Have you gotten yer ya ya's out on the Chinese Democracy tour?

[ITW 2012]

I've been to 5 shows since 02, and two shows (Montreal and Toronto) recently on the Canadian tour. Have had a blast at all of them but I'd rank Tacoma 02 and Montreal 2010 as my two favorites. Curious to hear where you guys rank the shows you've been to on the CD tour? Montreal was probably the best of the lot for me but Tacoma was not far behind. I'm so glad I got to see Bucket. Plus, we were at the riot in Vancouver the night before, and we bought tickets for Tacoma on a whim, and then went on a little road trip to the US. Montreal takes the cake though. Axl was in another gear that night. He even thru in the old "with your ass in the air" line on You Could Be Mine.

[jonah]

I've been to 5 shows since 02. In 02 I was at Toronto (my first major concert), then in 06 I was at Halifax and Saint John, then recently the Hamilton and London shows.

My favorite was Halifax as I was front row, waited 10 hours in the freezing cold to get right up on the railing, my second was the Hamilton show, after not seeing them for 3 years the production blew me away. London was more technically sound and didn't to seem to have any screw ups which Hamilton had, but they didn't make us wait long for Hamilton so only haveing to wait 45 minutes between Bach and GNR outranks any difficulty the sound had

[Powerage5]

Hamilton this year was my first GN'R show...hoping to add more this fall.

I should have been at Toronto in '06, but I broke my collarbone the morning of the show, which prevented me from making it.

[BakerGNR]

I was at the Toronto show in January..that was the fuckin best concert in my opinion...i don't know why people say Montreal was the best..during the toronto concert he kept saying he couldnt wait to finish the montreal concert so he could go party and get drunk as fuck...and in his twitter he only talked about toronto...everyone should listen to Knockin' from the Toronto concert it kicked fuckin ass...Axl was on full fuckin cylinders..I waited 10 hours in the freezing cold it even was snowing just so i could be front row..fuck it was awesome...I even got to go backstage and have a couple drinks with him because my bud knows sebastian...Axl said "I fuckin love Toronto..the crowd is always excellent" were his exact words when i got to talk to him....Axl fuckin' Rose man, fuck that was a kick ass concert...

[there is no dana only zool]

Detroit 02 was the first time I saw them. Was unreal... thought my brain might have been tricking me that I was actually in the same building as Axl; thought might have just been some crazy dream (lol thinking of number of the beast now?) up until YCBM. As soon as I saw Axl jump/split/david lee roth style jump during the pyro, i knew it was real. No way to describe how awesome it was. The feeling of a 100,000 high fives/brofists all hitting at the speed of sound...

Then Worcester 06... was pretty amazing because it was sort of like, aaaaahhhhh they're finally back!!

Then MSG two nights later. Was right up front. Insanity. Ivanka Trump was sitting right near the stage. Walked past Adriana from Sopranos on the way out. All out amazing in every way.

[YOUCOULDBEMINE.]

seen them 2 times in the 06/07 tour, the shows in nijmegen and rock am ring

out of those i enjoyed rock am ring the most, but in nijmegen we got izzy for a few songs which was pretty cool

hoping for a decent europe tour so i could go see them again

[James Bond]

I saw them at the two shows in my signature. Toronto was great as it was my first time seeing them. The performance was awesome, the band was super tight, and the setlist was good. In retrospect, Axl wasn't in the greatest mood that night it seemed. Didn't say a whole lot (though his performance was as good as always). Hamilton destroyed it. Smaller crowd (which I like) and as a result the energy was burning in the air. Axl was in great spirits, DJ fit into the line-up like a glove, the new songs worked well in the set, and the crowd loved it. The earlier start time no doubt helped the energy (only maybe 40 minutes or less between Bach and Guns) as compared to Toronto in 2006. Granted, the wait between Bach and Guns was less than an hour in Toronto but with two initial opening acts, it felt like forever and with Guns not hitting the stage until 11:40, you could tell the energy was lacking. It was also unfortunate to see so many people leaving half-way through the show (or earlier) to go home.

So overall, Hamilton takes the cake. Security were assholes, but the performance was outstanding.

[Mansin Humanity]

Portland 06 was a fucking fantastic show.

this is awkward....

[ITW 2012]

I was at the Toronto show in January..that was the fuckin best concert in my opinion...i don't know why people say Montreal was the best..during the toronto concert he kept saying he couldnt wait to finish the montreal concert so he could go party and get drunk as fuck..

The crowd, sound, setlist and Axl were all better in Montreal. I was at both shows and Axl just had a bit more in his voice and movement in Montreal. KOHD in Toronto did kick ass though.

[Cdlove]

For the CD tour I only saw them twice, Jacksonville, Florida and Greensboro, North Carolina-both 06, the Florida show was better but both were still awesome.

[Gordon Comstock]

i waited for something like 5-6 hours to get front row at the Calgary show. for about 3.5-4 of those hours, there was all of ten people in line. so we traded stories and bullshitted amongst ourselves, three of them went to get a pizza for us, haha. then the venue had to change the entrance for general admission, and since we'd been there for hours, she marked all our hands and we were in the venue, through secutiry and ready to go before anyone else was aloud in the building. pretty awesome....

(Calgary 2010 was the only time i've seen GNR, btw)

Edited May 15, 2010 by RickRoses

[Shackler118]

MSG and The Rose Bar show. Greatest shows of all time

[LLL]

Seen 12 shows in many countries of the CD era GnR and to me, musically speaking, their 2002 shows were best, although Axl was the weak link, missing power and Finck was struggling to play in tune, the rest of the band were as sharp as can be.

Now Axl is the strongest link and the present band is good, looks more attractive to the average fan but musically not as impressive to me. Kinda like a 'let's just party while we make money' band and musically not much is happening on stage.

Also going to the Arnhem and Milan shows while meeting up with friends/colleagues.

[YOUCOULDBEMINE.]

Seen 12 shows in many countries of the CD era GnR and to me, musically speaking, their 2002 shows were best, although Axl was the weak link, missing power and Finck was struggling to play in tune, the rest of the band were as sharp as can be.

Now Axl is the strongest link and the present band is good, looks more attractive to the average fan but musically not as impressive to me. Kinda like a 'let's just party while we make money' band and musically not much is happening on stage.

Also going to the Arnhem and Milan shows while meeting up with friends/colleagues.

is arnhem seriously happening or what? because i want to go to that show too

[bacardimayne]

I saw them in Edmonton 2010. Cool shit.

[downzy]

I think there only a few, maybe less than a handful of people who have seen this band live more than I have since 2002. I think Jarmo and I have heard the most of Chinese Democracy performed live (I'm missing Prostitute, he's missing Rhiad). Not including the Philadelphia no-show, I've been to 13 GNR concerts. Part of the motivation is that I was never allowed to see them during the Illusion days as I was only 11-14 and my parents had their minds made up. For the next ten years I waited, and when GNR finally announced they were playing again, the yearnings of youth pushed me to as many concerts as I could afford.

Detroit '02 was my first concert, and like the previous poster mentioned, it was a bit of surreal moment to see Axl perform live in person. For this fact alone Detroit was pretty amazing. Looking back at it though I'd say the concert itself wasn't one of the best, since the band took the crowd right out of it by playing five new songs in a row, and they botched Patience pretty bad. Axl was so fed up he didn't even bother with Paradise City. Had this not been my first show I might have left disappointed, but I walked away thrilled that I had finally seen Guns N' Roses perform live (something throughout the mid to late 90s I wasn't sure would ever happen).

Of the 2002 shows, in terms of experience it would have to be London, ON as I had front-row centre seats. It was cool singing along to Street of Dreams (then The Blues) with most in the audience receiving their first exposure to the song. Axl at one point looked down and saw me singing along and gave me a "how do you know the song so well" kind of look. Being doused with the confetti for the first time was pretty awesome.

In terms of performance wise for 2002, nothing beats the Madison Square Gardens show. Hands down the band was on fire, Axl sounded his best, everyone playing as if they had something to prove. No big breaks between songs, the band hit the audience over the head in quick succession. Boston was pretty good, but nothing touched that MSG show.

In 2006 the obvious choice is the fourth Hammerstein show in NYC. Seeing a stadium caliber band in a small theatre venue is something special. The night was full of surprises; my jaw dropped when Izzy walked onto the stage and played along with the band.

I happened to be in Europe during GNR's European tour and was lucky enough to see them in Paris, France. I had seen the pay-per-view concert special so many times that it felt cool to see Axl do his thing in the same city as the one that appeared in the video. Toronto '06 was somewhat weak due to the audience, Ottawa was fun, but Quebec City was definitely the most rawk of all the GNR shows I have been too.

As for this year, I went to the Hamilton, London ON, and Toronto shows. Hamilton was great 'cause I got to hear my favourite song on CD performed live (TWAT), London was a lot of fun as I got to relive my front row experience from eight years ago, and Toronto was monumental not so much for the concert itself, but partying with Axl and the band till 8:30 in the morning the next day. While that night was a little hazy due to some excessive drinking and pot consumption, it will still be a night I'll be telling to my friends for the rest of my life (though I refrain from posting it on internet forums out of respect to Axl, the band, and the great people I met that night).

In the end, every concert experience was different; they all had their own unique qualities that doesn't make one better than the other. What myself, and by the sounds of it, many of you, find so great about a GNR concert is that it's one of the few times we live in the moment; singing along to songs that have been a major part of our life's soundtrack; being able to give in to the experience that's offered no where else.

Cheers,

Andrew

[BakerGNR]

To the guy above me I was there too Man...havent seen as many concerts as you but I know im just as big a fan....I respect you man, I feel the same way as you..I am very grateful for the music Axl has shared with me and made my personal life soundtrack...I met him at Toronto also and from meeting him that night hes a fuckin great guy...it's too bad for all the bullshit he has to carry on his back. He sticks to his fuckin' guns man..the man compromises for noone and as a man I respect that deeply.

[LLL]

Seen 12 shows in many countries of the CD era GnR and to me, musically speaking, their 2002 shows were best, although Axl was the weak link, missing power and Finck was struggling to play in tune, the rest of the band were as sharp as can be.

Now Axl is the strongest link and the present band is good, looks more attractive to the average fan but musically not as impressive to me. Kinda like a 'let's just party while we make money' band and musically not much is happening on stage.

Also going to the Arnhem and Milan shows while meeting up with friends/colleagues.

is arnhem seriously happening or what? because i want to go to that show too

Well many say it's on, others not but the tickets are still being sold.

[F*ck Fear]

Toronto 2002 - I am so glad I got to see Buckethead. I remember thinking this was gonna be the begining of something huge.

Toronto 2006 - Another great show. Trailer Park Boys, and Sebastian Bach as guests were awesome. I first heard of Die Mannequin as well so that was cool.

Hamilton 2010 - This was the best time I've seen Axl and the boys. Seeing DJ in the band was cool and Axl was on fire.

[GNR 1991]

San Francisco, CA - The Warfield - 09/21/2006: My first time seeing them, and even though I was in the way back in the seats, I still had a blast. This is the night where 'King Dick' was born.

Oakland, CA - Oracle Arena - 12/15/2006: This was even better for me. I was in the front row for this show and so many cool things happened. Lars Ulrich was introduced for "Out Ta Get Me"; I got to play Ron's guitar during "Paradise City" -- and my favorite (this was before The Blues leaked), The Blues was played and I was the only one it seemed singing around the front of the stage, Axl glanced at me for a few seconds with this huge grin and nod and continued his walk around the stage. It was an amazing feeling.

I want to add more shows this fall if they hit the states again.

Edited May 17, 2010 by GNR 1991