People who saw old GNR live: how aware were you of the setlists before the show?

[GivenToFly]

And how did it impact your enjoyment of the show?

[classicguns4life]

Are you asking how aware were people that the setlists were different each night and could be anything, or do you just mean how aware were people of the typical structure of the setlists (like Voodoo Chile being a part of Civil War, Double Talkin' Jive, etc)?

[PITBOSS]

I didn't get to see them back then, but it was a different time. I don't think many people had the internet back then, so you probably had to hear it from someone who saw them the night before if you wanted to know the setlist.

[neon]

i saw them in 1993. before the show i read reviews in magazines about the skin & bones tour. so i knew it would be the stripped down version of the 1992 show and that I could expect an acoustic part in the middle of the show. As for the actual setlist: well, they used to have certain songs at certain positions... usually they opened with nightrain or it's so easy. followed by mr. brownstone. after that it was live and let die, or attitude, jungle.... last song before the encore would be KOHD and very last song paradise city. so, we were aware of an basic structure and what songs were very likely to be played (and which ones certainly not) but didn't know exactly what would be played.... although since i already had several bootlegs of one or two early skin & bones shows on cd I was better informed than most

[TheDemocracyRose]

I saw them back in 93'(18 years old) in Copenhagen and I thought it would be like Paris 92', haha. Different time and different band...

[Nosaj Thing]

I think that it is fuckin' awesome to have people in this forum that actually saw Guns N' Roses back in their heyday.

Thank you gentlemen for sharing that incredible experience with us.

[Damn_Smooth]

I saw them in Fargo '93 at 15 years old. I didn't know shit about the setlist. Amazing show, but I still wish I could have seen the real classic lineup at some point.

[Padme]

I saw them in 92 and 93. It was easy to know that they would play the hits like WTTJ, SCOM, YCBM,Patience or NR. And as someone said I also read that the Skin N´Bones Tour was about the accustic set in the middle of the show. I had a great time. Both type of shows were amazing. But I think I enjoyed the accustic set more. I guess because I got to hear a few songs that were not played often like Used To Love Her or You Ain´t The First. It was something different and I found it to be really cool

[Blunoze]

I went to see them in '93 at MIlton Keynes, but honestly could remember very little (was 15 at the time). It's still hard to imagine it was 20 years ago, makes me feel fucking old.

I did a little digging around on the net, and found a great review of the concert that brought back a lot of memories:

Charles Elliott's Review [posted 5.31.93]

OK, here is a review of the Guns N' Roses date at Milton Keynes Bowl, England on May 29th 1993. The track list is from memory and there may be a couple of songs that I have got the wrong way round!

The bowl was divided into two sections. There was the main one that was fenced off about 40 metres from the stage, and then between this barrier and the stage was another small section. The people that got there early were given passes into this area, and by the time we arrived, they were no longer letting anyone in. However, after hanging around at the entrance for almost two hours we were let in. This area meant that you were never more than 20 feet from the front of the stage, and if you pushed to the front you were within six feet. Absolutely brilliant!

The support bands were Blind Melon, Soul Asylum and The Cult. Personally, I think that Blind Melon and The Cult were the best, managing to get the audience moving on what was turning out to be a damp day.

GN'R were due on at 7:30, and to play until 10:30, but partly due to he fact that all the monitors had to be waterproofed, they did not come on stage until 8:30. For those of you that are interested, Slash was wearing a Sex Pistols 'God Save The Queen' T-shirt, and Axl a bright red T-shirt with a face on the front and 'Charlie don't surf' written on the back. Any ideas?

Track list:
Nightrain
Mr Brownstone
Live and Let Die
Welcome To the Jungle
Attitude
Its So Easy
Double Talkin' Jive

You Ain't The First * Start of Accoustic Set
Used To Love Her
You're Crazy
Patience/Imagine
Knockin' on Heavens Door
November Rain * End of Accoustic Set

Drum Solo
You Could Be Mine
Dead Horse (with Axl on guitar!)
Guitar Solo
Sweet Child O' Mine

Paradise City

Axl was in excellent voice, although he didn't really have much to say to the crowd at the beginning. The audience was full of support for Izzy, with regular chants of his name. He even bowed to the audience at one point!

There were no backing singers, horns etc. just the band. After the first few songs, the sofa was brought on, as well as accoustic guitars and a small drum kit, and the band sat on the sofa. Before the set started, Slash started to play something on the guitar which got the crowd laughing. It was like a children's program music, but I'm not sure exactly what it was. After You Ain't The First, a pizza delivery man came on, and after throwing the pizza to the crowd, Axl introduced the bloke as the Bongo player for Used To Love Her.

When the band moved onto Patience, and got to the short gap about 2/3rds of the way through the song, Axl walked towards the back of the stage and Slash started to play around on the guitar playing the odd notes which sounded like John Lennon's Imagine. The crows started to hum, and near the end of the verse, Axl reappeared, and seemed to be wondering what was going on. He listened to the crowd and then quietly joined in the the last two lines. They then carried on with Patience!

During Knockin' on Heavens door, there was the usual sing along, with Axl saying 'Are you going to help me sing this motherfucker.....that's a nice way to talk about a religious ditty'. The crowd duly obliged and even got a 'You're fuckin' awsome' comment from Slash.

Once back into the electric set, Axl introduced the band. He called Izzy 'Someone you might recognise', and Izzy got the biggest cheer of all the band. Matt's drim solo lasted about three minutes, and then went straight into You Could Be Mine. After this, Axl was handed an accoustic guitar and then started to play Dead Horse. This was the first time I have heard it live, even on a bootleg. Before Sweet Child, Slash played a long guitar solo which was absolutely amazing, and then after briefly leaving the stage, they played Paradise City.

Overall absolutely brilliant, with no costume changes (not one!), not backing singers, no pyrotechnics, just the band at the best.

I remember that I watched the Paris 92 gig on the TV, I think it was on Channel 4 or something. So I do remember being a bit disappointed that it was so stripped back, I was fucking dying to see the inflatable 'Appetite' Monster that I had seen on TV. But it was purely a stroke of luck that Gilby had broke his hand earlier in the tour, and we knew that Izzy had been playing from the latest edition of Kerrang! or something like that.

As for the setlist, me and the four guys I was with were all fixated on 'Coma' at that moment in our lives. One of the guys parents had a "Technics' sound system at home, and we used to listen to the UYI albums on vinyl at full blast. I have to admit, that my previous thoughts of Coma were that it was a bit too long and drawn out. But I think that was due to the fact I had one of the cheapest walkmans going, and shitty headphones. I remember being blown away hearing it played loud on a good sound system, where you can really appreciate the subtle details of the song. So all the talk on the train was about if they would play Coma or not. Which of course they didn't.

We were to the right hand side of the stage, there was no chance of getting near the centre as it was ridiculously crowded. I remember Blind Melon being a good warm up act, but can't remember anything they actually played. My best highlight of the gig was watching Slash playing the outro solo to 'Double Talking Jive' about 5 metres away from me. One clear memory for me was thinking just how fucking 'cool' the whole band looked. To this day, it still ranks as they best concert I have ever seen.

Edited November 23, 2013 by Blunoze

[RussTCB]

I think that it is fuckin' awesome to have people in this forum that actually saw Guns N' Roses back in their heyday.

Thank you gentlemen for sharing that incredible experience with us.

I saw them in 91, 92 and 93. All three shows had a literal sense of danger for different reasons each time. Most of the "danger" was just from everything I'd read in the press or saw on MTV. I almost made myself sick waiting for that first show in 91. I was just thinking "So many things could go wrong and I won't get to see the show!" but when they came on, I was just about stunned for the first couple of songs haha. The show I was most worried about was in 92 at the Silverdome on the FNM/Metallica/GNR Tour. That danger was mostly caused by there being a lot of fans getting hostile with each other over who was the better band and us having floor seats in an 80k capacity stadium. I was just thinking "If some sort of riot goes down, we're pretty much stuck at ground zero!"

As for the set list, I don't think I knew much about what they played outside of a couple bootlegs I'd heard.

[wasted]

In 91, i guess I knew afd and expected ycbm and Dont cry. I think estranged was played for the first time maybe dust n bones. Perfect Crime opened so that was a surprise too.

[aranrod]

I think that it is fuckin' awesome to have people in this forum that actually saw Guns N' Roses back in their heyday.

Thank you gentlemen for sharing that incredible experience with us.

I saw them in 91, 92 and 93. All three shows had a literal sense of danger for different reasons each time. Most of the "danger" was just from everything I'd read in the press or saw on MTV. I almost made myself sick waiting for that first show in 91. I was just thinking "So many things could go wrong and I won't get to see the show!" but when they came on, I was just about stunned for the first couple of songs haha. The show I was most worried about was in 92 at the Silverdome on the FNM/Metallica/GNR Tour. That danger was mostly caused by there being a lot of fans getting hostile with each other over who was the better band and us having floor seats in an 80k capacity stadium. I was just thinking "If some sort of riot goes down, we're pretty much stuck at ground zero!"

As for the set list, I don't think I knew much about what they played outside of a couple bootlegs I'd heard.

I saw them once in 91 at Wembley. 3 times in 92 at Cologne, Paris and Rotterdam - and 4 times in 93 at Milton Keynes, Nijmegen (Sat. n Sunday), and Werchter. And like you say the 1992 shows definitely had a sense of danger.

Yes, I was also frightened at Wembley. But I was far more frightened at Rotterdam as Axl was furious. He came on late - as usual - and started ranting straight away as the organization stuck to the 11 o'clock curfew and planned to put the lights out at 11 sharp. He also said he had problems with his voice. It was 10 o'clock at the time. Axl was fuming and ended his rant by saying something like:" I don't care if they pull the plugs because I won't stop. I will go on playing. The rest is up to you. I wonder what you all will do." (Sorry, for not remembering his exact phrasing. It was too confusing and alarming at the time.).

I was standing in the centre at the railing. We looked back at the 75.000 people behind us and really got scared. What the hell did he expect from us? Start a riot at 11 whilst he carried on singing? Maybe we understood him wrong, but St. Louis was still lingering on our minds.

That first hour we felt uncomfortable and anxious although Axl was giving a blistering, breathtaking performance. He was wild and angry and apparently this fueled his energy. At 11 we were informed that the police had ordered the venue to let the show continue till the end. Extra night trains were set in and would run all night. Time to enjoy! I vividly remember the strong vibrations of the thundering beat. The vibrations moved the ground under our feet and shot up through my body. I was wearing a flimsy T-shirt and even that got slightly blown up by every beat. The heavy physical vibrations even made my heart-beat irregular at times - the whole show was an exciting experience.

No, we didn't know the set lists before the shows. It was speculating from hear-say. I'd seen Cologne and Paris before so I roughly knew what to expect - with Paris being different of course (and what a blast that was!). All you hoped for was that they would play your favourite songs. I can't tell the set list from memory. Or any set list for that matter. It was a dazzling show and I wasn't like standing there with a notebook jotting down every single song or intro.(No, of course we had no mobile phones or use of the internet, yet). To me every show sounded different anyway as Slash was always improvising. They all were. Axl included.

But I do remember that not many people were interested in hearing and seeing NR live. I suppose it's the spirit of times. Back then you went to a hard rock gig 'cause you wanted to hear hard rock, not endlessly long ballads and NR appeared to be too long for a live rock concert in those days. It seemed like it sucked the energy out of the show. At least that's how a lot of people felt about it. I did anyway - after seeing 3 shows following each other NR became boring to watch.

Axl once said in an interview that he needed to start a show in his own voice - i.e. the low registers - to warm up. Hence It's so Easy and Brownstone. But I remember him starting with Perfect Grime at Cologne...

Edited November 23, 2013 by aranrod

[Lindy100]

I first saw them at Wembley in '91 and remember being slightly scared - this was my first rock concert and it was Guns n Roses! I just remember the energy and the excitement and the vibe from the crowd - it was amazing. I don't think I really appreciated what I was seeing at the time. As far as being aware of a setlist, well, it was a different time, you had to wait to read about a show. Now people are Tweeting the setlist as it is happening!

[yourcrazy]

I saw them in 1991 and 1992. Arriving at the concerts, I had no idea what the exact set list would consist of. Back then you didn't have all the Internet videos and information to preview all their previous performances. In retrospect, I guess it made it more exciting.

[jmapelian]

I saw them in 88 w aerosmith and again in 92 or 93 when they did the stadium tour w metallica - neither time did I really know what the setlist woulld be - 1hen I saw them in 88 they were still an opening act -

[bigcountry]

I had no ides what to expect. The 3 shows I seen while they where touring as openers with AFD there set list was pretty much the same, they may have switched a few songs but I really can't remember. When I seen them the first time with Alice Cooper they where more raw and unrefined in there live skills and also it was the best I ever heard Axl sound he sang more in the high register which is his natural vocals and Alice really fucked himself because even with his stage show he couldn't compete with the show Guns put on, everyone I talked to there was blown away by GNR and this was before SCOM was released. The next to time Axl was really raspy and the band was more polished in how they played the songs but still sloppy but it was ok it was a great show.

I only seen them once on the UYI tour and going into the show I had no idea what the set list may be. That said the hits where a given but beyond that I didn't know. And let me tell you Axl sounded the worst I had ever hear him live to that point. All rasp but they put on a kickass show for 3 hours+ with no real guitar solo or drum solo. I wish I could have seen them with the striped down show without the horns or backup singers.

But as someone else posted if you didn't see a set list in a magazine or on MTV you had no way of knowing.

[alfierose]

Enjoyed reading these memories. Do you think the Internet age has slightly spoilt the concert experience? Too much access to previous footage of a tour, knowing all the set list info etc...?

[Lindy100]

Enjoyed reading these memories. Do you think the Internet age has slightly spoilt the concert experience? Too much access to previous footage of a tour, knowing all the set list info etc...?

I think it does a little, but only if you watch a lot of YT beforehand. I make a point not to. Having said that, I love occasionally watching some of the few videos from the HOB show last year in Orlando - Axl was on fire that night! Cameras were banned and my phone had died. What a night that was!

[Padme]

Enjoyed reading these memories. Do you think the Internet age has slightly spoilt the concert experience? Too much access to previous footage of a tour, knowing all the set list info etc...?

It depends of how you look at thing. If you miss a show because you live too far away or because you have to work that day or whatever. I think it´s cool if you at some point can watch that show in youtube. And it could be a usefull way of promotion for any artist. You watch a show, you love it, you buy the albums and you go see them live when you have a chance. Just like what MTV used to be about. Maybe with youtube it´s too much, with entire albums in there. For some people could be a blessing, for others a curse

[Bulldog]

I saw them in 88 w aerosmith and again in 92 or 93 when they did the stadium tour w metallica - neither time did I really know what the setlist woulld be - 1hen I saw them in 88 they were still an opening act -

That is awesome

[Mastodonny]

When I saw them in 88 on one of their first headlining tours they only had AFD to play and then added KOHD. Great show.

In 92 with Metallica they had more to draw from and added a lot of solos.

[systronic]

I was lucky enough to see them in 1987 when they opened for Motley Crüe. I could not even begin to remember the setlist as I was a new fan. I do remember GNR out shining Motley Crüe though. This show and seeing Pink Floyd on the Division Bell tour are 2 of the best times I got to spend with my father. Those were the only 2 good things to come out of my parents divorce. Lol

Edited November 24, 2013 by systronic

[wasted]

When I saw them in 88 on one of their first headlining tours they only had AFD to play and then added KOHD. Great show.

In 92 with Metallica they had more to draw from and added a lot of solos.

I saw them before UYI came out I think and they played Dust N Bones with Izzy, Estrnaged fell on deaf ears. It was a weird set, Easy was played towards the end. Nobody knew the new material. Perfect Crime opened well, Axl apologized for being 4 hours late before Live n Let Die. I think Slash did the Godfather solo. It was probably a bad show but it seemed awesome, the atmosphere was amazing, they really nailed Perfect Crime. YCBM was just out, so I had that tape on the bus to the show on repeat. NIN and Skid Row were great openers (Bach said Fuck about 137 times because the council said no swearing), well Skid were, NIN got bottled off virtually in broad daylight.

CD 1

01 - Perfect Crime (2:25)

02 - Mr. Brownstone (5:16)

03 - Bad Obsession (7:18)

04 - Welcome To The Jungle (5:51)

05 - Live And Let Die (3:27)

06 - Dust N' Bones (5:43)

07 - Double Talkin' Jive (7:35)

08 - Civil War (7:52)

09 - I Was Only Joking [intro], Patience (8:25)

10 - You Could Be Mine (6:38)

11 - November Rain (8:35)

CD 2

01 - Nightrain (5:51)

02 - Drum Solo / Jam / Guitar Solo / Godfather Them / Sail Away Sweet Sister [intro] (15:24)

03 - Bad Time [intro], Sweet Child O' Mine (7:28)

04 - 14 Years (4:31)

05 - My Michelle (4:11)

06 - Only Women Bleed [intro], Knockin' On Heaven's Door (10:23)

07 - Estranged (10:26)

08 - Paradise City (8:10)

I would say I wasn't aware of this set list, Perfect Crime, Bad Obsession, Live in Let Die, Double Talking Jive, Civil War, YCBM (heard the single), Godfather theme, 14 Years, Heavens Door (had seen on Ritz vhs), Nov Rain and Estrnaged all new songs. A whole set of new songs, maybe this is why this show went down as bad.

Edited November 24, 2013 by wasted

[ZoSoRose]

Fuckin' awesome thread

[sweetchild88]

I saw them in February 1993 in Birmingham, AL. Not Axl's best moment. I was 13 years old and it was my first concert. I begged to go. My mother took me. I didn't have a clue what the setlist would be. Brian May was the opening act. GNR was late. Women were taking off their shirts and men were paying to touch their breasts. I kid you not. That was sort of embarrassing to say the least. They finally show up and sing about 3 songs. Axl throws a major fit. Throws his mic up into the air. Axl leaves. Duff proceeds to sing but I can't remember what. Axl returns. A couch is brought on stage so he can lay on it and sing. He sings Patience. After a little while longer, my mother had had it. My dad and stepdad were waiting on us outside. My dad and I had an hour ride ahead of us to get home. My mother drug me kicking and screaming out of there. I don't know how it ended. I must say that I am glad I had the experience and I can laugh about it now. But I was one upset teenage girl.