Guns N Roses live: then vs. now

[Possum]

Hey there

To give you the point of view of a younger guy (being only 18), I saw Guns'n'Roses at Wembley the other day, and to be honest, after watching countless bootlegs of their shows in the 80's/early 90's, I was slightly dissapointed.

Yes, they did a great show, played the songs perfectly etc etc, but something about the old band was just so... oh, you can't find the words. They connected. From Duff being drunk off his ass, to Slash running around pounding out solo's, to Izzy holding the whole thing together by his asshairs, to Axl screaming like some horny magog from hell, to Matt or Steven (both great in their own ways) keeping the rythm section tighter than a nut, the whole thing was pure rock'n'roll from start to finish.

Now the new band..

Fortus should have been there back in the 80's in my opinion, he's got the look and the feel, he puts his heart into it and it shows, the only good thing about him being about now instead of then is that he's not so liable to get completely strung out on drugs and alcohol as would have undoubtedly happened back in the 80's.

Finck and Bumblefoot are amazing guitarists, but don't scream "rock'n'roll".

Axl is over it, in my opinion, he's a great singer but all rock'n'roll seems to have left his system. If he jumped into the crowd these days he'd probably break a hip or something, so it seems.

I don't even know who's drumming for them these days, Brain or whoever, so I guess that's saying something.

Anyway, a great rock show, but not a Guns'n'Roses show, in my opinion.

Anyone else feel this way?

Edited August 6, 2006 by Possum

[mr.drummin]

I don't think it's fair to say that they are better as a live band. But they do put on a better quality of music for the crowd. The difference is that Slash, Duff and Axl knew how to put on a show rather than a performance. We have all heard the complaints about the solos and duration of them in the latest concerts. I personally don't really have anything against them. But I will say that Fink and Richard's rendition of "Beautiful" is just plain unnesarsary, the problem is that far too many people will agree with me. The old band used to have jams in which they all were able to show their talents without being assigned a certain space to do an individual solo. The old band had a way of working the crowd that the new band don't seem to have mastered just yet. If you watch Axl he is very good at pleasing the crowd, but the others just look like they are there to do their job and nothing more, or less. I am not disrespecting anyones opinion but I think that you should all take this into acount before jumping to such rash conclusions.

[IndiannaRose]

Axl is over it, in my opinion, he's a great singer but all rock'n'roll seems to have left his system. If he jumped into the crowd these days he'd probably break a hip or something, so it seems.

I know, this really sux. Of course, Axl can't deliver the same level of energy that he gave when he was 25 at 44; he's human afterall. One of the things that made Axl such a special frontman was his ability to bring the crowd into his threshold by physically exerting himself by giving a magical, electrifying performance, which would sometimes seem like it came from the third kind.

I'm not complaining - don't get me wrong - it's still Axl fuckin' Rose but yes, I have noticed a decrease in energy output coming from him. It's not like he can help it though. Doing the things that he did in his heyday would fuckin' strain him today ultimately. I give him 2 straight thumbs up for entertaining an audience to his maximum though. Fuckin' A.

Edited August 6, 2006 by IndiannaRose

[SERPICO]

Axl is over it, in my opinion, he's a great singer but all rock'n'roll seems to have left his system. If he jumped into the crowd these days he'd probably break a hip or something, so it seems.

I don't know about that, Axl takes Geritol and Ensure to keep his bones strong.

[Superhuman55]

Anyone who says new GN'R sounds better live than old GN'R is not only deaf, but fucking retarded as well.

Is your username a reference to the Velvet Revolver song? They suck, in case you didn't realize it.

How old are you? 12?

Why don't you add an opinion pertaining to the topic instead of polluting the thread with your bullshit.

Edited August 6, 2006 by Superhuman55

[Powerage5]

Anyone who says new GN'R sounds better live than old GN'R is not only deaf, but fucking retarded as well.

It's these kind of posts that makes discussion in this forum useless. You not only neglect to substantiate any opinion that you have, but you also choose to insult those who don't share your same argument. It's worthless.

I don't need to validate my opinion. It's simple logic.

It's like saying Ozzy sings better now than he did in 1975. Just a complete falseness.

Anyone who thinks the members of this band, especially Axl, sounds as good as the 87-93 years is just simply and ignorant person.

Don't get me wrong, Axl sounds very good, as does the rest of the band, and I love the new music, but to say they sound better is a fucking joke. People who say it are blinded by their emotions.

But Ozzy is better now than in '75. So your argument is bollocks. And Axl sounds better now than in '93, but deffinitely not '87. Remember, everyone gets older, and that includes rockstars.

Obviously, I haven't seen either band live, but I would have to say musically, the new band is better. The old band seemed like it could've fallen apart at any second. And that's obvious looking at certain shows. Not complaining, I love it. That takes some serious skill and a lot of balls to be on the edge of chaos at every concert. But I think the new band is more refined musically. The band works with one another in a way that the old band couldn't. And a lot of this is due to the fact that no one is going on stage drunk or drugged out or anything. In terms of stage prescence though, I'd go with the old band anyday. Again, I haven't seen them but even from watching bootlegs I'll get chills running down my spine. There was just some type of magic around the old band. Maybe the music wasn't as "good", but the stage prescence was just so...I can't even explain it. rock1

[Jason Ford]

Anyone who says new GN'R sounds better live than old GN'R is not only deaf, but fucking retarded as well.

Is your username a reference to the Velvet Revolver song? They suck, in case you didn't realize it.

How old are you? 12?

Why don't you add an opinion pertaining to the topic instead of polluting the thread with your bullshit.

While I haven't seen the new guns as of yet. I have seen the old on several occasions. Sure ther were times when they had alot of energy and put on a fuckin energetic if slightly off key and messy show. Wich at the same time I totally loved it. Also, when I saw them with Metallica they were somewhat subdued. James Hetfield had a cast on his arm from a pyro thecno accident and John Holmes from Metal Church was filling in on guitar. People were throwing shit at the stage. James Hetfield got REALLY pissed off about this, and said something about his burned up arm, how much the stage alone cost and you fuckers are throwing shit at me. He said to fucking stop throwing shit and called afew people out. Well when Guns came on some motherfucker hit Axl Rose with a Butane Lighter. Right in the face. Well Axl just sat down and stopped singing. This was during Bad Obsession. He made a speech re-itterating what James had said and continued to sit down on the drum riser. Finally he got up and finished the song. He then said, "How would you like it if we just left?" Like we did in the Texas Jam? Everyone booed so Axl said last chance motherfuckers! I know that it is hot in here but we are all having to put up with it so C'mon and lets make a good show out of this. And they kicked off with My Michelle and things cooled out a bit and we had a great show.

I believe Axl is just trying to get his band tight so when they do release some music, they will not only be able to play the new stuff as well as the old stuff.

[Gnfnrhead]

How old are you? 12?

Why don't you add an opinion pertaining to the topic instead of polluting the thread with your bullshit.

have you not been reading your posts?

imho the new sound is much better than the old. slash and co were great together but their gone now and we have thal and co now.

brain is better than matt but steven was the best.

stinston is slightly better than duff but not by much.

finck/fortus are about the same as izzy/gilby.

thal and slash are too different to compare. its up to preferance, myself, its thal. (i rate buckethead the lowet of the three)

people arguee about if it should be called GnR, the fact is Axl Rose owns the name and therefor can use it how ever he pleases. It doesnt matter if you like it but you must respect him for trying to keep GnR relative to today.

[Kickingthehabit]

The quintessential Guns N' Roses..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLOJpImH2UY

-Kickingthehabit

[gunsnaxls]

This is a well thought-out post...

I agree with some of the points, especially that the new band sounds fuller because of the eight players as opposed to five or six. I still like the old band better, becuase the attitude and chemistry was something that will never be matched, even though the new band has certainly improved in that aspect. Axl's voice, for the most part, was better then, although there were times when it suffered. Nowadays, he sounds really good on some songs but still has that helium thing going on other songs. Also, the new band's guitar solos for the old songs don't sound quite as good, but that's because Slash is a guitar god. Overall, they are two different bands (with the same name, though) that are very different yet very similar. Both bands are at least great live, but I would still take the old band, even though the new band is doing really well in the live shows now.

[Jack1986]

none of the new band will be getting up on pianoes and playing a rad solo.

end off

[evyked]

Well imho the new band's made of Axl's ego up front and some blokes behind him in the dark. They just don't have the style and balls of the original band.

The NuGnR play good alright, but I'm waiting for an album to see what they're really worth.

[Big Boy Sixxx]

that and once your famous its much easier to just take your pick of the best musicians out there that will fit. the new band didnt create the guns sound in the beggining.

that and i prefer the rawness of the old lineup. but the new one kicks ass