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Axl Rose and Tom Petty Sing 'Free Fallin'


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Not sure why you have the 2002 VMAs on your list. It was the first time Axl made an ass out of himself during a widely viewed public performance. Unfortunately, he's made a tradition of it ever since.

That was the first time I ever saw Guns N' Roses. That's why I have it on my list.

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Not sure why you have the 2002 VMAs on your list. It was the first time Axl made an ass out of himself during a widely viewed public performance. Unfortunately, he's made a tradition of it ever since.

That was the first time I ever saw Guns N' Roses. That's why I have it on my list.
I'm sorry.
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his '06 appearance was pretty underwhelming, too. i remember watching it live, and - as this was on the back end of a successful tour where most of us were impressed with his voice - i remember a lot of people on the forum being taken aback by how he randomly turned back into mickey mouse again at the worst possible moment (in front of millions of people). it seems like he just has bad luck where, when he's doing tours and shows with little attention, he's at his best (like the 2010 tour); but when he's got a big platform (like rio 5, the bridge school benefit, vmas, etc.) he blows it. it sucks to watch as a fan because i know he deserves better - if any of those 2010 shows had been televised it would have been awesome, because he sounded great.

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Not sure why you have the 2002 VMAs on your list. It was the first time Axl made an ass out of himself during a widely viewed public performance. Unfortunately, he's made a tradition of it ever since.

That was the first time I ever saw Guns N' Roses. That's why I have it on my list.
I'm sorry.

I dig the performance though, that's the thing. I guess it's personal attachment?

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Not sure why you have the 2002 VMAs on your list. It was the first time Axl made an ass out of himself during a widely viewed public performance. Unfortunately, he's made a tradition of it ever since.

That was the first time I ever saw Guns N' Roses. That's why I have it on my list.
I'm sorry.

I dig the performance though, that's the thing. I guess it's personal attachment?
Must be. :shrugs:
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his '06 appearance was pretty underwhelming, too. i remember watching it live, and - as this was on the back end of a successful tour where most of us were impressed with his voice - i remember a lot of people on the forum being taken aback by how he randomly turned back into mickey mouse again at the worst possible moment (in front of millions of people). it seems like he just has bad luck where, when he's doing tours and shows with little attention, he's at his best (like the 2010 tour); but when he's got a big platform (like rio 5, the bridge school benefit, vmas, etc.) he blows it. it sucks to watch as a fan because i know he deserves better - if any of those 2010 shows had been televised it would have been awesome, because he sounded great.

Some of the 2010 tour was televised, unless i'm mistaken this was on UK TV

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Absolutely agree with what you all say, this song without Axl always sounds like something's missing after this fantastic performance. The way the crowd stood & danced when Axl appeared sends shivers down my spine - one of the greatest Axl performances ever.

Totally agree.

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Not sure why you have the 2002 VMAs on your list. It was the first time Axl made an ass out of himself during a widely viewed public performance. Unfortunately, he's made a tradition of it ever since.

That was the first time I ever saw Guns N' Roses. That's why I have it on my list.
I'm sorry.
I dig the performance though, that's the thing. I guess it's personal attachment?
Must be. :shrugs:

I guess it is, but I still dig it :shrugs: It is what it is I guess.

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Not sure why you have the 2002 VMAs on your list. It was the first time Axl made an ass out of himself during a widely viewed public performance. Unfortunately, he's made a tradition of it ever since.

That was the first time I ever saw Guns N' Roses. That's why I have it on my list.
I'm sorry.
I dig the performance though, that's the thing. I guess it's personal attachment?
Must be. :shrugs:

I guess it is, but I still dig it :shrugs: It is what it is I guess.
Nothing wrong with that. You're free to like whatever you want.
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I love the song and it's a great performance but Tom's mic should have been higher in the mix to make up for Axl's natural loudness.

pulled his wife's shirt down at a Los Angeles club and karate-kicked her in the stomach

what the fuck???

Yeah that's pretty dispicable. I think Izzy was really messed up on drugs around this time. I think it was only a few weeks before the 1989 VMA's that he was arrested for urinating in the aisle on a airplane. I don't want to seem like I'm making excuses for his actions back then but I'm sure that now even he wonders what the hell he was thinking to do that to a woman.

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http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/axl-rose-and-tom-petty-sing-free-fallin-20131212

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_fNxPuytJe0

The 1989 MTV Video Music Awards were full of surprises. Neil Young's "This Note's For You" won Video of the Year over Madonna's "Like a Prayer" and Elvis Costello's "Veronica" won Best Male Video over Bobby Brown's "Every Little Step" and Steve Winwood "Roll With It." (This was back in the day when MTV gave these sort of awards to veteran artists.) But the coolest surprise came at the end of the night when Axl Rose joined Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers for "Free Fallin'."

Guns N' Roses didn't perform that year, but they were all in attendance and won the Best Heavy Metal Video for "Sweet Child O' Mine." (R.E.M. won something called the "Best Post-Modern Video" for "Orange Crush.") After "Free Fallin,'" Petty and Axl closed out the night with an amazing rendition of "Heartbreak Hotel."

Things seemed calm onstage, but Vince Neil was waiting just offstage preparing to kick Izzy Stradlin's ass as soon as the show ended. According to Neil's book The Dirt, the GNR guitarist pulled his wife's shirt down at a Los Angeles club and karate-kicked her in the stomach – and he was out for revenge. "I said to him, 'You fucking hit my wife!'" Neil recalled. "He spat back, 'So fucking what?

"All my blood rushed into my first," said Neil. "And I decked him. I decked him good, and right in the face. He fell to the ground like a tipped cow. I said, 'The next time you fucking touch her, I'll fucking kill you!'"

Axl Rose saw the whole thing and threatened to beat up Neil, but ultimately walked away. The two later engaged in a nasty fight in the press that nearly culminated in a fight in the parking lot of Tower Records. But according to Neil, Axl never showed up. "In the press he was acting like king of the world," said the Motley Crue singer. "But in real life he was too chicken-shit to back up his word."

I was just reading that in Rolling Stone yesterday. Brings back awesome memories of GNR in their heyday. I was in high school when this happened & I was hugest GNR fan. I remembered reading somewhere back then that Tom Petty was not happy with Axl after that perfomance, he supposedly felt that Axl showed him up but I've never been able to find any reference to that on the internet so who knows.

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his '06 appearance was pretty underwhelming, too. i remember watching it live, and - as this was on the back end of a successful tour where most of us were impressed with his voice - i remember a lot of people on the forum being taken aback by how he randomly turned back into mickey mouse again at the worst possible moment (in front of millions of people). it seems like he just has bad luck where, when he's doing tours and shows with little attention, he's at his best (like the 2010 tour); but when he's got a big platform (like rio 5, the bridge school benefit, vmas, etc.) he blows it. it sucks to watch as a fan because i know he deserves better - if any of those 2010 shows had been televised it would have been awesome, because he sounded great.

I agree with you on the '06 comment, maybe he didn't want to repeat the 2002 disaster.

I still don't understand why people hold the 2010 tour in so high regard...Maybe I just don't see it (If there's any really fantastic concerts just tell me and I'll look them up when I get the chance). I'm a 2006 admirer of GNR. They had the potential to become something amazing and it got wasted (again).

----

In terms of this performance though, holy shit. I was amazed. Even more than when I first watched Axl and Izzy do Salt of the Earth.

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I've always loved this performance.

But you gotta wonder, does Axl miss those days, when he was just pure electricity? Tom Petty has solidified into an absolute legend of rock music; he's hugely popular among so many generations, and his tours are always sold out.

And meanwhile? Axl wanders the hills of Malibu with a fat, doughty old woman/mother, and he keeps trading down his employees further and further til he's left with talentless, embarrassing douch bags like DJ or completely soulless shred-monkey Guitar Center heroes like Bumby.

I wonder if Axl actually feels bad about what's happened to him, how far he's fallen.

HAHAHAHA! I'm not sure if that was on purpose or not, but it still made me laugh out loud.

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I think one of the reasons I agree totally with your posts is that Axl, for once, didn't oversing when performing the cover. That's why it's avreally standout performance.

FFS, Free Fallin' should've been on a GN'R record instead of overlayered Boring on Heaven's Door.

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Vince sure summed up Axl perfectly. All talk and no action.

Hmmm ask the Swedish security guard, LAX pap or the fan in St-Louis if Axl is all talk.

Any of them challenge him to a one on one fight?

Why would Axl show up to a one on one fight against Vince? That would have been so stupid!

Anyway, love this performance too, I wish Axl had recorded this song

Edited by Miss Paradise
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Vince sure summed up Axl perfectly. All talk and no action.

Hmmm ask the Swedish security guard, LAX pap or the fan in St-Louis if Axl is all talk.

Any of them challenge him to a one on one fight?

i always percieved those as him suckerpunching somebody before they could get their guard up...have to pull up the videos of those incidencts and see if they squared off dukes up with a fair fight coming at them. Nope....not in the st Luis vid and not on the paparrazi...nor on the one he stormed in the hotel in Brazil

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I've always loved this performance.

But you gotta wonder, does Axl miss those days, when he was just pure electricity? Tom Petty has solidified into an absolute legend of rock music; he's hugely popular among so many generations, and his tours are always sold out.

And meanwhile? Axl wanders the hills of Malibu with a fat, doughty old woman/mother, and he keeps trading down his employees further and further til he's left with talentless, embarrassing douch bags like DJ or completely soulless shred-monkey Guitar Center heroes like Bumby.

I wonder if Axl actually feels bad about what's happened to him, how far he's fallen.

Anybody ever tell you your posts are shit?

Your opinion on the quality of a poster's post isn't really relevant and just adds negativity to the forum. You should explain why the poster is wrong rather than insulting him. You are better than that.

******

As for the performance.

I remember watching it as it happened.

All month MTV had hyped up the big final performance.

When Petty starts playing the crowd is like "uhhh, OK. Tom is cool but this is the big finish?"

Then Axl dances out and the place goes bonkers.

Axl totally destroyed Petty on stage.

Made it look like this was a GnR song and Petty was just there singing back-up.

IMO, this was one of Axl's greatest moments of his career.

I miss this Axl.

We watched this while i was in college ...and i remember we were all like "Fuck yeah its a great time to be a Guns and Roses fans!!...this cover he did and the one him and Izzy did with the Rolling Stones-Salt of the Earth were convincing and obvious that GNR and in particular Axl was not some singer in an overhyped club band but deserving to hang in there in the big leagues...

Then you take into account his Freddy Mercury Tribute performance and that solidifys it that Axl and GNR were deserving of being headliners and big league contributers to the scene.

I think we can all agree to a certain extent that this is the Axl we thought would emerge from the desert of 93-

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Side note about awesome VMA performances from the past:

Why in the hot fuck has MTV never re-ran any of the classic VMAs?? They've got MTV, Vh1, Vh1 Classic and so on that they could devote any number of hours of programming to it on. Such a bummer that they've never done that.

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Vince sure summed up Axl perfectly. All talk and no action.

Hmmm ask the Swedish security guard, LAX pap or the fan in St-Louis if Axl is all talk.

Any of them challenge him to a one on one fight?

Why would Axl show up to a one on one fight against Vince? That would have been so stupid!

Anyway, love this performance too, I wish Axl had recorded this song

Probably because Axl was the one who first challenged Vince Neal to a fight. During Axl's 1990 interview with Kurt Loder (the one where they are sitting at Axl's house by his pool) Axl said in the interview that Vince Neal better shut his mouth & that he'd fight him any time, anywhere. Then Vince Neal went on MTV and said Axl just needed to name the place & time and he'd be there. Not too long after that Axl's publicist released a statement that the whole thing was silly which made Axl look like a pu**y. I remember it like it was yesterday.

This was back when MTV had MTV news at 10 of every hour and my friends & I were glued to MTV every hour possible trying to get an update on what was happening with the fued. Oh the memories of the days before internet where you could just "Google" anything you missed at a later time.

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