08/15/23 - East Rutherford, NJ - Metlife Stadium

[chester]

26 minutes ago, PatrickS77 said:

Just because your "industry friend" says something, doesn't mean it has any merit. I call bullshit and LOL at "painfully obvious". Fans around the world seem to disagree.

Yeah, my industry friends don’t agree. It’s so easy to have industry friends when you’re posting on the internet. 

[PatrickS77]

15 minutes ago, HollyWoodRose84 said:

Not necessarily because my “industry friend” is actually a renowned guitar player.  

 

on a side note and completely unrelated, I saw Guns security handing out orange guitar picks to some people and I forgot to inquire as to what that was all about. 

So what. Slash is a renowned guitar player too.

Yeah. Got one of those. What do you mean, what's it about? It's guitar pics with the GNR logo on it.

[felixGNR]

1 hour ago, Blackstar said:

Based on what I have watched from this tour - Glastonbury, full Athens show (because it was a show I would normally have attended) and videos from other shows - I think it's both Axl and the mix.

There are moments when Axl can be barely heard, and that seems to happen only when he sings high without screaming or putting extra power, which suggests that his high notes have weakened to the point that his voice can't be projected with power when he tries to hit them "normally" (I'm not talking about the "rasp").

But strange things happen with the mix, too. Maybe Fortus likes the new person, but I've noticed many screw-ups. For example, it seems that the backing vocals are deliberately high in the mix in some cases, however at times it sounded like they were suddenly turned up so loud that you could only hear Duff or Melissa (I mentioned Civil War from Athens as an example, and there was a video of PTU from another show, don't remember which one, where suddenly it was like only Melissa was singing on the chorus. Also at times the guitars were very low. Or course I'm relying only on videos, but I've heard the same from people who attended in Athens.

 

this, Axl can't sing high anymore, they are trying to hide it, completely  in the wrong way.

the new engineer  doesn't  know what he is doing, there are many moment during the show that he buries Slash in the mix. 

i think one of the best solutions would be to get a backup singer (like Aerosmith’s) with a very similar voice to help him.

No shame in that.

[Blackstar]

15 minutes ago, HollyWoodRose84 said:

Not a volume difference. He’s just not singing the high notes. The actual live mix itself is pretty clear.  

But he's singing on Reckless Life, at least based on the videos from various shows that I've watched. And from the expression on his face it looks that in fact he's singing his ass off putting as much effort as he can. It's just that his high notes have less power.

[Drew Nicholson]

1 minute ago, felixGNR said:

this, Axl can't sing high anymore, they are trying to hide it, completely  in the wrong way.

the new engineer  doesn't  know what he is doing, there are many moment during the show that he buries Slash in the mix. 

i think one of the best solutions would be to get a backup singer (like Aerosmith’s) with a very similar voice to help him.

No shame in that.

Wish he would take a different approach on some songs like Civil War. When he fucked up his voice at the London gig last year and had to sing half of Civil War with his natural voice it sounded great. Don’t understand why he won’t do that! 

[Georgina Arriaga]

This picture Is an illusion? AI generated?

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv_a0FVNmof/?igshid=YWYwM2I1ZDdmOQ==

[W. Axl Kev]

24 minutes ago, IzzysMissy said:

So I was just going to leave this be but that ain’t the real me so… for the record I (like another poster on this forum in radio) will not be doxing myself to prove a point on the internet.. but I, along with a few people here, are in fact music industry people. You can tell by how the information is disseminated, the verbiage used, etc. 

Now a music biz lesson for those who care:

When you say “the place was packed” it was LITERALLY an illusion my man. MetLife was built with concerts specifically in mind outside of the nfl season and the modern stadium/arena build model is losely based on the checkerboard pattern using several shades of the greyscale. 
 

What is checkerboard pattern? Imagine two rows of seats, back to back. Every 2nd or 3rd seat is a different shade of grey/black/white. When there are empty seats, your eyes don’t SEE the “empty seat” because of the intentionally created optical illusion. 
 

Hence you “saw” that the place was “packed”. It was very much not. When you zoom in on the stadium shots, you can literally see the different color seats with no one in them.

Source? Did a huge music industry walkthrough at MetLife right before it opened where the architect discussed this as the “way forward for stadiums and arenas”

Since my approval on here I’ve tried dropping some Easter Egg hints about how to save money, ticket buying strategy and etc. I have never claimed to be an insider or whatever, even though I technically am music biz wise. I did post here BEFORE DOORS asking if anyone remembered if Andrew Dice Clay was on the bill before, because I was sent Set Times early and he was on it. I must have been clairvoyant or something to bring that name out of the bag right 🤣
 

There are some posters on here who simply refuse to hear what is painfully obvious to the remaining realists of this fan base: GNR just doesn’t sound good anymore. Good for ANYONE willing to spend money on this and enjoy it, but I refuse to pretend it is anything but nostalgic and mediocre.

Happy to answer any other general biz questions if anyone has any though! An educated consumer is the BEST consumer.
 

 

I was half hoping for a sensible reply vs. telling me the people I saw in seats were actually different shades of plastic. Fucking Hell.

Edited August 16, 2023 by W. Axl Kev

[felixGNR]

1 minute ago, Georgina Arriaga said:

This picture Is an illusion? AI generated?

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv_a0FVNmof/?igshid=YWYwM2I1ZDdmOQ==

Metlife  seats  are different shades of gray.

hard to tell from a picture if there are any empty seats.

what i saw

upper 300 sections  at the sides of the stage were pretty empty.

the upper ones in front of the stage were full. you could see spots here and there on the 200s/100s.

 

i guesstimate  the same attendance  as the 2021 show ( how many paid for their tickets who knows)

[HollyWoodRose84]

4 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

But he's singing on Reckless Life, at least based on the videos from various shows that I've watched. And from the expression on his face it looks that in fact he's singing his ass off putting as much effort as he can. It's just that his high notes have less power.

I agree with you. When I said he’s not singing I meant he’s not hitting those notes. He’s trying but they’re not coming out. He’s having the same problems Jon Bon Jovi was having on his last tour. Veins bulging and everything but barely any noise coming out of his mouth. 

[Stay.Of.Execution]

1 minute ago, W. Axl Kev said:

I was half hoping for a sensible reply vs. telling me the people I saw in seats were actually different shades of plastic. Fucking Hell.

Hey. She wasn't at the show but she's in the "music industry". She'll know better if the stadium was packed than anyone who was there... 😁

[felixGNR]

2 minutes ago, W. Axl Kev said:

I was half hoping for a sensible reply vs. telling me the people I saw in seats were actually different shades of plastic. Fucking Hell.

are you blind? this is a completly honest question. did you bother  to take a look at the map before showtime? 7pm. with the classic skipping  every other row. ( giveaways/upgrades etc)

tons of tickets availables in upper deck 

btw section 113 row 7 ( maybe I'm wrong) got upgraded from the upper.

as some of the floor did .

[Spike Killer]

Riddle me this, where else would GNR play except a stadium?

The optics of 30K or 40K in a stadium that could seat twice as many isn't great.  Where else?

If 30K people attend.

+ That's bigger than the local amphitheater, at 25K.  I've been to shows when it's that full - it is zoo to get in/out of there.

+ The local hockey/basketball arena certainly couldn't hold this many people.

Unless they are playing multiple nights at places - even a half filled football stadium is larger than any other venue I can think of.  At least in terms of "traditional" venues - outside of a stage in the woods.  Look on the bright side, infrastructure to support twice as many people.  Should be slightly easier to get in/out.

I realize perception is everything.

[Tyson]

9 hours ago, Stay.Of.Execution said:

Stadium looked pretty packed on the crew's instagrams

I was there. Was hard to see exactly how many emply seats there were in the most upper level, but from where I was sitting, it pretty much looked sold out.

[Blackstar]

16 minutes ago, HollyWoodRose84 said:

I agree with you. When I said he’s not singing I meant he’s not hitting those notes. He’s trying but they’re not coming out. He’s having the same problems Jon Bon Jovi was having on his last tour. Veins bulging and everything but barely any noise coming out of his mouth. 

The difference with Bon Jovi is that Axl can still sing well on a considerable part of the current set, and he could sing better on some of the songs he struggles with if he adjusted his delivery, because his lower range is intact and as strong as ever. Whereas Bon Jovi couldn't sing at all.

The problem is that the adjustment wouldn't be received well by the casual fans, but the reception isn't good now either anyway, so at least he would sound better than he currently does.

[felixGNR]

9 minutes ago, Spike Killer said:

Riddle me this, where else would GNR play except a stadium?

The optics of 30K or 40K in a stadium that could seat twice as many isn't great.  Where else?

If 30K people attend.

+ That's bigger than the local amphitheater, at 25K.  I've been to shows when it's that full - it is zoo to get in/out of there.

+ The local hockey/basketball arena certainly couldn't hold this many people.

Unless they are playing multiple nights at places - even a half filled football stadium is larger than any other venue I can think of.  At least in terms of "traditional" venues - outside of a stage in the woods.  Look on the bright side, infrastructure to support twice as many people.  Should be slightly easier to get in/out.

I realize perception is everything.

very good question, that i can answer with my limited knowledge  of the NY market

they have a few options here

Yankees stadium  38k

Citi field $34k

red bulls arena 22k

[GnR Chris]

It’s hilarious some of you attend these shows and leave early to “beat traffic.” Growing old sucks. LOL

[DoMw94]

48 minutes ago, felixGNR said:

i think one of the best solutions would be to get a backup singer (like Aerosmith’s) with a very similar voice to help him.

No shame in that.

That is exactly what Melissa is doing! 😂

You won't find a backing singer that sounds like Axl, much like how Buck Johnson doesn't sound like Steven Tyler and Russ Irwin before him didn't either – and you don't want them to! They're backing singers in a band, they're there to compliment, not take over. It's their job to help the band and contribute to the overall performace, not outshine the lead singer.

Edited August 16, 2023 by DoMw94

[axlreed44]

Great show and great night. The band puts on a great show and man 3 plus hours

[Liva]

Been a die hard fan of GNR since the early 90's, always defend Axl, been to 15+ GNR shows.  Been to 8+ Slash Shows since 2009 solo record.  Was in the pit center last night about 10 people back from the barricade and the beginning of the show the sound was lacking, got a little better as the show went, but still not the best.  Axl, I love his voice and singing, but he really struggles on songs/parts he switches between full voice lower registered to falsetto.  His full voice is so powerful and loud that his mic needs to be dialed back and his falsetto just like anyones is not nearly as powerful so with his mic dialed back, it makes those parts pretty much impossible to hear.  Now when the song is mostly falsetto, they clearly turn up the mic and he sounds pretty good and audible, songs like civil war, slither, brownstone and many more is tough these days.  The sound guy could get better at knowing the parts and raising and lowering the mic in real time if that is possible.

Axl still definitely has the power and can deliver vintage Axl when he wants, and he does do it in parts, but you can tell he is almost on "limp mode" cause at 61 years old, if he sang full vintage Axl he could probably last 1 hour and then not be able to sing for days, not conducive to a long tour. I get that.

Biggest let down was WTTJ - they slowed the tempo down most likely to help Axl and it just drains the energy out of the song.  When I saw them in 2006 at Hammerstein, when Jungle was played the crowd bounced so vigorously that the concrete floor was flexing up and down and I legit thought the floor was going to crack.  Last night, people barely moved in the pit.  Band was tight, Slash was awesome as usually, sometimes his guitar was buried in the mix and somehow Fortus seemed louder.  

Final critique - there didn't seem to be any speakers pointing directly at the pit, the volume wasn't that loud and therefore never got that full engulfed concert feeling.  They need to push more sound to the pit . The speakers on each side of the stage definitely pushed sound to the rest of the venue and could notice a big difference in sound on my runs to the bathroom.  

Axl still has it when he wants to, but has aged which is life

Slash is still a monster, definitely seems to be bored a bit which results in him tinkering with almost every solo famous or not.

Band is tight, background vocals are super high in the mix

I would definitely go see them again, but I have unfortunately lowered my expectations, which is not completely unnatural seeing guys in their 60's try and rock out.

Here are the shows ive been to that I am using as a reference:

Boston 2002

NYC Hammerstein shows 2006 (all 4 of them)

11/5/2006 - East Rutherford. NJ

11/10/2006 - MSG, NYC

11/17/2011 - East Rutherford, NJ

2/15/2012 - The Ritz Webster Hall

4/8/16 - Las Vegas - 1st night of reunion

7/23/2016 - East Rutherford - Metlife

7/24/2016 - East Rutherford - Metlife

10/15/2017 - MSG

10/16/2017 - MSG

8/5/2021 - East Rutherford - Metlife

Ive seen some stuff I guess you can say. 

[SAU3R]

1 hour ago, Drew Nicholson said:

Wish he would take a different approach on some songs like Civil War. When he fucked up his voice at the London gig last year and had to sing half of Civil War with his natural voice it sounded great. Don’t understand why he won’t do that! 

I still believe the day will come when he has to go full baritone on all the mid range songs and drop them an octave and I’m sure it’d sound amazing! That’s the way to go imo (also for a hypothetical album of new written stuff): most parts baritone voice with a few short high outbursts, like ISE basically

[Coma16]

36 minutes ago, GnR Chris said:

It’s hilarious some of you attend these shows and leave early to “beat traffic.” Growing old sucks. LOL

I've left a few times once PC starts lol

[IzzysMissy]

1 hour ago, felixGNR said:

are you blind? this is a completly honest question. did you bother  to take a look at the map before showtime? 7pm. with the classic skipping  every other row. ( giveaways/upgrades etc)

tons of tickets availables in upper deck 

btw section 113 row 7 ( maybe I'm wrong) got upgraded from the upper.

as some of the floor did .

Lol I appreciate you - you clearly know and see what’s up. Anyway, I’ll just continue to be me and provide info the way I know how to. If someone insists on being clever, but wrong that’s their biz.. most fans have absolutely NO CLUE about the actual process to fill a stadium. You however are correct in your pre-show of assessment of every other row seating and other tactics used to “show” an event is actually better Sold than it is.

[meadsoap]

1 hour ago, felixGNR said:

very good question, that i can answer with my limited knowledge  of the NY market

they have a few options here

Yankees stadium  38k

Citi field $34k

red bulls arena 22k

Assuming all those are available, which they might not have been at the time of booking. Or maybe the projections were a little higher (40k range) and they didn't hit the target.

Either way, idk why people are pretending that still drawing 30k people after 7 years of constant touring with no music and promotion...is bad? Tbh, I can think of very few bands who could do that, and still be drawing tens of thousands and playing in stadiums, some of which sold out completely. GnR is doing fine, even impressive when you consider how actively off-putting they seem to be to casuals (or at least people on here claim). A strange amount of repeat business for a band that apparently has nothing left to offer. 

[B5Redeye]

5 hours ago, Amir said:

People asking for up to $10,000 for resale tickets for the Florida gig, would like some of what they're smoking

Those (at least time I checked) was the VIP sofas behind the pit which comes with drink service. And there was only 1 pair. 
 

I believe they were $2k a piece when released. It was what I was hoping for but by time my number came up on TM they were all gone.

I’m keeping an eye on tix for that show. As of right now I have pit tickets but I may buy another pair. Not sure I can make it 5 hours standing 😑

[Martin Riggs]

7 hours ago, IzzysMissy said:

Fair. The promoter provided thousands upon thousands of free tickets agencies, radio stations and orgs because sales were stupid low and the stadium would have been empty. People, when receiving free tix, only redeem them maybe 20/25% of the time. GNR fans can delude themselves however they want but in the US at least, gnr is playing to empty stadiums. 

Good. They don’t deserve anything more at this point.