AFDFan8

Here is my review of the show.  This and 50 cents will get you an unreliable truck stop rubber, so take it for what it's worth.

First and foremost, last night was the best concert I've ever been to and likely the best I will ever go to.  I was on the floor, section B row 8, seat 13.  I don't pay super close attention to how the songs are played to tell you if something was played too fast or too slow.  I drank about 8 beers before I made my way to my seat and I was there to party, not pick apart the performance or video tape the concert on my damn cell phone.  

Crowd:  From my vantage point, the crowd was electric.  There were middle aged men all around me hugging it out as if the last time they felt this way was 1992.  Everyone was on their feet the entire concert and most of the time everyone had their hands in the air screaming out the lyrics to each song.  I sure as shit know that I was.  There was no lack of energy coming from the crowd.  They did close off the entire upper deck and upgraded everyone who bought tickets up there to the main level.  The floor, main level and middle level looked to be 95% full.  Arrowhead holds 80k and I have to guess with the floor being 95% full there was around 40,000 people there.  I wish it would have sold a little better, but it was still a damn good crowd.

Axl: I thought Axl gave the show everything he had and he was amazing.  I appreciate that he played about half the concert with no hat/sunglasses on.  Being able to see his eye's makes it a much more real experience.  He was full of energy and looked to be having a great time.  I am a hard core AFD guy and I have never gotten into the Illusions songs very much, aside from You Could Be Mine and Civil War which in my opinion both still have the AFD Sound.  I have watched the 88 Ritz video in it's entirety about a thousand times.  I've watched a few of the UYI era shows on Youtube and I felt like Axl sounded about the same last night as he did on the UYI tour, which is pretty damn good considering it's 25 years later.  I didn't hear any mickey mouse tone, but his pitch on Sweet Child O' Mine, Rocket Queen and some other AFD songs definitely isn't the same as it was in 1988.   I wish people would stop commenting about Axl's weight.  I heard several people say things last night.  Axl looks fine for his age.  Slash is no thinner than Axl and nobody ever says anything negative about his appearance  Axl sure as shit wasn't lazy on stage last night.  His appearance is just fine  for a 54 year old.  I hope i still have that much hair when I'm 54.  

Slash:  Slash completely owned that show last night.  He was all over the stage and probably got more time on the big screen than anyone else.  He was dripping sweat the entire show and he never took any kind of break in the 2.5 hour set list.  Simply amazing and everything I was hoping to see.  Slash is by far my favorite guitar player and he gave me my money's worth last night.

Duff:  Duff was awesome as well.  He looks great and sounds great.  It is clear that this show is about Duff, Axl and Slash.  There were many times that the three of them were together at the center of the stage with everyone else way in the back out of the spotlight.  I could have done without Duff singing lead on one of the songs, but others around me were clearly into it.

Richard:  He was there and I could hear him playing his parts, but he's nothing special to me.  He was just fine.

Frank:  I wish Steven Adler was there.  I don't see what it would hurt to have Steven play the AFD songs and then have Frank play the rest.  I'm sure he would do it for free and he is clearly capable of handling the job.  Frank is nothing special to me, just another drummer.  The concert would have meant more to me if Steven were there.

Dizzy:  I've never been a fan of having a keyboard player in GNR but if there going to have one, I guess Dizzy is as good as anybody.  I could only really hear him playing on a few songs.  Otherwise I didn't even notice him most of the time.

Punk Rock Chick: I can't remember her name and I really don't know why she's there. I could hear her singing backup on a few songs but I cannot tell you what kind of sound she's adding to the band with her keyboard, headphones and double computer monitors. You could just put her on the side of the stage with a microphone and it would sound the same to me.

I will never give Richard, Frank, Dizzy or the Punk Rock Chick much credit because I don't feel like they deserve it.  They didn't risk it all like the 5 AFD guys did.  They didn't hitch hike their way from California to Seattle just so they could play in front of a crowd.  They didn't damn near starve to death and live in a storage unit.  They didn't go through hell to make it big.  Axl, Slash, Duff, Izzy and Steven did.  And for that they all have my ultimate respect.

Don't read too much into the order they were standing in when they gave the bow at the end of the show.  Axl is the one who rounded everyone up and it looked like wherever they were standing on the stage at that moment is where they ended up on the line.  No rime or reason to the order.

Setlist:  I agree with most that they need to lose some of the cover songs like the seeker and replace them with their own songs.  I would have liked to hear Yesterdays, My Michelle or any number of GNR songs instead of the covers.  And where the hell is Patience?  How can they use that as the song to announce the tour a few months ago and then not even play it?  That is a huge hit for them and I can't believe it's not in the setlist.  I was super happy to hear Out Ta Get Me.  Like I said earlier I'm a huge AFD guy and I love that song.  My favorite song of the night was You Could Be Mine.  The energy from the crowd was at it's peak when that song was played.  It was awesome just to be a part of that.  I missed Don't Cry because I had to piss so bad.  Before I got to my seat I bought a 24oz bud light to drink while they were changing over the equipment from Alice in Chains to GNR.  By about the 2 hour mark in the show I was literally in pain I had to piss so bad.  After Nighttrain I couldn't hold it anymore and I freaking ran from my seat on the floor to the closest bathroom and then ran back.

Bottom Line:  This was an amazing experience and I'm so glad I could witness it.  I'm forever grateful that God put these guys on earth and gave them their gifts.  GNR is my favorite band and a part of me is now whole because I have seen them live, even if it's only 3/5ths of them.