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08/11/21 - Fargo, ND - FargoDome


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22 minutes ago, We love Axl Rose said:

I said same. It looks like two people in Fargo have a cell phone. :lol: 2 more songs were posted, WTTJ and Wichita Lineman.

Lineman sounds great…..WTTJ is patchy. Someone on the YouTube comments points out his voice at 3:50 is great - and it is, switches to his naturally deep voice and has plenty of power but then 10 seconds later flips to falsetto and it’s jarring.

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8 hours ago, GoodOlJohnnyK said:

The internet has done a lot of good, and it's done a lot of bad. But one of the worst things it's done is produce toxic fandom. 

Unfettered access to their favorite artists, alongside likeminded people across the world who gather together in forums and on social media, has turned people into savage little entitled beasts. There's a lot things blown out of proportion, a lot of conjecture and, primarily, a fundamental misunderstanding as to what's going on here and who is owed what. Let me clear it up:

This is a rock n' roll band and no one is owed anything.

Think about that. Axl Rose is a 59 year old man playing in a rock n' roll band with his buddies and playing music he finds interesting. If it's not to your liking, then that's fine. I don't like everything a band (or this band in particular) releases either. But I take it for what it is: a guy wrote a song that I don't like. He's not forcing me to buy it. He's not tainting my childhood memories. He's not taking money from me. He can't possibly ruin something I love, because it's *NOT MINE.* It's his! 

Think about any other business - a restaurant, for example. If they change the menu and I don't like it...no one cares. I don't get on an internet message board and call the chef a fat cunt who is lazy and doesn't care about his clientele (and if I did, I'd be *INSANE*). If enough people agree with me, then business will slow, and the restaurant will either make a decision to change or fold up. But, if I don't like the new menu, but thousands and thousands of other people do...then it's just time for me to admit that the world doesn't revolve around me and to find a new restaurant.

With regards to his live performances: "well he doesn't care and he's ripping the fans off." No. Perhaps, and this might shock some of you, he's doing his best and this is the best he can do right now. Maybe his voice just isn't there right now. Here's the misunderstanding: when you buy a concert ticket, you are not buying a ticket to a flawless performance. You are buying a ticket to see the performer, as they are, performing the songs the way they want to perform them. That's what they're selling - a live take on their music. Whether you find the quality sufficient enough is irrelevant - if you don't like the performance, don't buy a ticket. Your money will talk. If you choose to spend money and buy a ticket and Axl's voice isn't to your liking then, honestly, it's no different than "I ordered the steak and it wasn't as good as I'd like."

"Well he's not in as good shape as he could be/he needs to try harder." He doesn't have to do anything. Again - you're buying a ticket for Guns N' Roses *as they are.* I used to bartend full time. Now I bartend one night a week. I *could* take the time and still practice making cocktails, or learning new ones, and continue to hone my craft. But, honestly, I don't want to. I know enough to do my job. People still show up to the bar and have a good time. And if people don't like that, then, frankly, they can find another bar. Same thing goes with the Guns shows. By the way - for all the vocal geniuses on here who swore that Axl's weight was impacting his vocal performance - he's in better shape now than he was for the Axl DC and 2016 shows, but his voice isn't. So next time some genius tells you that Axl would sound better if he spent his life crushing chicken and broccoli and on the treadmill, remember that.

"The setlists are too static, this is the same old boring show we've seen" - it's the same old boring show *you've* seen because we're diehards on a fan message board who follow every show. The amount of 'us' in the audience night-to-night is so miniscule it would shock you. The average concert goer at a Guns N' Roses show is someone who likes their music - probably from the first few albums - and just wants to see a rock show. They don't care if Guns played the same set in Hershey as they did in Fenway - they're experiencing the show for the first time. Or if it's not their first time, they're going to see the show because it's not about hearing all fresh material - it's about the live experience, hearing the songs live, watching the band perform them, and just feeling the vibe. Great songs don't depreciate over time - that's why we're here listening to songs from 1987 still. 

If I go see Hamilton on Broadway and then, two years later, I see it when it's touring DC, I don't complain because they didn't write a new third act. I'm not complaining if Lin Manuel Miranda doesn't sing quite as well as he did in New York. I'm there to experience that show.

I also get the impression from reading these boards that quite a bit of fans who post here are in their teens or 20s, which is honestly pretty cool. Some of you have mentioned that you got into the band after Chinese Democracy, which is pleasantly surprising to me. Unfortunately, a lot of you clamoring for new music don't get that this band is firmly a legacy act at this point: they could release the greatest album of the last 30 years and the world will collectively shrug and say "it's not bad...now play Sweet Child O' Mine."

We, the diehard fans, want to hear Hard School and any other new tunes the band might have. Just understand that, when they pull it out, 85-90% of the crowd isn't going to give a flying fuck. Of those 85-90%, if the band can get maybe 10-20% of them to be interested enough to check out the new material, then that's a win. That's the reality here. So when you're bitching about how the band doesn't give a fuck about its fans, understand that you're likely incorrect: they give a fuck about the majority of the fans there to see the show. That's why they're playing the hits. That's why This I Love and Coma and Locomotive are expendable but You Could Be Mine and Nightrain are untouchable. They know their audience.

"Team Brazil are evil/incompetent." You don't know these people. I'll say it again: YOU DON'T KNOW THEM. At all! I don't give a shit what Beta posts on Instagram - you don't know her! She might be the root of all evil. She might be just a sweet woman who cares for Axl Rose. I don't know! And I don't care because I'll *never* know. And it doesn't impact me one bit. I don't have to have lunch with Beta or Fernando. Axl probably does and, after all this time, I think it's pretty safe to say that he likes them and that's really all that matters. He's their boss and, if he's satisfied with their work (the NITL is one of the most profitable tours of all time so I don't know if 'incompetent' is the word I'd use), then that's all that matters. But I get on Instagram, and on these forums, and I read people calling Beta and Fernando cunts and manipulators and all other types of vile shit. When in reality they're just two people trying to do a fucking job like anyone else and, again, it's only fucking rock n' roll. 

"This band has done nothing in the studio." Again - despite what anybody here tells you, nobody knows shit. No one is an insider. People can speculate to their heart's desire, but you don't know if Axl has been in a studio. You don't know what's been done. You don't know if they have a backlog of material or if they have nothing. We have some leaked sessions from twenty years ago. That's the extent of it. Anyone who tells you otherwise - like that guy who leaked the Village Sessions and just seems to spend all his time trolling Team Brazil on Instagram - is insane.

This band is no different than, say, the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Have we been emotionally invested in it for quite some time? Yes. Do some of the movies suck every once in a while? Sure. But that doesn't make Kevin Feige a lying thief who doesn't care about his fanbase. Everyone needs to just calm down.

Take a chill pill, Nando. It's only a rock n' roll band :shrugs:

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1 hour ago, We love Axl Rose said:

I said same. It looks like two people in Fargo have a cell phone. :lol: 2 more songs were posted, WTTJ and Wichita Lineman.

Ha ha yeah, come on Fargo, show us what you got!  Next stop Missoula, MT.  I've been there.  It's a college town, so maybe we'll get some clips from that show.

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1 hour ago, DTJ80 said:

Lineman sounds great…..WTTJ is patchy. Someone on the YouTube comments points out his voice at 3:50 is great - and it is, switches to his naturally deep voice and has plenty of power but then 10 seconds later flips to falsetto and it’s jarring.

Just listened to that exact video and yeah, what a voice at that part. He needs to sing the whole song like that and it would sound badass. Plenty of songs he could adapt to fit that approach. It's unfortunate because it only makes the next section sounding even weaker in comparison. I thought Jungle sounded better the other night where despite being completely clean he seemed to have better control.

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2 hours ago, DTJ80 said:

Lineman sounds great…..WTTJ is patchy. Someone on the YouTube comments points out his voice at 3:50 is great - and it is, switches to his naturally deep voice and has plenty of power but then 10 seconds later flips to falsetto and it’s jarring.

I would like to share the link here but I guess we can't do that
Anyways, I have just heard it, and it sounds incredible, pretty good
If anyone here doesn't listen to axl voice 2021, search that video, he still has it! (At least for a few seconds and then we get back to reality)

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7 hours ago, W. Axl Kev said:

This whole post absolutely nailed it for me but I agree with this point in particular. I was with 35,000 fans at MetLife having the time of my life and it dawned on me how much fun everyone around me was having and how not one single person there cared if they played a new song or not. The whole band sound great and I love the show they're doing these days and I cannot wait for Chicago.

Really well said @GoodOlJohnnyK and the part about calling the chef a "fat cunt" made me laugh out loud.

In the end this is all that really matters. If people are having a good time and feel like they're getting their money's worth then its all good. Its a weird inverse where the shows back in the day were amazing but there was so much other bullshit going on.

It seems like Axl's really mellowed out the last 10 years. No more extreme lateness or rants or volatility. Guys like Slash and Duff aren't a mess on stage and playing sloppy which would happen then. It just seems like a more professional operation even though it may seem boring to some people.

 

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6 hours ago, Cory Trevor said:

That technique he uses at that part is what ruins vocal cords. 

How so? I’m not a singer (trust me 🤣) but I don’t know why singing in his more natural range would ruin his chords?

Id have thought it would put less pressure on them if anything?!

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5 minutes ago, DTJ80 said:

How so? I’m not a singer (trust me 🤣) but I don’t know why singing in his more natural range would ruin his chords?

Id have thought it would put less pressure on gem if anything?!

He’s straining/yelling through his throat to achieve that rasp, songs like its so easy/absurd however, he’s projecting from his diaphragm and not distorting his voice with his throat.

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11 minutes ago, Cory Trevor said:

He’s straining/yelling through his throat to achieve that rasp, songs like its so easy/absurd however, he’s projecting from his diaphragm and not distorting his voice with his throat.

I’ll be honest - I didn’t really detect much rasp there at all…..any time he would attempt rasp would cause strain I totally agree there.

On that footage it just sounded powerful as opposed to raspy but I get your point. 👍

 

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6 hours ago, Cory Trevor said:

He’s straining/yelling through his throat to achieve that rasp, songs like its so easy/absurd however, he’s projecting from his diaphragm and not distorting his voice with his throat.

Exactly right. Nor is he using his upper pallet. He should be filling his diaphragm with air and singing like he has a whole apple in his mouth to lift the upper pallet and then distort his voice for rasp. That is how he used to sing. 
 

He should easily be able to sing that way with less effort and get similar projection. He really should be working with the right vocal coach

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I suppose the biggest caveat when it comes to Axl's signature rasp is his unnatural way of achieving it as opposed to proper compression technique. Granted, he worked with a coach for AC/DC but no doubt he was straining and by the end we started hearing the voice cracks and so forth.

I think Brian Johnson still manages to achieve rasp because his natural voice is extremely gravelly to begin with, so his version of singing "clean" since 2008 or so still has some rasp to it. I believe Brian credited Brendan O'Brien with helping him change his approach to singing by saying he was trying too hard to sound like his old self instead of embracing his bluesy voice.

The only thing I really don't like about Axl's clean singing is the tonality. It's weird, because I love how he sounds on, say, Catcher in the Rye, but when he does the no power falsetto it really does sound like Mickey or McDougal's which is unfortunate. Fine when you're at the concert but I wouldn't be rushing to buy the live album (or show the Selects to anybody). There must be somewhere in the middle.

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54 minutes ago, James Bond said:

I suppose the biggest caveat when it comes to Axl's signature rasp is his unnatural way of achieving it as opposed to proper compression technique. Granted, he worked with a coach for AC/DC but no doubt he was straining and by the end we started hearing the voice cracks and so forth.

I think Brian Johnson still manages to achieve rasp because his natural voice is extremely gravelly to begin with, so his version of singing "clean" since 2008 or so still has some rasp to it. I believe Brian credited Brendan O'Brien with helping him change his approach to singing by saying he was trying too hard to sound like his old self instead of embracing his bluesy voice.

The only thing I really don't like about Axl's clean singing is the tonality. It's weird, because I love how he sounds on, say, Catcher in the Rye, but when he does the no power falsetto it really does sound like Mickey or McDougal's which is unfortunate. Fine when you're at the concert but I wouldn't be rushing to buy the live album (or show the Selects to anybody). There must be somewhere in the middle.

Agree with almost all of this - another great example of natural rasp vs forced rasp is Lemmy. Another one with a really gravelly voice naturally. While he didn’t necessarily sound “good” at the end it was more that he always sounded winded - the rasp was still there. 
 

I’m wondering what you’re referencing about Axl’s voice starting to go towards the end of Axl/DC though. I did the final six shows, and listening back to bootlegs I’m still floored by almost everything in those gigs. If I had to nitpick anything, I’d say the very top range of his natural voice he was struggling to quite get to pitch only when he was singing with full rasp; the perfect example for me is the “I’m gonna get you, Satan get you” bit in Hells Bells. To me though, it sounds more like he had a cold or something more than his voice failing him, there’s a very nasally quality to his voice and it sounds to me like his throat is closed on those lines. Besides that very specific instance I still don’t think he sounded great on the slightly lower register Bon era songs like TNT and Dirty Deeds, but he never really hit his stride on those to be fair. 

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13 minutes ago, Powerage5 said:

Agree with almost all of this - another great example of natural rasp vs forced rasp is Lemmy. Another one with a really gravelly voice naturally. While he didn’t necessarily sound “good” at the end it was more that he always sounded winded - the rasp was still there. 
 

I’m wondering what you’re referencing about Axl’s voice starting to go towards the end of Axl/DC though. I did the final six shows, and listening back to bootlegs I’m still floored by almost everything in those gigs. If I had to nitpick anything, I’d say the very top range of his natural voice he was struggling to quite get to pitch only when he was singing with full rasp; the perfect example for me is the “I’m gonna get you, Satan get you” bit in Hells Bells. To me though, it sounds more like he had a cold or something more than his voice failing him, there’s a very nasally quality to his voice and it sounds to me like his throat is closed on those lines. Besides that very specific instance I still don’t think he sounded great on the slightly lower register Bon era songs like TNT and Dirty Deeds, but he never really hit his stride on those to be fair. 

I think it’s more that he’s at the point where he just has problems when he needs to change registers frequently. Especially within the same song which happens in the Guns catalog and on top of the schedule of a tour. AC/DC didn’t have the issue with him switching registers like that, so he was most likely able to go there more frequently 

Look, there’s no way he could perform 2.5 hr shows multiple times per week if he hasn’t been rehearsing or prepared his voice for the schedule. The tour would be over by now if he went in cold. I think this is just the reality of where he is as a live performer (not in the studio) for this material 

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24 minutes ago, guitarpatch said:

I think it’s more that he’s at the point where he just has problems when he needs to change registers frequently. Especially within the same song which happens in the Guns catalog and on top of the schedule of a tour. AC/DC didn’t have the issue with him switching registers like that, so he was most likely able to go there more frequently 

Look, there’s no way he could perform 2.5 hr shows multiple times per week if he hasn’t been rehearsing or prepared his voice for the schedule. The tour would be over by now if he went in cold. I think this is just the reality of where he is as a live performer (not in the studio) for this material 

I’m not sure what most of that has to do with what you quoted me on, but I agree :lol: I’ve been saying since the Hershey gig I genuinely do not think Axl isn’t preparing, or putting in effort. He seriously looked like he was working hard in Hershey and his voice just wasn’t working for him. 

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4 hours ago, Powerage5 said:

Agree with almost all of this - another great example of natural rasp vs forced rasp is Lemmy. Another one with a really gravelly voice naturally. While he didn’t necessarily sound “good” at the end it was more that he always sounded winded - the rasp was still there. 
 

I’m wondering what you’re referencing about Axl’s voice starting to go towards the end of Axl/DC though. I did the final six shows, and listening back to bootlegs I’m still floored by almost everything in those gigs. If I had to nitpick anything, I’d say the very top range of his natural voice he was struggling to quite get to pitch only when he was singing with full rasp; the perfect example for me is the “I’m gonna get you, Satan get you” bit in Hells Bells. To me though, it sounds more like he had a cold or something more than his voice failing him, there’s a very nasally quality to his voice and it sounds to me like his throat is closed on those lines. Besides that very specific instance I still don’t think he sounded great on the slightly lower register Bon era songs like TNT and Dirty Deeds, but he never really hit his stride on those to be fair. 

I was thinking Hells Bells in particular where, despite sounding amazing, that there is no way he was doing that nightly without serious consequences. I might just be mistaken on the voice cracks, however. I just feel like I recalled more of that happening near the end of the AC/DC run and that seemed to be the start of it for the subsequent Guns shows. In any event, that's what makes me think he may have done some permanent damage by pushing it just a little too hard to hit some of those Back In Black era highs.

Side note - I always found it peculiar how he really didn't do all that well with songs like TNT or Dirty Deeds. Had you asked me before we heard the first clips of him singing with AC/DC what songs he'd sound the best on, I would have said exclusively the Bon stuff. How wrong I was!

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31 minutes ago, James Bond said:

I was thinking Hells Bells in particular where, despite sounding amazing, that there is no way he was doing that nightly without serious consequences. I might just be mistaken on the voice cracks, however. I just feel like I recalled more of that happening near the end of the AC/DC run and that seemed to be the start of it for the subsequent Guns shows. In any event, that's what makes me think he may have done some permanent damage by pushing it just a little too hard to hit some of those Back In Black era highs.

Side note - I always found it peculiar how he really didn't do all that well with songs like TNT or Dirty Deeds. Had you asked me before we heard the first clips of him singing with AC/DC what songs he'd sound the best on, I would have said exclusively the Bon stuff. How wrong I was!

I certainly think it’s in the realm of possibility that he did do some permanent damage resulting from Axl/DC, I’m just not sure we were really seeing the effects during Axl/DC. While that spot was a struggling point during the last handful of gigs, other really difficult parts sounded killer, maybe even better than Europe (The one that really springs to mind is the whole buildup/bridge/outro of Shoot To Thrill - while it’s not very wordy or anything, it’s VERY difficult to pull off convincingly and Axl nailed it every night). Fact of the matter is singers have blown out their voices over a lot less, even if there were the odd bumps here and there Axl was out there giving 150% every night during arguably the most demanding gigs of his entire career. Big respect over that.
 

I had the same thoughts beforehand - I thought songs like BIB and Thunderstruck would be bordering on unlistenable. They ended up being the strongest songs in the set :lol: I think I was really confident about the Bon material because of his consistency on Rosie and Riff Raff from 2009-2014. Even if he was in full Mickey mode, he’d kill those songs on any given night. But those two songs were at the top of Bon’s range, which is very comfortable in Axl’s range. TNT and Dirty Deeds in particular were more comfortable in Bon’s range, which sit a little low for Axl in his upper voice - they’re somewhere between his deep voice and his normal high voice. It’s a range that he’d never sang in much before, and I think he just never really figured out what voice to use there. They were clean and powerful, but also a little…uncertain sounding I suppose I’d say?

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7 hours ago, guitarpatch said:

I think it’s more that he’s at the point where he just has problems when he needs to change registers frequently. Especially within the same song which happens in the Guns catalog and on top of the schedule of a tour. AC/DC didn’t have the issue with him switching registers like that, so he was most likely able to go there more frequently 

Look, there’s no way he could perform 2.5 hr shows multiple times per week if he hasn’t been rehearsing or prepared his voice for the schedule. The tour would be over by now if he went in cold. I think this is just the reality of where he is as a live performer (not in the studio) for this material 

He didn't go in cold... he did the last 3 days of the two week rehearsals. I'd be shocked to hear that he was singing or doing his vocal exercises much or at all during the corona shutdowns. of course I can't prove it, but when I listen to his voice now, it's either A) he has lost his voice, and it's dead and gone or B) he kinda sort of did some prep but it was no way near what was actually needed, he was caught off guard and now we get to hear the 2 weeks of extended travelling band rehearsal. 

Had Axl attended the 2 weeks of rehearsal his voice would be far more warmed up and IF he has completely lost a step (I don't believe he has judging by the end of RQ and a few other songs), he could have worked out how to navigate around it. You don't need to be a vocal hear what he's at. It's like someone flicking channels on a radio for something they like, one minute it's low gravel, next its high falsetto with zero power. I know some of you might say "he can't do all the rehearsals and then tour, he'll lose his voice" and I follow up with, his voice was shot on day one of the tour😅 Anyway... this subject is a waste of time. Sometimes you just have to accept that, it is what it is! 

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