L.A. show, The Wiltern 3/11//12

[Kill Devil Hill]

I actually don't remember Gran Torino being played either, now that I think about it. I think it was just the Elton John songs. Not a big deal, but for the sake of accuracy. Unless anyone else remembers and I just missed it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slL2yjH7j60id

Patience Spotted (: LOL

Thanks for posting this. I actually pretty much missed this whole song because I was standing by a security guy who was yelling and making bets about whether the next song was the last song. Are there any other videos up? I'd like to hear if You're Crazy and This I Love were as amazing as they sounded at the concert. Jungle was mindblowing, too. Axl was full of rasp the whole show. Maybe not in SCOM, but I couldn't tell because everyone was singing along.

I haven't slept in 26+ hours, but I'm too excited to sleep. The concert was amazing, seriously. You guys were absolutely correct when you said the YouTube videos/livestreams are completely incomparable to the real thing.

fuck off that security guy ! oh how much boring that seems to be. a security guy who bets about the show, SHUT UP AND DO YOUR JOB - just kidding.

He wasn't even doing his job. I hope he gets fired and lives in a box.

[FabioRoses]

I actually don't remember Gran Torino being played either, now that I think about it. I think it was just the Elton John songs. Not a big deal, but for the sake of accuracy. Unless anyone else remembers and I just missed it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slL2yjH7j60id

Patience Spotted (: LOL

Thanks for posting this. I actually pretty much missed this whole song because I was standing by a security guy who was yelling and making bets about whether the next song was the last song. Are there any other videos up? I'd like to hear if You're Crazy and This I Love were as amazing as they sounded at the concert. Jungle was mindblowing, too. Axl was full of rasp the whole show. Maybe not in SCOM, but I couldn't tell because everyone was singing along.

I haven't slept in 26+ hours, but I'm too excited to sleep. The concert was amazing, seriously. You guys were absolutely correct when you said the YouTube videos/livestreams are completely incomparable to the real thing.

fuck off that security guy ! oh how much boring that seems to be. a security guy who bets about the show, SHUT UP AND DO YOUR JOB - just kidding.

He wasn't even doing his job. I hope he gets fired and lives in a box.

Don't ever talk with me when i'm watching Patience.

[MarlaHooch]

- 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...)

Edited March 12, 2012 by MarlaHooch

[Apollo]

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.

Edited March 12, 2012 by Groghan

[reino]

dj also uses a red bandanna =wannabe axl

[Kill Devil Hill]

I honestly don't understand why people find it hard to sit all the way through a show. 3 hours really isn't that long. I mean, yes, when I was sitting through (or rather standing through) the opening act and such, I got a backache, but when the lights went down, I didn't feel a single bit of pain and moved like a maniac the rest of the show. But I'm 17, so that might be it.

I think the jams are killers, and Tommy's and Dizzy's solos are as well, maybe DJ's to a lesser degree, but everybody seemed excited to see Bumble's and Fortus's. They were really well-received from what I could tell. Especially Fortus's. His solo is genius.

[MarlaHooch]

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:

[Apollo]

I honestly don't understand why people find it hard to sit all the way through a show. 3 hours really isn't that long. I mean, yes, when I was sitting through (or rather standing through) the opening act and such, I got a backache, but when the lights went down, I didn't feel a single bit of pain and moved like a maniac the rest of the show. But I'm 17, so that might be it.

I think the jams are killers, and Tommy's and Dizzy's solos are as well, maybe DJ's to a lesser degree, but everybody seemed excited to see Bumble's and Fortus's. They were really well-received from what I could tell. Especially Fortus's. His solo is genius.

To each his own! I guess I've seen enough guitar solos, piano solos, jams in my life, that when I go see GnR I just want to see the band tearing up the songs.

And the three hour thing is a little off.

Say you get to the show two hours early.

An hour of the opening band.

An hour between the opener and GnR coming on.

GnR playing for 3.5 hours.

So you are actually looking at 7.5 hours!

But I think you are right about the age thing. I saw a lot of concerts in my 17-25 year old stage and it's an entirely different thing than going as a 35-40 year old.

When younger, it really is about the entire experience. Partying, meeting new people, talking with other fans, etc.

When you get older though, it is more going to hear a band play live. You take your wife, maybe your teenage child, you have to drive and go to work the next day - so no drinking, and you are hoping the show gets done at 1 am instead of 3 am. You really are only going for the music, and not all the other stuff. You see younger people writing that a show was epic and life-changing. But me going to see Axl for the fourth time isn't going to change my life one-way or the other. My 7-month old baby doing new things is life-changing and epic to me.

Here is a good example. When I was a teen, we saw LA Guns, Dangerous Toys and Tora Tora. I believe it was at the Paramount in Seattle. I got a pick from the DT guitar player. I put the pick and a copy of the concert ticket in a scrapbook.

Today? I don't keep a scrapbook of concert tickets, sports tickets, etc - and if I got a pick at a concert tomorrow, I'd give it away to some fan in the crowd who looked like they would appreciate it more than I would.

I still love going to concerts. But they don't have as much meaning and value as they did when I was younger.

[Silent Jay]

come on guys, itz just a fuckin' hat !

[SoulMonster]

I support the new band, but Slash came first, had that style first, and it's totally lame of DJ in my opinion.

Unless you are in a glam band in the 1980's or a gentleman in the 1800's, it's lame. Period.

[Kill Devil Hill]

I honestly don't understand why people find it hard to sit all the way through a show. 3 hours really isn't that long. I mean, yes, when I was sitting through (or rather standing through) the opening act and such, I got a backache, but when the lights went down, I didn't feel a single bit of pain and moved like a maniac the rest of the show. But I'm 17, so that might be it.

I think the jams are killers, and Tommy's and Dizzy's solos are as well, maybe DJ's to a lesser degree, but everybody seemed excited to see Bumble's and Fortus's. They were really well-received from what I could tell. Especially Fortus's. His solo is genius.

To each his own! I guess I've seen enough guitar solos, piano solos, jams in my life, that when I go see GnR I just want to see the band tearing up the songs.

And the three hour thing is a little off.

Say you get to the show two hours early.

An hour of the opening band.

An hour between the opener and GnR coming on.

GnR playing for 3.5 hours.

So you are actually looking at 7.5 hours!

But I think you are right about the age thing. I saw a lot of concerts in my 17-25 year old stage and it's an entirely different thing than going as a 35-40 year old.

When younger, it really is about the entire experience. Partying, meeting new people, talking with other fans, etc.

When you get older though, it is more going to hear a band play live. You take your wife, maybe your teenage child, you have to drive and go to work the next day - so no drinking, and you are hoping the show gets done at 1 am instead of 3 am. You really are only going for the music, and not all the other stuff. You see younger people writing that a show was epic and life-changing. But me going to see Axl for the fourth time isn't going to change my life one-way or the other. My 7-month old baby doing new things is life-changing and epic to me.

Here is a good example. When I was a teen, we saw LA Guns, Dangerous Toys and Tora Tora. I believe it was at the Paramount in Seattle. I got a pick from the DT guitar player. I put the pick and a copy of the concert ticket in a scrapbook.

Today? I don't keep a scrapbook of concert tickets, sports tickets, etc - and if I got a pick at a concert tomorrow, I'd give it away to some fan in the crowd who looked like they would appreciate it more than I would.

I still love going to concerts. But they don't have as much meaning and value as they did when I was younger.

I was kinda agreeing with you about the jams, except I liked Fortus's, Axl's, and Bumble's solos. So just cut off the other half of the solos and get rid of the jams and throw in new songs, I say.

That's true, it's not really 3 hours. I think I showed up at 7:30-ish, and, like I said, I was dying by 11:30. What's strange is that I hated the whole experience. I hated everyone there, I hated sitting through that band (even though the bassist was sick), and I hated the drunk guy that accidentally punched me while dancing and ruined the intro to Civil War. And my dad had to drive me to the show and was being a major dick about Guns N' Roses ("What kind of douchebags put on long shows?" I swear he asked me that). But because I was there only for the band, it was that experience that really made me just swallow all the bullshit that had occurred earlier. Six songs in, I didn't even care about anything else. I even ignored a guy that punched me twice just because I wanted to make sure I caught my favorite part of Civil War, y'know? But it could also be a focus/personality thing. Suppose you're a person that looks at the big picture. When thinking about the concert, you're thinking about the whole day. But if you're a detail-person, one who compartmentalizes, you can focus on different parts of the day. I don't know if I'm really articulating this correctly. My mom had a blast, but she kept talking about how thirsty she was, and I didn't realize until after Guns had taken a bow that I, too, was parched. But she knew it the whole time. That sort of thing.

Basically, I think I have a bad habit of blocking things out and dealing with them later, but I think maybe that could allow people to enjoy the concerts better.

[bumblecool]

[dalsh327]

[ChristianGNR]

Axl's voice is BACK!

[scans n' copies]

- 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...)

Really well put, MarlaHooch! It's not slamming on DJ or anything else to wish he'd take off the hat. I don't care about the smoke, that's too commonplace to matter.

Oddly enough I met a dude a couple of weeks ago who happened to be at the same show I was and we started talking about it. One of the first things he said was, "Man it was an awesome show, I just wish DJ Ashba would stop wearing that hat!" This was the first time that I ever met anyone (in the real world, not the interwebz) who even knew that DJ Ashba was a guitarist in GnR and the first thing he said about him was the hat deal.

[Scumcat Esq.]

This pic was taken at the show in Moscow. Why did you post it?

Edited March 12, 2012 by Scumcat Esq.

[DrBrownstone]

Good show, Axl's vocals sounded really good on a few songs, especially Shacklers..he sings the chorus a little different than he used to, it was really cool..." I don't believe there's a reason I DO-ONT...."(higher pitched). My friend and I were in the back of the GA section...it got a little rowdy a few times, with guys like, trying to mosh, or something..which was funny, considering we were about 80 feet from the stage...

I share the same feelings as the other guy in regards to DJ and his schticks/gimmicks...and all the casual fans do think he's a slash wannabe..just the way it is...

I got bored with dizzy's solo...( i hate dizzy anyway) and another brick in the wall...but they came right back and blew the doors down after the boring stuff. My friend was trying to explain a song to me that he thought was really cool, I couldn't figure out what it was...finally found out he was talkin about Sorry....I was like...really? lol. Cool. Didn't think you'd dig that one.

[MarlaHooch]

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.

[Ali]

- 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...)

DJ having his look has zero to do with either class or respect. It has to do with personal preference. As someone who saw him perform with Beautiful Creatures and Sixx:AM prior to joining GN'R, I can say that his style is his style, period. Frankly, that fact, along with the fact that Slash is not the only guitarist to smoke on stage or the only rock musician to wear a top hat, is enough for me to not feel any cognitive dissonance. Whether or not anyone else is aware of these mitigating factors is another thing entirely, and not one that really irks me. I chalk it up to ignorance.

Whatever look DJ wants to have is his business. I think, if anything, DJ has verbalized a tremendous respect for Slash.

Ali

Edited March 13, 2012 by Ali

[Coma16]

This pic was taken at the show in Moscow. Why did you post it?

GNR Facebook posted it last night along with the following:

"Here's a pretty cool, one of a kind photo that should be all over the web! #UCAP #GetInTheWiltern"

[Angeles_]

Axl & Pamela Manning ... do you remember her?? from early days!!!!!

[Janis]

Axl & Pamela Manning ... do you remember her?? from early days!!!!!

T4p. Who was she again?

[Angeles_]

she was one of the dancers .. on stage with Axl

Edited March 13, 2012 by Angeles_

[Kill Devil Hill]

Axl & Pamela Manning ... do you remember her?? from early days!!!!!

Damn, Axl's face looks exactly the same as the '80s in that picture.

[Janis]

she was one of the dancers .. on stage with Axl

Wow blast from the past indeed!