Show thread April 23rd, 2014 - Golden Gods - Los Angeles, CA - Axl receives "Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award"

[highvoltage]

Looks like the people at the show had a good time:

And lastly, Guns ‘N Roses took the stage as the headlining live act of this event, playing a surprisingly long set which lasted for about 75 minutes and spawned 11 songs, certainly not the norm for these Golden Gods shows wherein no band has ever played more than 3 or 4 songs. There was a 15-minute lull before they appeared at 10:45 PM, and the same old rumblings of Axl Rose’s lateness started circulating amongst people in my vicinity, some even speculating whether Axl was going to play the show at all. But the band came out and delivered more than what anyone would have expected, featuring the return of bassist Duff McKagan not only to boost the rhythm section and backing vocals but also to give the band a more ‘legit’ collective persona specially in the eyes of those who’re fixated on the classic lineup. Granted, Axl Rose started out sounding uneasy on the vocals but from the fourth song onwards, he upped his level, and slower songs like ‘Better’ and ‘This I Love’ allowed him more breathing room which in turn resulted in him giving his 100 per cent on the last few songs of the set, including the beautiful ‘November Rain’ and culminating in a great rendition of ‘Paradise City’. Guitarists Bumblefoot, DJ Ashba and Richard Fortus were excellent as always, playing the songs with absolute perfection, and besides the GNR songs they played a couple of delightful little jams as well, including Bumblefoot’s intro teaser of Zeppelin’s ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You. Together, all eight members of the band combined to deliver an excellent Guns ‘N Roses set, which in the honest words of my photographer/friend Matt Nielson, was a lot better than when he saw the band back in ’92. That in itself speaks a lot for the current lineup, and I would urge people who hate Guns ‘N Roses without giving them a semblance of a chance to go check out a live show (not a live stream, an actual show) and decide for yourself. My only complaint from this set would be the excessively long version of ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’, which if shortened down would perhaps serve the band and their audience a lot better. Other than that, this GNR set was an apt end to an event that began on a fantastic note and had a lot of filler in between.

What. The. Fuck.

I mean. I don't even....

What the fuck....

I know it looks funny given our impressions of the gig, but you have to admit - it just serves to highlight that casual fans going to these shows have a seriously different impression of them to us.

I went to the Brisbane show last year with a couple of girls. Axl sounded pretty average (even by 2013 standards), it was a pretty run of the mill show but I still had a good time. We walked out, and the two girls were raving non-stop about how good Axl sounded, how it was one of the best shows they'd ever seen, etc etc. We're talking about a show that even I thought was pretty average.... but these girls hadn't seen them before, so they had nothing to compare the show to.

A lot of people going to the gigs don't notice the things we see/hear, because they're either too caught up in the moment, had a few beers, or they're holding Axl to a different standard to what we do. There are those 4 or 5 moments a show when he still lights the place up (end of KOHD, Better breakdown, etc) and those moments are what most people remember of his voice when they leave.

[username]

Looks like the people at the show had a good time:

And lastly, Guns ‘N Roses took the stage as the headlining live act of this event, playing a surprisingly long set which lasted for about 75 minutes and spawned 11 songs, certainly not the norm for these Golden Gods shows wherein no band has ever played more than 3 or 4 songs. There was a 15-minute lull before they appeared at 10:45 PM, and the same old rumblings of Axl Rose’s lateness started circulating amongst people in my vicinity, some even speculating whether Axl was going to play the show at all. But the band came out and delivered more than what anyone would have expected, featuring the return of bassist Duff McKagan not only to boost the rhythm section and backing vocals but also to give the band a more ‘legit’ collective persona specially in the eyes of those who’re fixated on the classic lineup. Granted, Axl Rose started out sounding uneasy on the vocals but from the fourth song onwards, he upped his level, and slower songs like ‘Better’ and ‘This I Love’ allowed him more breathing room which in turn resulted in him giving his 100 per cent on the last few songs of the set, including the beautiful ‘November Rain’ and culminating in a great rendition of ‘Paradise City’. Guitarists Bumblefoot, DJ Ashba and Richard Fortus were excellent as always, playing the songs with absolute perfection, and besides the GNR songs they played a couple of delightful little jams as well, including Bumblefoot’s intro teaser of Zeppelin’s ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You. Together, all eight members of the band combined to deliver an excellent Guns ‘N Roses set, which in the honest words of my photographer/friend Matt Nielson, was a lot better than when he saw the band back in ’92. That in itself speaks a lot for the current lineup, and I would urge people who hate Guns ‘N Roses without giving them a semblance of a chance to go check out a live show (not a live stream, an actual show) and decide for yourself. My only complaint from this set would be the excessively long version of ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’, which if shortened down would perhaps serve the band and their audience a lot better. Other than that, this GNR set was an apt end to an event that began on a fantastic note and had a lot of filler in between.

What. The. Fuck.

I mean. I don't even....

What the fuck....

I know it looks funny given our impressions of the gig, but you have to admit - it just serves to highlight that casual fans going to these shows have a seriously different impression of them to us.

I went to the Brisbane show last year with a couple of girls. Axl sounded pretty average (even by 2013 standards), it was a pretty run of the mill show but I still had a good time. We walked out, and the two girls were raving non-stop about how good Axl sounded, how it was one of the best shows they'd ever seen, etc etc. We're talking about a show that even I thought was pretty average.... but these girls hadn't seen them before, so they had nothing to compare the show to.

A lot of people going to the gigs don't notice the things we see/hear, because they're either too caught up in the moment, had a few beers, or they're holding Axl to a different standard to what we do. There are those 4 or 5 moments a show when he still lights the place up (end of KOHD, Better breakdown, etc) and those moments are what most people remember of his voice when they leave.

Yeah, but this is like claiming the sky is bright pink with green and orange polka dots when it's clearly blue. It's really that ridiculous.

Unless the standards for "guitar perfection" have been lowered to "not botching almost every note". DJ was nothing short of terrible and fucked up royally more than once. Calling that perfection is just plain silly.

His facts aren't straight either. Duff was there due to Tommy having other responsibilities. The guy is making it sound like he'd been brought back for good to increase legitimacy.

I don't mind people being positive, but this is just completely over the top.

Edited April 30, 2014 by username

[highvoltage]

Looks like the people at the show had a good time:

And lastly, Guns ‘N Roses took the stage as the headlining live act of this event, playing a surprisingly long set which lasted for about 75 minutes and spawned 11 songs, certainly not the norm for these Golden Gods shows wherein no band has ever played more than 3 or 4 songs. There was a 15-minute lull before they appeared at 10:45 PM, and the same old rumblings of Axl Rose’s lateness started circulating amongst people in my vicinity, some even speculating whether Axl was going to play the show at all. But the band came out and delivered more than what anyone would have expected, featuring the return of bassist Duff McKagan not only to boost the rhythm section and backing vocals but also to give the band a more ‘legit’ collective persona specially in the eyes of those who’re fixated on the classic lineup. Granted, Axl Rose started out sounding uneasy on the vocals but from the fourth song onwards, he upped his level, and slower songs like ‘Better’ and ‘This I Love’ allowed him more breathing room which in turn resulted in him giving his 100 per cent on the last few songs of the set, including the beautiful ‘November Rain’ and culminating in a great rendition of ‘Paradise City’. Guitarists Bumblefoot, DJ Ashba and Richard Fortus were excellent as always, playing the songs with absolute perfection, and besides the GNR songs they played a couple of delightful little jams as well, including Bumblefoot’s intro teaser of Zeppelin’s ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You. Together, all eight members of the band combined to deliver an excellent Guns ‘N Roses set, which in the honest words of my photographer/friend Matt Nielson, was a lot better than when he saw the band back in ’92. That in itself speaks a lot for the current lineup, and I would urge people who hate Guns ‘N Roses without giving them a semblance of a chance to go check out a live show (not a live stream, an actual show) and decide for yourself. My only complaint from this set would be the excessively long version of ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’, which if shortened down would perhaps serve the band and their audience a lot better. Other than that, this GNR set was an apt end to an event that began on a fantastic note and had a lot of filler in between.

What. The. Fuck.

I mean. I don't even....

What the fuck....

I know it looks funny given our impressions of the gig, but you have to admit - it just serves to highlight that casual fans going to these shows have a seriously different impression of them to us.

I went to the Brisbane show last year with a couple of girls. Axl sounded pretty average (even by 2013 standards), it was a pretty run of the mill show but I still had a good time. We walked out, and the two girls were raving non-stop about how good Axl sounded, how it was one of the best shows they'd ever seen, etc etc. We're talking about a show that even I thought was pretty average.... but these girls hadn't seen them before, so they had nothing to compare the show to.

A lot of people going to the gigs don't notice the things we see/hear, because they're either too caught up in the moment, had a few beers, or they're holding Axl to a different standard to what we do. There are those 4 or 5 moments a show when he still lights the place up (end of KOHD, Better breakdown, etc) and those moments are what most people remember of his voice when they leave.

Yeah, but this is like claiming the sky is bright pink with green and orange polka dots when it's clearly blue. It's really that ridiculous.

Unless the standards for "guitar perfection" have been lowered to "not botching almost every note". DJ was nothing short of terrible and fucked up royally more than once. Calling that perfection is just plain silly.

His facts aren't straight either. Duff was there due to Tommy having other responsibilities. The guy is making it sound like he'd been brought back for good to increase legitimacy.

I don't mind people being positive, but this is just completely over the top.

I don't necessarily disagree with everything you're saying, but even the people from the board that went somehow thought Axl sounded good. As for DJ, he's a showman and it usually hides the fact that he can't play guitar very well.

As for the Tommy thing... he was scheduled to play that Golden Gods show riiiiight up until the last minute when he was... injured, was it?

I just mean, are we really sure Duff wasn't there to "increase legitimacy" for a performance that was going to be streamed on the Internet and TV? I don't think that would have necessarily been a bad thing, because the more Duff, the better... but the way the plans shifted with Tommy at the last second were weird IMO.

[Powerage5]

This is an awesome picture.

I feel the exact opposite - I think it's one of the worst pictures Kat has ever posted.

[Black Sabbath]

This is an awesome picture.

I feel the exact opposite - I think it's one of the worst pictures Kat has ever posted.

I'm glad someone else thought this. Duff looks very weird due to the "action shot", and frankly, at a glance (and even staring at it), doesn't even really look like Duff. Not a very good picture at all, in my opinion.

[Powerage5]

This is an awesome picture.

I feel the exact opposite - I think it's one of the worst pictures Kat has ever posted.

I'm glad someone else thought this. Duff looks very weird due to the "action shot", and frankly, at a glance (and even staring at it), doesn't even really look like Duff. Not a very good picture at all, in my opinion.

I'm talking more in a technical sense, but I agree with what you said. It's over exposed, motion blur on his face/head, framing is everything (Can't stand when the headstock of his bass is cut off when there's plenty of dead space on the left hand side of the image), and there's interference in the foreground since she was shooting from behind someone. There's a time and place when I'd find any of those criteria acceptable on their own (Other than maybe the poor framing), but together, it's just

[Nosaj Thing]

I feel the exact opposite - I think it's one of the worst pictures Kat has ever posted.

I have posted some pictures in the Ferro, 2014 thread. Can you give your opinion? I love those pictures.

[Estranged Reality]

Looks like the people at the show had a good time:

And lastly, Guns ‘N Roses took the stage as the headlining live act of this event, playing a surprisingly long set which lasted for about 75 minutes and spawned 11 songs, certainly not the norm for these Golden Gods shows wherein no band has ever played more than 3 or 4 songs. There was a 15-minute lull before they appeared at 10:45 PM, and the same old rumblings of Axl Rose’s lateness started circulating amongst people in my vicinity, some even speculating whether Axl was going to play the show at all. But the band came out and delivered more than what anyone would have expected, featuring the return of bassist Duff McKagan not only to boost the rhythm section and backing vocals but also to give the band a more ‘legit’ collective persona specially in the eyes of those who’re fixated on the classic lineup. Granted, Axl Rose started out sounding uneasy on the vocals but from the fourth song onwards, he upped his level, and slower songs like ‘Better’ and ‘This I Love’ allowed him more breathing room which in turn resulted in him giving his 100 per cent on the last few songs of the set, including the beautiful ‘November Rain’ and culminating in a great rendition of ‘Paradise City’. Guitarists Bumblefoot, DJ Ashba and Richard Fortus were excellent as always, playing the songs with absolute perfection, and besides the GNR songs they played a couple of delightful little jams as well, including Bumblefoot’s intro teaser of Zeppelin’s ‘Babe I’m Gonna Leave You. Together, all eight members of the band combined to deliver an excellent Guns ‘N Roses set, which in the honest words of my photographer/friend Matt Nielson, was a lot better than when he saw the band back in ’92. That in itself speaks a lot for the current lineup, and I would urge people who hate Guns ‘N Roses without giving them a semblance of a chance to go check out a live show (not a live stream, an actual show) and decide for yourself. My only complaint from this set would be the excessively long version of ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’, which if shortened down would perhaps serve the band and their audience a lot better. Other than that, this GNR set was an apt end to an event that began on a fantastic note and had a lot of filler in between.

What. The. Fuck.

I mean. I don't even....

What the fuck....

I know it looks funny given our impressions of the gig, but you have to admit - it just serves to highlight that casual fans going to these shows have a seriously different impression of them to us.

I went to the Brisbane show last year with a couple of girls. Axl sounded pretty average (even by 2013 standards), it was a pretty run of the mill show but I still had a good time. We walked out, and the two girls were raving non-stop about how good Axl sounded, how it was one of the best shows they'd ever seen, etc etc. We're talking about a show that even I thought was pretty average.... but these girls hadn't seen them before, so they had nothing to compare the show to.

A lot of people going to the gigs don't notice the things we see/hear, because they're either too caught up in the moment, had a few beers, or they're holding Axl to a different standard to what we do. There are those 4 or 5 moments a show when he still lights the place up (end of KOHD, Better breakdown, etc) and those moments are what most people remember of his voice when they leave.

there's also the fact that being there in person, the general ambiance of the setting can distort your perception of the sound. i saw Van Halen in Philly in 2012 and it was one of the best things I've ever seen. I thought David Lee Roth sounded fucking stellar. The crowd energy was stellar, I was drunk and surrounded by people who were excited just at the idea of being there, so it was a really positive vibe going on and I was loving every second of it.

a few days later i saw clips on YouTube where you could more clearly separate his voice from all the distortion and crowd sing-alongs, and I realized he was horribly off-key most of the time and mumbling incoherently at other times. Yet in person, I would have sworn he sounded as good as he did in the '70s.

So, there's probably a bit of that going on as well.

[RandallFlagg]

which in the honest words of my photographer/friend Matt Nielson, was a lot better than when he saw the band back in ’92.

[username]

I don't necessarily disagree with everything you're saying, but even the people from the board that went somehow thought Axl sounded good. As for DJ, he's a showman and it usually hides the fact that he can't play guitar very well.

As for the Tommy thing... he was scheduled to play that Golden Gods show riiiiight up until the last minute when he was... injured, was it?

I just mean, are we really sure Duff wasn't there to "increase legitimacy" for a performance that was going to be streamed on the Internet and TV? I don't think that would have necessarily been a bad thing, because the more Duff, the better... but the way the plans shifted with Tommy at the last second were weird IMO.

Substitute "showman" with "talentless copycat poser" and we have a deal. And, with any gig, being there helps. A lot. But I'm just going by what I saw.

I do get what you're saying regarding Tommy. But it seems far-fetched to me. No, we don't know for sure. But stating it as a fact in a review is the other end of the spectrum.

[Yesterdays-Civil-War]

Yeah, but this is like claiming the sky is bright pink with green and orange polka dots when it's clearly blue. It's really that ridiculous.

I concur. I've been in shock reading posts on HTGTH and "journalists'" reviews of shows for the past couple years.

[RandallFlagg]

Axl on that Better bridge tho. He killed it, wonder why the heck he had trouble with damn near everything else.

[Amish]

Axl on that Better bridge tho. He killed it, wonder why the heck he had trouble with damn near everything else.

But no he didn't, it was one of the worst Better bridge vocals I've ever heard.

[MrSoftie]

Axl on that Better bridge tho. He killed it, wonder why the heck he had trouble with damn near everything else.

But no he didn't, it was one of the worst Better bridge vocals I've ever heard.

Opinions are like assholes.

[robin2002]

oh god... Go check out HTGTH for some reviews.. I get to an extent that as fans on a fan message board we should in theory be singing his praises, but c'mon, not everything is perfect, actually makes me angry and almost sick reading that site - At least this site gives credit when credit is due, so in that same mindset, if something isn't right or you have something you want to get off your chest lets discuss without being hit with a barrage of insults and sarcastic responses from their leader...

[RandallFlagg]

For Axl Rose that performance was awful, I appreciate he may have a vocal condition or is just way out of singing shape but if you watch 2006,2010 and parts of 2012 the performance was shocking but not unexpected with his form of the tour so far. No point sugarcoating and making people think it was the optimum of what the guy can do, the band were pretty good as ever except some Ashba fuck ups.

[Estranged Reality]

was just comparing this pro-shot from less than four years ago:

crazy how much his voice deteriorated in that short span of time.

two of the best performances of TiL and SoD ever.

[Pedrolg]

oh god... Go check out HTGTH for some reviews.. I get to an extent that as fans on a fan message board we should in theory be singing his praises, but c'mon, not everything is perfect, actually makes me angry and almost sick reading that site - At least this site gives credit when credit is due, so in that same mindset, if something isn't right or you have something you want to get off your chest lets discuss without being hit with a barrage of insults and sarcastic responses from their leader...

I`m very much new to GNR forums, but for the little I've lurked there, I can already see that jarmo enforces a positive dictatorship. There are some mygnr posters, such as D-Generation-X who try to bring up criticism in an extremely polite and civilized way and are shot down with condescending comments from jarmo. Here the atmosphere is much more negative, but the negative posts have solid points behind them. I'd never post there, I'd rather disagree with smart people who defend their opinions with arguments than stay in a deluded cult.

[RandallFlagg]

Lets bring up this gem again, Jarmo reminds me of this:

[Pedrolg]

He is struggling though. During this tour I'm starting to believe more in his professionalism than in the theories that he just does not put an effort. I get the genuine impression, for the first time, that his mojo might be gone, at least for now. The belly is really no conclusive evidence of his cardio work etc., specially at this age. My uncle is 53, an amateur swimmer, murders me in endurance (I'm 28 and fairly fit) and looks like Axl physically.

[Guest NGOG]

was just comparing this pro-shot from less than four years ago:

crazy how much his voice deteriorated in that short span of time.

two of the best performances of TiL and SoD ever.

I agree with you, but at the time, that performance was ridiculed!

[Amir]

was just comparing this pro-shot from less than four years ago:

crazy how much his voice deteriorated in that short span of time.

two of the best performances of TiL and SoD ever.

I agree with you, but at the time, that performance was ridiculed!

I never understood why, I thought the performances of the songs were great and I remember coming on here and people being like "meh".

[Powerage5]

was just comparing this pro-shot from less than four years ago:

crazy how much his voice deteriorated in that short span of time.

two of the best performances of TiL and SoD ever.

I agree with you, but at the time, that performance was ridiculed!

Goes to show we're never really happy with what we have (collectively speaking).

[Apollo]

was just comparing this pro-shot from less than four years ago:

crazy how much his voice deteriorated in that short span of time.

two of the best performances of TiL and SoD ever.

I agree with you, but at the time, that performance was ridiculed!

Goes to show we're never really happy with what we have (collectively speaking).

That's how it is when you have millions of fans though. Nobody is ever going to have 100% agreement on any issue.

I think the majority of fans on this website would be joyous if Axl released a double-album in 2014.

[Padme]

was just comparing this pro-shot from less than four years ago:

crazy how much his voice deteriorated in that short span of time.

two of the best performances of TiL and SoD ever.

I agree with you, but at the time, that performance was ridiculed!

Goes to show we're never really happy with what we have (collectively speaking).

That's how it is when you have millions of fans though. Nobody is ever going to have 100% agreement on any issue.

I think the majority of fans on this website would be joyous if Axl released a double-album in 2014.

Double album? We pretty much agree that Axl is singing like Mickey Mouse. He can´t make a double album, maybe not even one. He should´ve released a double album back in 2010 or so. Mostly because CD wasn´t exactly a great hit. Yeah I know about The Vault. We don´t know exactly what´s in there. For sure it´s songs that needs to be polished to say the least. Now it´s too late. Unless Axl finds a way to fix his voice´s problems.