MarlaHooch

It's Axl's band, always has been, always will be.

No Axl = Sweet Child would be just a string-skipping dick-around warmup exercise of Slash's.

No Axl = the Locomotive riff would be a badass palm-muted in A riff, nothing more. It certainly wouldn't turn into what it turns into at the end.

No Axl = no Patience, November Rain, Estranged, or basically anything that evolved the band's direction from "Anything Goes".

No Axl = no three hour shows and no rotating setlists during their heyday.

In fairness, it was Axl and Izzy's band in the beginning/during their prime and if Axl is the "visionary" in Guns N' Roses, Izzy was his #2 and shares a chunk of credit for some of the songs that started and then evolved the band. But Izzy is still cool with Axl and comes out and plays with him. If Izzy's cool with it, that's good enough for me.

Since I assume the question implies "how can it be GN'R without Slash?", I've said it a million times - Slash is very much like Ace Frehley except much more credible as a musician. No one is better at being Slash than Slash, he's a great player and performer, but his style has only gone so far over the years and it certainly has not progressed one iota since his prime. I consider him a "player" and an iconic character much more than a songwriter or a visionary. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but fact is GN'R is and always has been Axl's band and Axl's vision.

Bottom line - Slash is a player, Izzy is a songwriter, Axl is both with the ambition/vision to go with it. If Axl can't play the part he envisions, he sure knows how to get someone to play it how he wants it. Look at how Sweet Child came about, look at how he pieced together the Chinese solos from a million different takes, etc.

Axl's vision = Axl's band.

I'm not a Slash hater. He's a terrific, one-of-a-kind guitar player/soloist and one of the best live rock performers ever. It's a privilege to watch him play.

That said, this is how it breaks down lately and it's getting really old:

Axl: "You'll only interview me if I'll talk about Slash? Okay then, I'm not doing the interview."

Slash: "You'll only interview me if I'll talk about Axl even though I keep saying I hate talking about Axl? SWEET DUDE I GET TO BE ON THE RADIO!!"

Hope no one will complain about the setlist especially considering Axls condition atm

Yup. Might be looking at a short set tonight. I say give the man a break he's still working hard / doing any other bands' normal length set.

Wow I didn't really like Piers Morgan until about 3 minutes ago when he started that piece.

Awesome.

LOL at Matt.

Stupid drunk lucky-ass douche...

First of all, it's Green Day, not Greenday. Show some respect.

Second of all, Green Day is a perfect band to induct GN'R. Both Appetite For Destruction and Use Your Illusion heavily influenced Green Day. From their simplistic beginnings, to their more recent

bigger productions, Green Day has much gone the way of GN'R in terms of diversity. rock1

Third of all, Green Day will honor GN'R by playing It's So Easy (early Green Day style) and Don't Cry (latter Green Day style). My prediction.

That's a good analogy, I wonder if that's true? Billie Joe is an eloquent dude when he wants to be, so it should be a good speech. GN'R and Green Day were my favorite bands when I was 12, well over half a life ago, so I'm loving this!

That'd be a cool induction performance too if the band can't get it together.

\nothing wrong with the biggest rock band of the last 20 years inducting GN'R.

I was not aware that Nirvana is reuniting to induct GNR.

Nirvana were big from 91-94. Green Day have had two giant career waves. Maybe Dave Grohl with both of his bands compares, that's about it. But thanks for playing!

Really? Who the hell hates Green Day? That's like hating puppies.

Maybe Elton or Brian May or Steven Tyler would've made more sense, but nothing wrong with the biggest rock band of the last 20 years inducting GN'R.

Billie Joe teases the crowd with Sweet Child all the time.

Slash makes his living being "the guy who was in Guns N' Roses", he didn't write most of the material and hasn't written anything particularly compelling since, yet doesn't want to answer questions regarding the biggest original-GN'R-related event in decades.

I respect Slash as a player and a performer but he's reaching here as far as complaining about being asked.

You know why Axl isn't complaining about being asked? Because he doesn't SEEK interviews and publicity like Slash does, therefore he doesn't get asked a whole lot.

Promote your album in two weeks and spare yourself the hassle if it's that much of a drain on you, buddy!

Right now he sounds like the proverbial proctologist who shows up to work and complains that he's having to look at assholes all day. It's part of the job and he knows it!

DA-NA-NA NAH-NA-NAH

"NO! DJ, STOP WE'RE NOT-"

WAAAAAAAAAOW-DA-NA-NA NAH-NA-NAH!

Amazing! I LOLed.

Four reasons they're not playing:

1. No matter how good they would be, it would be a let down.

2. Steven Adler.

3. They all have other projects.

4. Every one of those guys dreads going into an interview and being asked about when they're getting back together. This would only increase that.

Final thought I forgot to mention, and it's a positive one.

I've always thought CD was a really bad opener. Not because it's a bad song, but because it doesn't have any Axl vocal trademarks/it's not in his comfortable vocal range. It's nearly always his weakest tune vocally.

It killed last night and he nailed it. I was happy to see that.

You guys do know that Slash wasn't the first guitar player to smoke on stage or to wear a hat on stage....right?

Marlahootch - I enjoyed your review of the show though. I agree with you about the show killers things too. When I saw them a couple months ago, people dug the CD songs, especially Shacklers. It was all the solos and fillers and jams that made people sit down or go get drinks or use the bathroom.

...DJ should not be wearing a top hat so long as he is a guitar player in Guns N' Roses. Period. Glad we agree on the rest :xmassrudolph:

- DJ REALLY needs to lose the almost-top-hat and cigarette thing. Yeah yeah, he designs and makes every stitch of his clothing himself, has worn it since before he joined the band, and it can all be yours as well at ashbaswag.com. I don't care. It's a laughingstock to anyone who (very easily) puts 2 and 2 together (Slash Replacement + Top Hat + Cigarette = WTFAREYOUTHINKINGBRO???) I can defend this band, the quality of their shows, their effort, their competence/talent, and Axl's recent fantastic work ethic all day long, but I can't defend the top hat and cigarette. It is in poor taste and IMPOSSIBLE to defend when random people say, "A top hat and a cigarette? Really?" It takes the focus off the quality of the band, overshadows DJ's ridiculous talent onstage, and totally feeds the "not a real band/hired guns" narrative.

As you stated DJ had the hat a cig before GNR, why should he loose it?

If anyone can mistake DJ for Slash on stage has to be smokin' crack, DJ looks young and youthfull....Slash on the other hand looks his age, he is on the heavy side with a face that has so much puffyness to it and really makes him look his age plus some, just as Axl looks his age but I feel Axl has aged better.

I could care less abouth the top hat, what looks more silly a hat and a cig or a KFC bucket on your head with facemask and a rain coat??????????? Now be honest and not say bucket could play circles around DJ, he most likely could but who REALLY looks more silly and who would be taken more seriously????

Um, because he wasn't in Guns N' Roses before when he was wearing a top hat and smoking on stage. He wasn't Slash's replacement before. I support the new band, but Slash came first, had that style first, and it's totally lame of DJ in my opinion. If he's that clever of a fashion designer, seems to me he could very easily come up with something a little more tasteful and original. That's nice you don't care. You're a diehard fan. 85-90% of people at Guns N' Roses shows aren't die-hard fans and notice these things. You and I have the cognitive dissonance to overlook something like that. An average person already on the fence about seeing a Slash-less GN'R, paying $100 for a ticket, showing up and seeing Slash's replacement in a top hat smoking a cigarette might not be so accepting. If someone calls it a clown move on DJ's part to look like that onstage, despite how awesome of a player and performer he is, I couldn't tell them they were wrong on that front.

It's not about people "mistaking DJ for Slash". It's about class and respect. It's possible to support the new lineup AND be respectful of the past. I get that they have to play Les Pauls, that's the only sound that works for GN'R. I don't mind KFC buckets because whoever Buckethead replaced (no one) didn't wear a KFC bucket as his iconic trademark prior to him joining the band. Very simple distinction here.

So basically, to make the appropriate analogy here, if Myles Kennedy always wore a red bandana, cowboy hat, jeans, a handlebar moustache, and used a red microphone prior to joining Slash's band, you'd be just fine with Myles continuing to perform with Slash looking like that? Really? Reeealllyyy???

C'mon folks. It's possible to support 95% of what the new band does and still acknowledge that, yes, there are a couple of imperfections (like with ANY band or person...)

Beer Sales Dude: "You hear about the t-shirt rule?"

Me: "Oh please. Someone posted that on the Internet and didn't put 'LOL' at the end, so it's gotta be true, right?"

BSD: "Touché."

Random thoughts on the show:

- Vibe was much better last night. Friday there were a couple of hecklers (who I had a ball yelling at and embarrassing) and it just wasn't the best show I've seen them do although it was definitely passable/not 'bad' by any means. Last night the crowd was either on their feet rocking out or sitting down absorbing new (for most of them) music. Sorry wasn't a 'crowd killer', it still got good applause at the end, but of course people sit down if they don't know a song. I definitely didn't hear any complaints.

- What a difference an 11:45 start time makes compared to 12:30. Also not gonna lie, a seat is a fantastic option for a longass show like this. The sound was the best I've heard at The Wiltern. Great mix.

- The true crowd killer is the whole Motivation/Baba section (sandwiched in between two Chinese ballad epics). There sure are a lot of non-GN'R songs at GN'R shows these days. Of course we more than get our fill of GN'R songs too, but fact remains some of these covers are indeed a drag on the show's energy in my opinion (and most of the crowd's, apparently).

- DJ REALLY needs to lose the almost-top-hat and cigarette thing. Yeah yeah, he designs and makes every stitch of his clothing himself, has worn it since before he joined the band, and it can all be yours as well at ashbaswag.com. I don't care. It's a laughingstock to anyone who (very easily) puts 2 and 2 together (Slash Replacement + Top Hat + Cigarette = WTFAREYOUTHINKINGBRO???) I can defend this band, the quality of their shows, their effort, their competence/talent, and Axl's recent fantastic work ethic all day long, but I can't defend the top hat and cigarette. It is in poor taste and IMPOSSIBLE to defend when random people say, "A top hat and a cigarette? Really?" It takes the focus off the quality of the band, overshadows DJ's ridiculous talent onstage, and totally feeds the "not a real band/hired guns" narrative.

- Favorite people-watching moment of the night = some drunk frat boy dude in the aisle trying to get random dudes in seats in front of him to bro down and embrace during "Estranged". Not that there's anything wrong with that...

- Friend I took isn't a die hard fan but she was adventurous enough to check out a 3 hour show. No complaints or mention about the lineup, no complaints about the Chinese material. She said Axl sounded amazing, she can't believe he's 50, the layered clothing isn't hiding anything (truth hurts haha thought that was cute), the show was too long because of the solos and excess covers, and that it was worth it/she was glad she went. I'd say that's a fair assessment from a casual observer.

Aaaaaand that's about it. Thanks to Axl and Co. for a great weekend!!

*same set except early Shackler's and Rosie instead of Riff Raff.

Even though it was the same set to a T, tonight for some reason was so much more enjoyable. Axl and Ronald seemed in good spirits. The crowd was definitely into it. During Chinese songs everyone sat down but just bc they were absorbing songs they hadn't heard. They went over well.

Lights out

I'll post lights out and if anything out of the semi-ordinary happens

Fucking low life needs to shut up. If Axl can't stand the people that asks for an autograph he better lock himself up in his mansion. Redhead seriously needs to realise that he is nothing without his fans. You gave some, you win some.

eBay hounds asking specifically for non-personalized autographs, who say "great show Axl!" when they weren't at the show are NOT fans.

Just thought I'd add for all you Charlie buffs, he was out by 2 or 2:30. Even 7 gram rocks have trouble getting a man through a 3:30 am concert! Looked at another way, I out-lasted/out-Charlied Charlie!

wow so Charlie didn't watch the whole show?

Not sure, he could have been watching from backstage, just know he was on the balcony up until 2:30ish. We just found it funny that assumedly the most gacked out guy in the entire place couldn't stay awake that long!

And just as a post-script to my last little tirade, for all the people who feel they're entitled to updates (not the person I'm replying to here...), I'll be at The Wiltern on Sunday and my offer is the same - if something out of the ordinary happens, I'm happy to post info when it's convenient for me. Otherwise, leave it to the update guesser go-bots to make the predictions. If you don't like that no one's updating, you can go earn the $100 that it costs to go to the show and update for everybody if it's really that super important to you

Should be an awesome show.

People are seriously bitching that none of us at the shows posted live updates?

Fuck right off, you spoiled, whiny, entitled bitches.

Why on earth would I waste my time updating every five minutes? Only to have some douche bag reply right after, "derrr I bet civil war, shacklers, then heavens door after that..."

Seriously some of you need a life. Right, I'm gonna go out of my way at MY show to post updates only to a: have nobgobblers predicting everything anyway, and/or b: have people bitch about the setlist anyway.

Yeah no thanks. Here's my offer - I enjoy the show I paid for, you be grateful for whatever info anyone chooses to provide you when they don't really have to :-)

Just thought I'd add for all you Charlie buffs, he was out by 2 or 2:30. Even 7 gram rocks have trouble getting a man through a 3:30 am concert! Looked at another way, I out-lasted/out-Charlied Charlie!

Just got home.

Axl sounded absolutely killer from Jungle on. I really can't compliment his performance enough, he was stellar. Full rasp and control, crystal clear in the mix all night.

I do have to admit though, 11:30 - 2:30 I can handle. 12:30 - 3:30, even on a Friday night in Hollywood, was quite the fatiguing challenge. I was amazed some 60% of the crowd was still there at 3 am. I realized, in 2006 when they went on this late, they weren't doing three hours, so staying the whole time wasn't quite this crazy. I'm loving the long shows and I'm grateful they more than give everyone their moneys' worth, but 3:30 is preeeeety fuckin late even for a rock show.

My only other gripe is actually the setlist. And I'm at the shows so I'm allowed my two cents. Very simply, if you're gonna play the same city 2 months later, more than 10 of the 190 minutes should be at least slightly different from the last time. Even little things, like Baba O'Rielly, Motivation, Richard's solo, and Another Brick...for a band who keeps saying they want to change it up more, they could start with their own showcases.

Other than that, for anyone who hasn't seen the show already, it's a pretty amazing show and I'd recommend it to pretty much anyone who digs rock music and can stay up late.

Being very animated/the most noticeable person in the whole section during djs solo