appetite For Destruction in 1989 I have benn OBSESSED by them. Therefore, please do not think that i am jumping on them, or slagging off the new band - I am not. The review is is honest and from the heart.

The reason I say this is because I have had a lot of negative comments from a certain webmaster about the column, but i fail to see why being honest can upset somebody.

Anyway, without further ado, I hope you enjoy and agree/disagree with my words, and please mail me with any feedback (roland_savage@yahoo.co.uk)

GUNS N ROSES - NEWCASTLE METRORADIO ARENA - 19/07/06

We arrived at the MetroRadio arena in good spirits around 6:15. Since the Use Your Illusion Albums had been released myself and Craig had dreamed of one day seeing GN'R live, and to be honest, never actually believed we would have the chance. I had bought tickets for the show they were supposed to be doing in Leeds a few years back but it was cancelled.

Anyway, when we saw that they had announced a European tour for 2006 we jumped at the chance and purchased our tickets and waited patiently for 19th July.

Having arrived early (the doors were advertised to open at 6:30) we found a notice on the doors of the arenas. 'The show is not due to finish until 11:45pm and the management offers apologies on behalf of the artist.' Did this mean they were going to play for three hours, I thought. We would find out later.

After cuing at the concessions stand the first strange event of the evening took place. Axl had seemingly personally requested that no (plastic) bottles be sold to the audience. I couldn't believe this, as it meant carrying cups of water/beer/fanta about all night, spilling everywhere. You couldn’t even take a bottle of water into the pit with you later! The reason for this request by Axl would become apparent as the night wore on.

Just after seven we sore the stage lights go down and Sebastian Bach came on. After a really solid, well paced set he left and soon after we sore upstarts Bullet for my Valentine take the stage. We were not here for the support acts at all, but have to admit that BFMV looked pretty good as the arena was filling up nicely for the arrival of who we all wanted to see. BFMY left the stage at I think was about half eight.

As happens at gigs such as this, everybody with standing tickets then started to make their way to the front, and everybody with sitting tickets began to sit down and be ready for the main event. Little did we fans realize that Axl would keep us waiting until 10:15 before he came on! Squashed onto the floor like an overcrowded tin of sardines, dying of thirst (but being unable to carry a bottle of water) for a couple of hours was not the most enjoyable experience. We heard many people saying throughout the ordeal that they would give him ten more minutes and then they would go home.

I was heard saying Craig on more than one occasion, 'How can he do this to his fans? We have paid nearly £50 for these tickets and he just doesn't care.' By this point the crowd was booing raucously, unlike anything I have ever heard after ten years of gigging. I really did not think that Axl would come out at all after hearing this.

As the clock hit 10:15, however, the lights went down, the fireworks went off and out came Axl, and his ever growing, band of merry men. They ripped through an awesome rendition of Welcome to the Jungle, before following it up with possibly the best moment of the night (It's So Easy) and then Mr. Brownstone.

The show plodded along at a good rate from here, as the crowd went mental for classic covers of Live and Let Die and Knockin' on Heavens Door.

Now, I understand that GN'R have always incorporated solos into their live show, but what happened tonight was a joke. All three guitarists, and keyboard player Dizzy Reed (who looked painfully thin) all had their own solos. To me this meant one thing - time wasting. An example was when one of the guitarists used his solo to play a full instrumental version of Don't Cry. It left me asking why Axl didn't just come out and play the song, vocal and all.

The night did pick up, however, with storming success as they belted their way through Sweet Child, November Rain and You Could Be Mine, and Madagascar.

At around half eleven, Sebastian Bach came out for his usual rendition of My Michelle and then Axl invited 'Old Friend' Izzy Stradlin onto the stage for a moment of jamming (although by this point we have four guitarists, a bass player, two keyboardists...) and a rundown of some old classics.

I was surprised when the band ripped into one of my personal favorites (and most underrated GN'R songs) Think About you, although when they played Patience I was in Guns heaven.

By this point I had forgiven Axl for all the stupidity earlier in the evening, and was already considering trying to get tickets to another show on the tour. Things soon can change in this business…

The band burst into Nightrain, with the crowd going crazy, singing every word in unison. Then something very strange happened. A fan threw a pound coin which hit Axl in the face. He muttered something, told the band to stop playing and then walked off the stage, mid-song, and said ‘Good night.’ He then returned a few minutes later, told the crowd to tell security if they saw anyone throwing anything, and started Nightrain again.

The song drew to a close, the lights went out and Axl simply said ‘The show is over,’ and the houselights came on.

I couldn’t believe this childishness. We had just seen a GN’R set without Paradise City. Everyone expected an encore but none came. I was so angry that for the entire journey home I cursed the man and promised to end my musical relationship with him.

Having slept on it I stick to my Guns (no pun intended). The man walked off stage like a spoilt brat and didn’t finish his set. I understand that he did play for 2 hours (by this point it was 12.15am) but by not playing Paradise City it was like going to see Sabbath and them not playing Paranoid.

All in all, much of the set was fantastic, but there were too many signs of the lack of respect which Axl has for his fans. He couldn’t care less what we think of him, because he knows we will still all listen to his music, and if the album ever comes out, we will buy it in droves.

That is all except me, however. Axl, you have lost a fan of twenty years with you dummy-spitting performance tonight.