09/23/17 - Rio de Janeiro, BR - Rock In Rio Festival

[AxlRoseCDII]

Here's my kind of review of the concert. I live streamed the whole show while in a group chat with @Oldest Goatand @lpgnr which was a fun night and chat. 

I haven't seen a full Guns show since I went to Dodger Stadium last year. I've seen bits and pieces, heard a song or watched a video here or there over 2017 but haven't watched a whole show. And to be honest, I can't believe how much worse things have gotten in literally a year. Now trust me, I'm not an Axl hater by any stretch of the imagination. I enjoyed the NuGuns years of 2001-2010 and CD is a brilliant album to me. But last night his voice was at an all time low in my opinion. I'm not sure what happened to it. It could've been a lack of practice, wear and tear on the vocals or lack of a vocal coach but Axl's voice was very worrying to me last night. There were times, like in Coma, Better, and even Jungle that flat out sounded disastrous. As an Axl fan, hearing how shaky his voice sounded with many voice cracks was cringe-inducing for me to see. His gnary low voice was coming in on the low notes at times. I seriously worry about Axl's voice as a fan, because the state it's currently in I can't see a new album or AC/DC tour. It has great qualities to it though, he can still hit the high notes and does an awesome low voice for the chours of Better. But his signature screams have never sounded so wobbly on songs like the post-chorus in Better. It was possible he couldn't hear himself but the lack of control of his singing was very worrying. Even the 2011-2014 years he could still hit those notes with full control even if they were all mickey.

Slash seemed a little out of the loop as well. He was flubbing up here and there and his solos seemed to be straight up noodling. I agree with others that Slash at his prime (okay, second prime) was the touring with SMKC before this tour. His tone isn't amazing to be honest and Slash seems very bored on CD songs (which I guess make sense since they're not his work)

Rest of the band seemed fine. Duff was kicking ass like always and surprisingly Dizzy was doing a very good job on keys as we could finally hear him in the mix. Pro shot barely captured Melissa. Frank still isn't the best drummer but he isn't going anywhere so we can accept that.

Setlist was great, except for that half hour lull of covers-novemberrain-covers-kohd. 

Coma was really disastrous, I think it's possible the song will be dropped sooner than later. Even a year ago he was nailing that song just so much more. Felt the same about My Michelle and Yesterdays, although that's more of a conscious choice.

Positive of the concert was Axl was interacting with the crowd a fair amount. Everyone looked like they were having fun during the rock songs. Axl was running through the stage and Slash was sprinting at times. Even if Axl's vocals have degressed he still brings to the table the energy he has always been known for. And that was very pleasing as a fan to see  . He's a very fun performer to watch.

All in all though, Axl's vocals have me very worried for the future of his career. I don't think he's going to take it seriously to the point he'll reconsider a vocal coach but damn, if he ever needed one. I worry about the state of GN'R post 2017 and the future arena tour. This may be the last we see of Axl before they tune down the songs or cut the setlist. There certainly can't be another Guns album with Axl doing high shrieks and such. I also worry about his future in AC/DC. Very worrying show, but a good performance with energy. Probably a 5.5/10

[RONIN]

36 minutes ago, Smokin' Cigarettes said:

This was fun for a while but now it's become a situation of not knowing when to call it a day.  

Axl gets all the heavy blame, & rightfully so because he's the centerpiece, but damn if Slash doesn't fuck up quite a bit himself.  He's shredding harder than ever but he's lost a bit of his touch & charm like he's got Yngwie Malmsteen Disease and can't slow it down anymore.

Agreed, the guitar wanking is ridiculously indulgent. Not sure why these shows are so bloated considering Duff and Slash have repeatedly talked about the UYI tour being bloated with crap like this. But then again, it's GnR. Being indulgent is how they roll.

[Sosso]

Just now, RONIN said:

Agreed, the guitar wanking is ridiculously indulgent. Not sure why these shows are so bloated considering Duff and Slash have repeatedly talked about the UYI tour being bloated with crap like this. But then again, it's GnR. Being indulgent is how they roll.

Probably they changed their opinions over the years? I don't see a problem when someone develops as an artist.

[marlingrl03]

49 minutes ago, LA_0013 said:

Ahh, my bad

It's all good!

[BorderlineCrazy]

9 hours ago, DieselDaisy said:

New music. New music equates inspired (live) playing.

With SMKC he had new music and a killer backing band, now he has a stale setlist and Frank Ferrer. There's no way that's not going to affect his playing.

20 minutes ago, RONIN said:

Not sure why these shows are so bloated considering Duff and Slash have repeatedly talked about the UYI tour being bloated with crap like this. But then again, it's GnR. Being indulgent is how they roll.

They also talked about the importance of Izzy and Steven. In the end, their opinions are irrelevant because they agreed to do everything Axl's way (except playing on time ).

11 minutes ago, Sosso said:

Probably they changed their opinions over the years? I don't see a problem when someone develops as an artist.

This tour is the opposite of developing as an artist. These last two years, Slash and Duff haven't been artist but entertainers (like Axl has been for around a decade). The bright side is (if the tour ends this year) we'll have a new Slash record next year with SMKC and Duff might go back to his 25 different projects. Hopefully Axl will work at least on ONE new song too, whether it is with Angus or with that hack Paul Tobias.

[DieselDaisy]

Yes, I liked the Conspirators really. With this Guns 'reunion' it is a case of ''careful what you wished for'' I feel, from the fan base. They wanted 'Axl and Slash' and they got it. But If you remove the excitement of 'Axl and Slash' there is really nothing of interest, substance or quality there. With the Conspirators you got your new album every year and some great little theatre shows.

[LA_0013]

You know, if Axl's voice is shot - the hardcore fans would accept the show for what it is.

But we are all too familiar with the way he sung on the AC/DC run. Pretty much every show on that tour he wasn't only hitting it out the park, he was hitting it right out the city.

Also telling is his comment in the press about Angus (and I quote) - 'I don't want to let this guy down, almost more than anybody I ever known.'

And you saw it with rehearsals and probably his best vocals since his prime. I'd even go as far as to say that in some of the footage it's the best he's ever sung. Full on rasp with perfect control, every note smashed with conviction. And he maintained it right to the last show.

Now he's back with Guns, and he's pretty much nailing it for the most part. But he's cutting corners and it shows. And it's frustrating as hell he can't get his shit together for such a prominent, proshot gig with a lot of history for the band. Especially after the last monumental fuck up

Slash and Duff stood in the audience when he played with AC/DC, no doubt open mouthed. Now they're on stage 3 hours a night seeing their guy either rein it in or struggle.

If Axl tours with AC/DC again and comes out full on rasp - you've really got to question his commitment and passion for GNR

And I don't for one minute buy the 'GNR songs are harder to sing than AC/DC songs' argument. Axl took Bon's best songs and nailed them with no exceptions

Edited September 25, 2017 by LA_0013

[Gibbo]

I think it's the worse show they have done since being back together and we have a fucken pro shot of it  

[Live Like a Suicide]

6 hours ago, warrocks said:

You know, watching this clip of the end of last night show I can see duff and slash not being happy (slash is all serious, I think he was mad at axl's) and axl's crazy face?  🤔.  Is it just me? All the comments I've read on social networks from Brazilian are good, like they said it was amazing 🤔

 

Can you teach me how to read facial expressions with such low pixels?

[xBrownstonex]

Have i really just read someone question wether slash is annoyed by having meegan around all the time? Just when i thought it can’t get any stupider.

[AxlRoseCDII]

1 hour ago, LA_0013 said:

You know, if Axl's voice is shot - the hardcore fans would accept the show for what it is.

But we are all too familiar with the way he sung on the AC/DC run. Pretty much every show on that tour he wasn't only hitting it out the park, he was hitting it right out the city.

Also telling is his comment in the press about Angus (and I quote) - 'I don't want to let this guy down, almost more than anybody I ever known.'

And you saw it with rehearsals and probably his best vocals since his prime. I'd even go as far as to say that in some of the footage it's the best he's ever sung. Full on rasp with perfect control, every note smashed with conviction. And he maintained it right to the last show.

Now he's back with Guns, and he's pretty much nailing it for the most part. But he's cutting corners and it shows. And it's frustrating as hell he can't get his shit together for such a prominent, proshot gig with a lot of history for the band. Especially after the last monumental fuck up

Slash and Duff stood in the audience when he played with AC/DC, no doubt open mouthed. Now they're on stage 3 hours a night seeing their guy either rein it in or struggle.

If Axl tours with AC/DC again and comes out full on rasp - you've really got to question his commitment and passion for GNR

And I don't for one minute buy the 'GNR songs are harder to sing than AC/DC songs' argument. Axl took Bon's best songs and nailed it 

He's been singing pretty much the same setlist since 2001- I'd imagine it's hard to stay passionate doing such.

[Towelie]

3 minutes ago, AxlRoseCDII said:

He's been singing pretty much the same setlist since 2001- I'd imagine it's hard to stay passionate doing such.

And whose fault is that? That's no excuse.

[RONIN]

2 hours ago, Sosso said:

Probably they changed their opinions over the years? I don't see a problem when someone develops as an artist.

I mean sure - maybe. But I don't know if extended boring guitar jams is proof of anyone developing as an artist. Do we really need that extra 1-2 minutes of random noodling after the end of November Rain and SCOM? Just end the damn song I say 

[Sosso]

Just now, RONIN said:

I mean sure - maybe. But I don't know if extended boring guitar jams is proof of anyone developing as an artist. Do we really need that extra 1-2 minutes of random noodling after the end of November Rain and SCOM? Just end the damn song I say 

I know what you mean. But have you heard extended live versions of Led Zeppelin songs? They are easily 15-20 minutes Long. The best example for that are the BBC sessions

[shotsfired cro]

Embaressing himself with Coma, he will start blaming Slash again for purpously adding Coma to the setlist so the world laughs at him 

on the side note...is the setlist always same cause he can't sing any other stuff from the catalogue? ie Pretty tied up, Dead Horse, Locomotive...

[RONIN]

1 minute ago, Sosso said:

I know what you mean. But have you heard extended live versions of Led Zeppelin songs? They are easily 15-20 minutes Long. The best example for that are the BBC sessions

Haven't heard those but that sounds really indulgent - almost like something Guns would do. 

I think I'm with some of the others that are saying to cut the setlist down. Just make it a lean, mean 1.5-2 hr set. All killer, no filler. Have Axl sing a bunch of low-register songs and no jams or extended versions of songs. That would go a long way to bring back some of the old punk rock vibe to GnR's live shows. After Rio - they have to reassess. If they don't - then somebody isn't telling the band the truth about how that performance went down.

They're kinda boxed in with those crazy ticket prices though. They almost have to deliver a long spectacle of a show to justify that kind of pricing. 

[shotsfired cro]

1 minute ago, RONIN said:

Haven't heard those but that sounds really indulgent - almost like something Guns would do. 

I think I'm with some of the others that are saying to cut the setlist down. Just make it a lean, mean 1.5-2 hr set. All killer, no filler. Have Axl sing a bunch of low-register songs and no jams or extended versions of songs. That would go a long way to bring back some of the old punk rock vibe to GnR's live shows. After Rio - they have to reassess. If they don't - then somebody isn't telling the band the truth about how that performance went down.

They're kinda boxed in with those crazy ticket prices though. They almost have to deliver a long spectacle of a show to justify that kind of pricing. 

if they throw out all the covers, th set would be cut in half...

I fuckin' don't understand... so many goldies in own catalogue and it has been completly ignored...

[Sosso]

4 minutes ago, RONIN said:

Haven't heard those but that sounds really indulgent - almost like something Guns would do. 

Here we go with an half hour version of No Quarter

I wonder if Guns could do something similar with Locomotive or Double Talkin' Jive...

Edited September 25, 2017 by Sosso

[Requiem16]

NuGNR Axl si back. I think Ashba is somewhere near.

[Requiem16]

5 minutes ago, scooby845 said:

Is break-up of reunited Guns N' Roses really the most interesting thing that could happen now..? 

lol

GnFnR!

(not that I want it)

And reunion of SMKC!

[DexAxl]

Well I see after a loooong time away from GNR and forum. Setlist is same just added some more covers.

[Bono]

After that I don't know how anyone can even begin to defend this band or even be interested in what they're doing anymore for that matter. The only thing left worth anything would be a new album and if that's not in the cards this band is completely pointless. 

[GNRfanMILO]

51 minutes ago, GoForJMark said:

Said the guy who's said these:
"Live And Let Die sounded amazing. The band is getting better and Axl’s screams were on point. also, the mix is beautiful now"
"Axl has improved since November Rain. Not bad. The band and the mix sounded great since Better/Estranged. It’s still awful compared to some shows from this year and 2016. It’s a 5/10 for me. I dig it. Could have been a total disaster"

"@fanfzero please tag me when you get the HDTV torrent link! I have to go now and i’m afraid it will get lost on this thread Thank you very much!!"

"Can't find a download button or something?"

"HOLY Shit those voice cracks on Better’s bridge. Scary"

And your point is? There were positive moments... that’s obvious. The thing is that, when you compare him to last year (with both GNR and ACDC) you notice that there was a huge difference. It was night and day.

That’s the point of this forum... different to others, you can criticize the band here. It’s not going to be all positive when you have Axl in pilot mode (or worse). 

And now that i read it, it was fun to try to mark good performances when 80% was horse shit

 

Edited September 25, 2017 by GNRfanMILO

[Gibbo]

I asked Caram Costanzo about the tech problems. He just said "They'll be fine. Was a bad show."

[SoulMonster]

1 hour ago, Bono said:

After that I don't know how anyone can even begin to defend this band 

It's just a concert. They didn't do well. The band has been on a negative trajectory for a long time now. It's not the end of the world. It's just music. People here make it sound like it's the worst thing that's ever happened to them. They make it sound like they have been personally insulted because the show wasn't as great as they would have wanted it to be. 

Additionally, I will defend the band's right to play shit concert any day of the week  Just don't go to the shows.