My Review From (Pretty Much) The Front Row - Friday April 8 Vegas

[MarlaHooch]

Hi there, haven't posted here in awhile and not sure where to post this but I'm sure mods will handle in short order if need be. I was at the Friday show, 4 rows up on Slash's side with the barricade in line with the front row barricade directly in front of me, so unobstructed/basically front row but slightly elevated. I typed this up in the airport yesterday and wanted to share my experience and perspective with my fellow longtime GN'R crazies:

Fucking WOW. I'm assuming a lot of you reading this are like me and have been a part of the GN'R online community for decade(s) now, and Friday night was finally the big payoff after so many years of, in an odd way, wanting this for the band as much as for ourselves as fans.

I went into this show as an unapologetic huge Chinese Democracy fan, as well as a fan of all GN'R lineups barring the 2002 lineup (including Axl at the time) which just didn't work for me. I'm a musician and each one of them have influenced me as a player. I recorded a dingy 8 track cover of "Pretty Tied Up" about a decade ago back when I was learning how to sing and record my own music. I spent my early teen years doing the VHS/cassette GN'R bootleg trade thing only to have most or all of it wind up on YouTube.

I'm sure a lot of you can relate - being a GN'R fan has been somewhat difficult over the years. I recall getting bullied quite a bit in junior high for being into GN'R and other rock bands rather than ska and whatever else was happening at the time. I recall having just moved away to college in 2002 and knowing GN'R were the surprise guests at the VMAs, gathering my new dorm friends in my room saying "You guys trust me you have to see this!" and feeling straight up awful by the "catastrophe" that went down. I had lifelong musician friends/non-fans with me at Bridge School a few years ago when Axl had strep throat and their reaction was basically "THIS is what you keep hyping?" I often get emails from friends of mine, particularly fellow musicians, who only catch the proverbial "planes that crash" aka when Axl shits the bed during shows that are livestreamed, such as Rio '11.

Anyway, after failing to get Coachella tickets, I got extremely lucky with the onsale for this show. It was for all intents and purposes one of, if not the best, seats in the house. I was 4 rows up in the lower bowl section on Slash's side of the stage, with the banister on my right side, making for an elevated unobstructed view directly above the front row barricade.

Fortunately there were plenty of fellow die hards to mingle with before and during the show. I flew in from CA. Two of the guys in front of me flew in from Nashville and London, the people next to me flew in from New York. The vibe could only be described as anticipating your favorite longtime underdog team possibly winning the World Series.

Alright onto the show sorry for the longwindedness.

Friday night was straight up vindication for all involved - Axl, Slash, Guns N' Roses as a band, Chinese Democracy as an album, the remaining members of that lineup, and us fans who have always known we were onto something being so passionate about this particular band despite all their quirks.

I've had a job since the day I turned 15 and have spent entirely too much money on concerts. As a result there are few well-known rock bands I haven't seen multiple times at this point.

Friday night was the best rock show I've ever seen, for many reasons. It was everything a rock concert should be, as well as everything most rock shows these days are lacking - a perfect combo of polish and risk, musicianship and flash, and emotional intensity and humor. Most rock bands these days can't pull off any of these combos much less all three. You typically get one or the other.

On top of that, most reunions like this you typically get a 90-120 minute same-exact-hits-setlist-every-night, and you often get the lead singer tuning down and/or slowing down as they age. Not our band and not our band's lead singer.

Most of us know Axl sounded best at that show in 2010 where he held still and concentrated on singing. I suppose the Troubadour gig can be viewed similarly since he couldn't run around, intact foot or not. Friday night/this weekend we got that "still and precise" Axl, but it's also obvious that he has worked his ass off preparing for these shows, and I have no doubt that had he been running around like usual, his voice still would have been in the best form we've heard in a very long time. We all know he tends to improve as a tour goes on, he already sounds better than the end of the 2014 tour, and he's just getting started! (By all accounts, Saturday's show he was even better, in keeping with this pattern).

I don't care if he's making half a billion dollars on this tour. I'm still so happy for him that a casual crowd finally got to see him shine like that. Vindication.

Having seen Slash perform in various bands since 2000 or so, he definitely gets better and better as a player and as a performer as time goes by. He straight up KILLED IT on Friday. I saw people crying during his Estranged solos. He was stomping all over the place during "Chinese Democracy". If this was cathartic for fans, he has a good poker face onstage but I'm willing to bet it was for him as well.

Him vs. the 3 guitar assault? I was never one to claim the Chinese lineup was superior, but for what they were, it was incredible in its own right. Thing is, Axl could interchange any of those three guitar players and get a very similar sounding result, and he did with all 3 slots at various points. Not a bad thing at all, but Friday night Slash definitely proved that he is one of a kind. There is a certain "grit" and charisma there that makes all the difference to most people. I'm a huge fan of both versions of GN'R, but I certainly understand why most require the Slash factor in Guns N' Roses.

The Chinese material very easily could have been awkward for and unwelcome by the audience, but most of it* went over very well, and it really is a vindication for both sides in my opinion - Axl made a great Guns N' Roses album that stands right alongside the rest of the catalog, and Slash makes the songs even better.

* = the title track and This I Love went over superbly with the audience. I had a pretty good vantage point to view the crowd as well as the band. They both sounded incredible also. Richard covers the Bucket/Bumble parts quite well and Slash adding his own flair is both surreal and awesome. In all honesty, the intro to Better was cool, but that song in particular did not go over particularly well. Overall I've seen it done better (pun intended), I love the song, and I chalk it up to they just need to play it a few more times. Just my honest take.

Coma. Fucking Coma. I was almost nervous watching Slash go to tackle that solo and Axl go to tackle that beast of nonstop word salad. Them playing that song on opening night is everything I love about the spirit of Guns N' Roses in a nutshell - "Most anticipated rock concert since Led Zeppelin '07 and the Beatles on Ed Sullivan prior to that? First "proper" show as a band in 23 years in front of 20,000 people who paid a months' rent to be here? Broken foot? FUCK IT, let's try this 10 minute deep cut monstrosity for the first time any of us have done it in decades!"

This band is so fucking rad.

Anyway, I assume I went on way too long 10 paragraphs ago, but this was truly one for the books. I figure since I got so lucky to witness something like this as close as I was, the least I could do was give you guys my most comprehensive take possible. This is shaping up to be a truly unbelievable year to be a Guns N' Roses fan, and I hope all of you who are going to see it who love this band as much as I do have as good of a time as I did.

Cheers and Rock N' Fuckin' Roll!

[SoundOfAGun]

Great review,  I will be using the term "word salad" as well!