How I learned to stop worrying and love the b(r?)and

[The Glow Inc.]

Alright. This is my Paris review.

I'm not much of a writer and English isn't even my first language so this might feel a bit awkward but I thought I ought to do this.

Before I start I have to admit a few things :

-I never was a "real" Guns n' Roses fan. I however LOVE Chinese Democracy because of the people involved ( Bucket, Bumble, Brain and Finck were some of my favourite musicians when Axl hired them. Had never heard of Paul Tobias, Frank Ferrer, or Richard before, I have to admit ).

-I was a bit disgusted with the band for the last few weeks, mainly after I heard the Bumblefoot being pissed stories, the Dublin and the Reading trainwrecks so I went to Paris mainly to see Bumblefoot, who has been my favourite musician for eight years now. I wasn't as eager to see the band as I used to be when I bought the ticket. In fact, I feared that something might happen to the show and leave me money-less, a thousand kilometers from home, and with a broken-perception of this band and of Ron.

Now here we go.

The Wait

Woke up at 4 am to catch a train at 6 am. Didn't sleep for more than one hour this night. Couldn't stop thinking of everything that could go wrong at the show...

Arrived in Paris at 12:30. Ran to the hotel, took a shower, ate something then quickly went to the venue at 2pm. At my great disappointement, about fifty people were already there, which meant I might not see the band from first row.

The wait lasted until 6pm. A HUGE line had formed by then. What a relief it was to actually walk into that venue and to find a spot at the second row !

However, I also started to fear for myself because I realized that I was already damn exausted from the sleepless night, the six hour trip, the four hour wait. I was also heavily dehydrated and I had to choose between seeing GnR from second row and to leave my spot to actually buy a drink...I didn't leave. My legs were feeling shaky, my head was a bit dizzy...Yeah, it was stupid, but I wanted to see Ron so bad !

Murderdolls

When they started playing, it was a bit of a relief.

The relief only lasted for about thirty seconds though because the band was...uhm...exactly what I expected them to be. Honnestly, and no offense to the fans intended, they were horribad.

They are decent players, but the music just wasn't any good. So I stood there, and waited for the end of their performance. A few die hard fans reacted to their show but I'd say that most of the audience weren't feeling them depite Wednesday 13 and Joey's efforts.

At the end of their set, some people even started to throw a few bottles and that had me worriyng for a bit...

The wait, again

When they left the stage, the audience had warmed for GnR....litterally.

The atmosphere in the pit was really hot, not unbreathable, but since I was already dehydrated it was not quite a pleasent experience.

The audience, however, was, during the first hour of wait in GREAT spirits ! "Guns n' Roses" chants, Mexican waves. However, during the last fifteen minutes, people started to get pissed.

A few fights started to break in the pits, bouncers started to hand water bottles at the audience because, let's face it, some of us weren't having quite a good time, and a few people even left right before the show...

At that point, a good part of the audience started to scream "REMBOURSEZ" ( REFUND ! ) and I was almost ready to jump on the bandwagon. In my mind, I was there, almost falling from exhaustion, with terrible pain in my legs while Axl was probably watching TV or something...I, however knew, that he would eventually come "soon" since it was already 10:30 pm so I kept faith.

Finally, they show up

When the lights turned off, the entire audience went fuckin batshit crazy. When I saw DJ's shadow playing the Chinese Democracy riff for the first time, it was so heartwarming that I didn't feel any pain or exhaustion at all. When the pyros blew the first flames and when the whole band appeared, it was the beginning of an insane experience. The audience, which had been so calm during murderdolls, turned into a crazy entity jumping up and down at the rythm of Frank's drums. Very cool to see the moshpits and to hear the people sing the lyrics to this song.

That was only the first taste because when WTTJ started with Axl's scream, the moshpits turned into a tidal wave, the entire pit running to the front and compressing the poor people from the first row against the barrier lol

Richard was in exceptionnal shape that night. Screaming the lyrics right into our faces while giving an insane performance. I'd say, from where I stood, that he was the audience's favourite for the night. His James Bond theme solo got an incredibly good reception, with people actually moshing to an instrumental song

The rest of the band was tight. DJ was, as always, in great spirits and Bumble's beard and playing were phenomenal. Frank Ferrer, whom I never actually cared about, proved to be a whole different beast live, where you could actually hear the drumming and feel his groove deep down to your guts. And I was pleasantly surprised to hear that he didn't play the parts exactly as they were on the albums, he subtly modified them, made them a bit more complex, exactly like Brain used to. A very good surprise I must say.

On Axl

Axl, was in a great mood that night. The vocal performance was top notch but, what I really appreciated, was that his performance was "real". It didn't feel like he was singing as a contractual obligation or anything like that. He was really into it, put his heart in all the words, talked with the audience, shook hands with the fans, laughed and waved at that one hardcore fan who screamed all the lyrics and had a huge orange wig. It was a pleasure a real pleasure to see.

How it changed my perception of the band

Alright so Paris really was a good night for GnR. Everybody was in great spirits and the show was absolutely phenomenal.

Seeing them live was exactly as the videos...only completely different. I thought I knew what to expect but the live experience is really THAT different.

Hearing the power of the guitars, the bass and the drums exploding into your chest at every beat, seeing Axl's passion, smelling the smoke and feeling the heat of the pyro, letting yourself go with the positive energy of both the band and the audience.

Fortus and Axl probably impressed me the most. Bumblefoot I had already seen on his own and I knew what to expect : he did not disappoint. The playing was great, interaction with the crowd was great, and seeing him joke with his bandmates was cool too : he was nowhere near the miserable and disappointed guitarist we portrayed him to be only a few days back. He was just his usual self and he looked pacified during the whole show. Maybe it was the beard, maybe it was the great audience, maybe it was the performance...I don't know but he looked great.

Richard Fortus however was that insane performer, ready to give his whole for the audience, turning that musical performance into a sportive one too lol Looked great honnestly...

Now, how did this change my perception of the band ?

Well, if I don't really support the waiting ( I really began to fear for my own health ), the show makes it more than worth it. Axl didn't give an half-assed performance, and that's an understatement. If the waiting is the condition for him to give his best-self to the fans, then I'd say why not. I'm not apologizing leaving a dehydrated and exhausted audience waiting like that, but I can assure you that the 17 000 people that were there forgot about the wait as soon as he started to sing. The show was THAT good. I'd say it's up to the audience, unfortunately, to learn and to accept to deal with that. It shouldn't be this way and some people shouldn't be left on the side of the road because they don't have the option to wait but the performance, I repeat, is exceptionnal.

As regards the "hired guns". Man, what an incredible bunch. What I saw was a cohesive unit, a band of brothers. Not some anonymous, selfish mercenaries. Maybe they acted this way, maybe they taught themselves how to fool the audience into making us believe they actually liked being together but...honnestly, I don't think so. I would really show in their playing if they hated being there. They simply lost themselves into the music, giving their best to do those crazy songs justice. If it was a "tribute band", then it was litterally a "tribute", not just nameless and heartless covers. The energy was raw, the performance was very real, and what I saw was a "band".

As regards the name, I don't know. I don't know whether this is really Guns n' Roses or not. I don't know how it compares to the original band. Maybe this band plays it flawlessly but the original put more heart into it ? Even that I find hard to believe because what I saw was eight people sweating for those songs, injecting the best of themselves into each and every note. However, here is the last complaint I have left about this band, since this concert managed to erase all my doubts and all my resentment in only a few hours...

My complaint is that those guys, who are the most talented rock musicians I have ever seen ( and I have seen some arguably HUGE acts in the past, AC/DC, Muse, Iron Maiden, Peter Gabriel, Nine Inch Nails....Axl and his gunners outplayed them all, EASILY ) are still playing music written by other people. THIS, right here, is a fucking shame. Maybe I was high, maybe I'm insane right now, but this lineup has the fire. This lineup HAS to write something of his own. Having them play other people's music and not give them the chance to write their own is criminal.

[/rant]

So yeah, that's about it. I know it's a long read but I had to write it, just to share a bit of what I felt with you guys.

If you don't think this is GnR, fine, go see it as Axl's solo band. Don't miss out on these guys.

If you aren't sure about seeing them ( setlist is predictable, have already seen the 2006 lineup, nothing tops Slaxl etc... ) by all means, please, DO !

If you can't stand DJ posing as Slash, don't worry he doesn't FEEL like him once you are facing him. He just feels like that cool kid living his dream with his idol. It's refreshing.

And no, I'm not trying to get some backstage passes. I did not change my opinion of the band overnight just to look good to those guys because honnestly it will be years before I have the opportunity to see them again.

I just feel that way right now and need to share : this is the best concert I've ever been to and if to a lot of people it's not really Guns n' Roses, it's still the best rock band in the world to me, and by a LARGE margin.

Hope I did not bore you too much but this needed to be done.

And btw, before anybody writes it :

I KNOW !

[axl_on_drums]

Awesome review, great read.

Thanks for posting

[Rovim]

Great review man. It's really cool to know you got what you deserved as a fan. Imo this line up can kill it in the studio and create an amazing fuckin' album.

They're already a real live band and imo have been for a while now. The only way to move forward is to release new music in the near future.

[ManetsBR]

Awesome review!

[Jackie Moon]

i was checking the forum to see your review, i fucking knew this would happen

[Cdlove]

i was checking the forum to see your review, i fucking knew this would happen

I was also wondering where my Bumble buddy's review was. Excellent review BTW, if only they come to the U.S.

[highvoltage]

Great stuff.

I've always liked the BBF forum guys that made the jump over here. You guys are an asset to this place and I think Ron has a lot to thank you guys for - without some of your (talking about BBF fans as a whole) insights into where to dig with his music, I don't think half of us would have gotten into his solo stuff or have been as appreciative of his tenure in the band.

Really cool and honest review. I enjoyed reading it - for some reason, it felt different to reading the 50 others a day, which is why I felt the need to post about it.

[Jackie Moon]

i also agree the bumble fans are a huge asset here. representin! slash isnt the be all end all, 100% best, nor is the original band. its great to see people like the glow inc who got into GNR via CD, which apparently nobody liked, according to some .

some like slash, some like bucket, some like bumble.

like it or not we are all in this together

[Orsys]

If you don't think this is GnR, fine, go see it as Axl's solo band. Don't miss out on these guys.

Perfect.

Great review. Thanks!

[Deb Rose]

Axl didn't give an half-assed performance, and that's an understatement. If the waiting is the condition for him to give his best-self to the fans, then I'd say why not. I'm not apologizing leaving a dehydrated and exhausted audience waiting like that, but I can assure you that the 17 000 people that were there forgot about the wait as soon as he started to sing. The show was THAT good.

My feelings exactly.

Great review! Thanks

[Spoon87]

Great review man, I just finished reading it! Thank you very much for posting your story! I'm really glad that you had a blast.

[wasted]

I think with the stones stopping touring guns could take on that role as the big touring rock band

[Shooting Star]

I just feel that way right now and need to share : this is the best concert I've ever been to and if to a lot of people it's not really Guns n' Roses, it's still the best rock band in the world to me, and by a LARGE margin.

+1

Great review! Thanks for sharing your experience

[FaridBak]

I liked your review, seemed honest and im veru glad you had such a great expirience

[gunsguy]

Great read I thank you for it

Edited September 17, 2010 by gunsguy

[bigcountry]

I have looked at GNR the same no matter what line up they have the same way I did the orginal,

It is what it is and enjoy it while it lasts!!!!!!

When Slash left the band along with all the "orginal" members I just knew the GNR name would live on through Axl and it has but not with out it's pitt falls though.

If the orginal line up ever reunites it would be great but hey if not that fine too. I think most would say if they reunite that Axl failed in tring to rebuild GNR. Which I think is far from the truth. How many bands have spit up to this degree and and someone keep the name and replaced everyone has had this much success???? I would say none but I don't know this for a fact. I find it remarkable that it has went over as good as it has. Yeah the US seems to be Anti-GNR but look at everywhere else they play most are packed houses, I know they are not 40-50000 seat arenas like the old days but no band in this day and age can do the anymore on a nightly basis with high ticket price and a down economy, not even a reunited GNR.

[Cdlove]

Glow, what show did you see Bumble in? I remember the first time I saw him was in Vegas in.....2000 I think. But I remember trying to get into a paris show but I was going to leave that afternoon so I couldnt make it.

[The Glow Inc.]

Glow, what show did you see Bumble in? I remember the first time I saw him was in Vegas in.....2000 I think. But I remember trying to get into a paris show but I was going to leave that afternoon so I couldnt make it.

It was during the 9.11 tour in late 2002 in Nice, France.

I had first heard of him when Uncool was released in France, when Bumblefoot was still a band. There was quite a buzz surrounding the band in France at the time but I did not check him out until he was supposed to come in my city. I then bought the album, loved it and decided to go to the show.

[Spoon87]

What I forgot to say yesterday, that'sa great topic title you chose!