Axl's Stage Presence: Past/Present Discussion

[RONIN]

Was quickly surfing through the AC/DC boards and there was a lot of whining there about how Axl is boring to watch onstage and that he looks like a robot that is charisma free. I've seen this come up in other music forums where Axl's "lack of charisma" is singled out as one of the reasons why he's not a very engaging frontman. 

To play devil's advocate here - I wonder if essentially what they're saying is that while he has personality, perhaps he can't charm an audience and mesmerize them in the same way as other frontmen. That he isn't an "engaging" personality. Or maybe it's because Axl is a highly divisive character and a lot of people don't want to give the guy any credit. 

Thoughts? 

Edited July 31, 2017 by RONIN

[TheSeeker]

To be fair, once you've seen the Rolling Stones live, everyone sucks compared to Jagger

Edited July 30, 2017 by TheSeeker

[Original]

Quite the opposite IMO.   Robot?   He's all over the stage like an animal.   He's one of he most intriguing frontmen ever.  With AC/DC he knows he's just a guest as it's Angus' band and Angus is the star.  He'd be an idiot (see DJ Ashba during his years subbing in GnR) if he were to run all over and pose and go nuts on stage with Angus.  

[Mascadcar]

8 minutes ago, Original said:

Quite the opposite IMO.   Robot?   He's all over the stage like an animal.   He's one of he most intriguing frontmen ever.  With AC/DC he knows he's just a guest as it's Angus' band and Angus is the star.  He'd be an idiot (see DJ Ashba during his years subbing in GnR) if he were to run all over and pose and go nuts on stage with Angus.  

This^^

[SWINGTRADER]

If these people are referring to Axl in his prime, then they are idiots. If they are referring to current Axl, then they have a point. Axl's movements on each song are identical now from show to show. " It's so easy" starts off with the exact same movements. Welcome to the Jungle is the same. There is no unpredictability anymore. He is a robot.

 

I sometimes think that Axl totally forgot what he did when he was young. Like he erased it from his mind entirely and became a new person.  He doesn't even know how to move with the mic stand anymore. It's like a lousy imitation except it really isn't.

Edited July 30, 2017 by SWINGTRADER

[Gordon Comstock]

With GNR, he has a good stage presence, however choreographed it may be. But with AC/DC or Billy Joel I think he feels less pressure to perform like a "frontman", and he's mostly focusing on singing well. He's a guest, not the leader of the band(s) ffs.

[Black Sabbath]

2011-2014, someone would have a point about Axl's stage presence. Now? No way. The dude is more entertaining to watch live now than all the times I saw him previously.

Of all the bands and frontmen I've seen live, the only one that compare to Axl is Mick Jagger.

Honestly, I've never heard anyone say something about Axl's stage presence though. If anything he's been winning people over for years, especially since last year.

[IncitingChaos]

Axl is afraid of falling on stage 

[Tourettes2400]

Back in the late 80s early 90s, no doubt he did, but he has gotten a lot older.

At the same time when I look at pics from last year it makes me laugh when I see things like this

  

 

 

Lol no matter what he does from now on, he is Axl fucking Rose and you have to respect that.

From the shows I have seen this year, including Periscopes, he looks like he is trying harder than I have seen in a long time. He even looks like he has lost a lot of weight since NITLT started. People just like to hate him for some reason.

Edited July 30, 2017 by Tourettes2400

[Black Sabbath]

3 minutes ago, IncitingChaos said:

Axl is afraid of falling on stage 

With how much I saw him running and dancing at the Apollo and St. Louis shows, I'd like to disagree.

[SWINGTRADER]

Axl is one of the strangest music artist of all time. His last show with the old band was in1993. He then came back on New Years 2001 and was a totally different person, that is only 7 years separated. He had nothing in common with the dude that performed in River Plate. His stage moves, looks, and voice had all changed. It's as if he hated himself and wanted to intentionally change everything about it.

[Bono]

Axl's stage presence may have diminished a bit over the years but he's always had that "It factor". You're drawn to him and that can't be said for all frontmen that's for sure. At this stage of his career though I don't think he'd be ranked in the top 5 with stage presence but he's still got it in spades.

When he's with AC/DC though he is pretty tame on stage and it is a bit underwhelming that is for sure when it comes to his stage presence. I'd like to see him be more charismatic next time out with AC/DC but he likely doesn't wanna come off as if he's showing up Angus. 

[thunderram]

55 minutes ago, SWINGTRADER said:

If these people are referring to Axl in his prime, then they are idiots. If they are referring to current Axl, then they have a point.

 

With regard to AXL back in his prime, this would be a laughable topic. Nobody performed with more energy, danced and ran all over the stage more than he did. At least no front man from any of the heavyweight bands. I personally have never seen a more charismatic, energetic and captivating front man ever. Several have mentioned Mick Jagger and while Jagger certainly moves and dances like no other, even at an advanced age, he never ran around the stage quite like AXL. And don't forget how long the UYI era stage was. It was massive.

That said, as others have mentioned, AXL doesn't come close to performing today as he once did. Obviously age has a lot to do with that. But I think health and a more relaxed mental state of mind have a lot to do with it too. AXL slowed down a lot more than Jagger did. Mick is a freak of nature to still play with the energy he does at his age. But in their primes, AXL performed with more energy and reckless abandon.

Note: to those that will reply telling me that Jagger is better than AXL, I'm not saying AXL is better. To me he is, but everyone has their own opinion and I realize a ton of people would side with Jagger. That's personal preference and that's fine. I'm just saying that in my humble opinion, regardless of preference between the two, nobody performed with more energy than AXL back in his prime. And, again, I'm referring to the big name bands. Not some death metal band that most never heard of. One other guy that comes to mind aside from AXL and Jagger is Mike Patton from Faith No More. He was pretty crazy on stage too.

Edited July 30, 2017 by thunderram

[SWINGTRADER]

3 minutes ago, thunderram said:

 

With regard to AXL back in his prime, this would be a laughable topic. Nobody performed with more energy, danced and ran all over the stage more than he did. At least no front man from any of the heavyweight bands. I personally have never seen a more charismatic, energetic and captivating front man ever. Several have mentioned Mick Jagger and while Jagger certainly moves and dances like no other, even at an advanced age, he never ran around the stage quite like AXL. And don't forget how long the UYI era stage was. It was massive.

That said, as others have mentioned, AXL doesn't come close to performing today as he once did. Obviously age has a lot to do with that. But I think health and a more relaxed mental state of mind have a lot to do with it too. AXL slowed down a lot more than Jagger did. Mick is a freak of nature to still play with the energy he does at his age. But in their primes, AXL performed with more energy and reckless abandon.

Note: to those that will reply telling me that Jagger is better than AXL, I'm not saying AXL is better. To me he is, but everyone has their own opinion and I realize a ton of people would side with Jagger. That's personal preference and that's fine. I'm just saying that in my humble opinion, regardless of preference between the two, nobody performed with more energy than AXL back in his prime. And, again, I'm referring to the big name bands. Not some death metal band that most never heard of. One other guy that comes to mind aside from AXL and Jagger is Mike Patton from Faith No More. He was pretty crazy on stage too.

Nobody could touch Axl at his absolute best. Nobody. 

Age has nothing to do with his decline. The guy just totally changed personalities and became a different person, 

This is something that never happened to Mick Jagger or any other GNR band members for that matter. Even Steven Adler after all the crap he went through is pretty much the same guy. 

[comboguns]

I think the main reason Axl is acting like a robot on stage, is because he's afraid to die on stage or to fall.

[comboguns]

Actually DUff is the more charismatic guy on stage, he moves like in the old days, Slash is more calm , but sometimes he does the same guitar tricks, and handstand like in old times.

[gnfnrs1972]

Yeah.

[tsinindy]

3 minutes ago, comboguns said:

Actually DUff is the more charismatic guy on stage, he moves like in the old days, Slash is more calm , but sometimes he does the same guitar tricks, and handstand like in old times.

I don't think that is true.....it certainly wasn't  in St. Louis.  Axl ran around way more than anyone else.  

[tajandreas]

The only real gripe I have is that there is almost zero crowd interaction. Seeing other bands like Metallica & A7X this year there was alot of banter between the singers and the crowd, and it made you feel more apart of the overall act. With Guns now it does feel almost robotic how everything is. The moves are choreographed, even the little things he says to crowd are, but it seems like as of late he is talking more, so that's a plus. But to say Axl isn't charismatic is laughable. I mean, I've never heard anyone say that atleast.

[Tom2112]

24 minutes ago, thunderram said:

 

With regard to AXL back in his prime, this would be a laughable topic. Nobody performed with more energy, danced and ran all over the stage more than he did. At least no front man from any of the heavyweight bands. I personally have never seen a more charismatic, energetic and captivating front man ever. Several have mentioned Mick Jagger and while Jagger certainly moves and dances like no other, even at an advanced age, he never ran around the stage quite like AXL. And don't forget how long the UYI era stage was. It was massive.

That said, as others have mentioned, AXL doesn't come close to performing today as he once did. Obviously age has a lot to do with that. But I think health and a more relaxed mental state of mind have a lot to do with it too. AXL slowed down a lot more than Jagger did. Mick is a freak of nature to still play with the energy he does at his age. But in their primes, AXL performed with more energy and reckless abandon.

Note: to those that will reply telling me that Jagger is better than AXL, I'm not saying AXL is better. To me he is, but everyone has their own opinion and I realize a ton of people would side with Jagger. That's personal preference and that's fine. I'm just saying that in my humble opinion, regardless of preference between the two, nobody performed with more energy than AXL back in his prime. And, again, I'm referring to the big name bands. Not some death metal band that most never heard of. One other guy that comes to mind aside from AXL and Jagger is Mike Patton from Faith No More. He was pretty crazy on stage too.

Mick was never and has never performed like Axl. Mick is and was a mad man, but he wasn't running full sprint or throwing himself and his microphone around with no regard. Certainly an energetic performer but there is a difference between strutting around a stage and sprinting and jumping from ramps. 

Axl, like Hetfield or any other maturing rocker has slowed down... they don't quite spit venom any more but they still get the job done... but if you're into the youthful punk fuck you attitude and that alone, then what you're gonna get is a shadow of itself. 

[Tom2112]

59 minutes ago, Black Sabbath said:

2011-2014, someone would have a point about Axl's stage presence. Now? No way. The dude is more entertaining to watch live now than all the times I saw him previously.

Of all the bands and frontmen I've seen live, the only one that compare to Axl is Mick Jagger.

Honestly, I've never heard anyone say something about Axl's stage presence though. If anything he's been winning people over for years, especially since last year.

The only complaint about Axls stage presence / persona that I heard from friends regularly (after the recent gigs) was that they wished he'd have engaged with the crowd a bit. He doesn't really talk at all, st.louis being a notable exception. He is obviously very charismatic, and entertaining as far as running around etc, but to get the ultimate showman award, you need to have a bit of chat for your crowd.

[DieselDaisy]

Axl? Bahh. Now this guy has stage presence,

Sorry. I just needed another excuse to post that.

[Tom-Ass]

Not reading through any of this, but yes......

[The Holographic Universe]

1 hour ago, SWINGTRADER said:

Axl is one of the strangest music artist of all time. His last show with the old band was in1993. He then came back on New Years 2001 and was a totally different person, that is only 7 years separated. He had nothing in common with the dude that performed in River Plate. His stage moves, looks, and voice had all changed. It's as if he hated himself and wanted to intentionally change everything about it.

Yeah, I'll never understand his transformation. 

[RONIN]

1 hour ago, SWINGTRADER said:

Axl is one of the strangest music artist of all time. His last show with the old band was in1993. He then came back on New Years 2001 and was a totally different person, that is only 7 years separated. He had nothing in common with the dude that performed in River Plate. His stage moves, looks, and voice had all changed. It's as if he hated himself and wanted to intentionally change everything about it.

Agreed though I suppose he still had the trademark craziness up till 2002. I think DieselDaisy brought this up in a previous thread where he mentioned that the last time Axl still acted like Axl was back in '02. Maybe it's a combination of age and heavier meds sedating him these days 

1 hour ago, comboguns said:

Actually DUff is the more charismatic guy on stage, he moves like in the old days, Slash is more calm , but sometimes he does the same guitar tricks, and handstand like in old times.

Good call. I agree, Duff is definitely the most engaging guy onstage w/ Guns right now. For a bassist, it's crazy how well he commands the stage. Much better than his prime and he was great back then.

Slash is giving it everything he has but age/health issues have caught up to him. 

Goes to show you how much of GnR's stage magnetism was lost during Chinese Democracy when you lose big personalities like Duff, Slash, and Izzy onstage - each one, a rockstar in their own right.