Axls_Disillusion Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 origianlly posted by DaNutz at Here Today.. so I dont have a link to the article, but here it is.. a nice well written review that actually focuses on the show. Peter Hartlaub, Chronicle Pop Culture CriticFriday, September 22, 2006When you're waiting outside a Guns N' Roses show at the Warfield in San Francisco, with the band still working the sound check an hour after the show was supposed to start and a line around the block so long that the back nearly touches the front, the imagination naturally wanders to how things might go wrong.Our doomsday scenario: Axl Rose comes out at 2 a.m., plays two and a half songs, throws the mike stand at the sound man and storms off stage -- sparking a riot that leaves the 900 block of Market Street a crater of smoldering rubble.In reality, something even stranger happened: The band appeared an almost-reasonable two hours late; played a tight two-hour, 15-minute set that sounded a lot like early Guns N' Roses; and Rose made a convincing case that he's finally in a good place."Tommy told me people are getting a little smashed in the front," a concerned Rose said early in the show, without a hint of a snarl for the security guards up front. "Everyone want to take a little half-step back so people can breathe?"Rose's nearly-a-decade-in-the-making "Chinese Democracy" album may never come out, surpassing Spinal Tap's "Smell the Glove" as the ultimate rock band punch line. (Guns N' Roses hasn't released a studio album since 1993, a couple of years before the last of the original musicians left the band.) But for now, at least, Guns N' Roses II appears to have exorcised the demons that made Rose one of the most notoriously surly touring artists in history.Wednesday night's sold-out show was the first of two at the Warfield -- part of a four-night smaller-venue warm-up before the band begins its first U.S. trek since 2002, when riots related to the band's inability to take the stage on time led promoters to scuttle the tour.If the buyer's market outside the Warfield was any indication, confidence isn't high that this tour will turn out any better, and there could be plenty of empty seats inside the bigger arenas this time around. If you were a good enough negotiator, you probably could secure an upper-level balcony seat for a pack of cigarettes and half a cheese sandwich.But those discounted scalped tickets turned out to be a decent bargain -- and not just for the kitsch value. After a spirited hourlong set by Sebastian Bach that had us at "I Remember You," Rose bounded out at 11:12 p.m. to the first notes of "Welcome to the Jungle." His conservative black jacket, gray T-shirt, jeans and red boots were typical of his four changes in dress. If it weren't for his shirt unbuttoned to the navel for half the show, he could have been going for a job interview at the Gap.The band looks nothing like the original lineup -- only keyboardist Dizzy Reed has been held over from the 1991 "Use Your Illusion I & II" days, and no musician is left from "Appetite for Destruction" -- but it played accurate renditions of all the hits, with three guitarists, including former Nine Inch Nail Robin Finck and former Psychedelic Fur Richard Fortus, sharing the leads. Ex-Replacement Tommy Stinson is back on bass, and Primus drummer and Cupertino native Brain fill out the rhythm section, somehow avoiding getting seared by the mushroom clouds of pyrotechnics in the back of the stage. (Haven't these guys heard of Great White?)But the new lineup sounded surprisingly tight as it barreled through 18 songs, plus four extended solos showcasing Reed and the guitarists -- including an apparently irony-free instrumental rendition of Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" by Finck and Fortus. The set was heavy on songs from "Appetite," the band's first studio album. Four so-so songs from the alleged new album sounded like they could be outtakes from "Use Your Illusion III."The 44-year-old Rose isn't quite as spry as he used to be, but he's back to his fighting weight, and his signature snake move is starting to look cobra-like again. (For a while, he was looking more like a python that just swallowed an antelope.)His voice gets mixed reviews. The singer didn't miss many notes, and at times showed the range that he had in his prime, especially when he traded lines with Bach on the "Appetite" gem "My Michelle" -- easily the highlight of the evening.But whether it was fatigue or poor sound mixing or both, his voice completely faded out at times. Rose also had the bizarre habit of sprinting backstage during almost every extended guitar solo -- as if he had a tuna casserole he needed to check in the tour bus oven.A few incidents might have even deserved a swift and angry response, including a water bottle thrown on stage and a blast of feedback during the first of the new tunes. Rose seemed to let it pass, singing a few more crowd-pleasers and making nice with the audience, up until the confetti-filled encore."Please take care getting home!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F*ck Fear Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 That is a real fucking review right there.Thanks for posting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moreblack Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 Guns N' Roses II? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patience 4 Axl Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 Guns N' Roses II?I thought it was at least IV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
life_247 Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 (edited) That was absolutly hilarious, but in upbeat mood. And Better is definatly not my idea of filler !!!"If you were a good enough negotiator, you probably could secure an upper-level balcony seat for a pack of cigarettes and half a cheese sandwich." For a while, he was looking more like a python that just swallowed an antelope.Once again genuis Edited September 22, 2006 by life_247 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moreblack Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 (edited) Guns N' Roses II?I thought it was at least IV.Or something like that, yeah. I guess the writer just made a separation between 86-93 (GNR I) and 9?-06. Edited September 22, 2006 by moreblack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turn_It_Up Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 (edited) This review really isn't all that positive. A very mixed bag.Just surprised AD seems so pleased with it... Edited September 22, 2006 by Turn_It_Up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patience 4 Axl Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 This review really isn't all that positive. A very mixed bag.Just surprised AD seems so pleased with it... Probably because the name SLASH wasn't mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turn_It_Up Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 This review really isn't all that positive. A very mixed bag.Just surprised AD seems so pleased with it... Probably because the name SLASH wasn't mentioned. BINGO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axls_Disillusion Posted September 22, 2006 Author Share Posted September 22, 2006 This review really isn't all that positive. A very mixed bag.Just surprised AD seems so pleased with it... Probably because the name SLASH wasn't mentioned. BINGO.because at least they reviewed the fucking show and didn't talk about that washed up waste who has nothing to do with this band now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patience 4 Axl Posted September 22, 2006 Share Posted September 22, 2006 If it wasn't for that "washed up waste" there wouldn't be a fucking show now to review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axls_Disillusion Posted September 22, 2006 Author Share Posted September 22, 2006 If it wasn't for that "washed up waste" there wouldn't be a fucking show now to review.maybe, maybe not. but admit it, if a so called 'review' spends more time talking about what you just said, as opposed to the actual review itself, its not really a review, is it? its some pro $lash, anti-axl propganda people spew in the media, and most of it is probably written before they even see the fucking show. fuck them. there is no need to even bring up slash in a review and especially not at the length it was in that garbage that was posted the other day. i've never brought up slash in a GNR review. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moreblack Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 The new band hasn't created an identity for themselves in the eyes of the media. Think about it, the last time most casual observers saw GNR, Slash, Duff, Izzy/Gilby and Matt were still in the band. When they go to a show now and see none of those people, but rather a bunch of guys nobody's ever heard about, of course they're gonna speak about it in their reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axls_Disillusion Posted September 23, 2006 Author Share Posted September 23, 2006 The new band hasn't created an identity for themselves in the eyes of the media. Think about it, the last time most casual observers saw GNR, Slash, Duff, Izzy/Gilby and Matt were still in the band. When they go to a show now and see none of those people, but rather a bunch of guys nobody's ever heard about, of course they're gonna speak about it in their reviews.but its not uncommon knowledge that the lineup has changed drastically over the years. I mean their performance was the biggest moment at the 2002 VMAs hands down, and that was everywhere. No one goes to a GNR concert expecting to see any of those guys you mentioned.. and if they are, they are seriously out of touch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moreblack Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 I said casual observers, which probably encompasses most concert reviewers working for newspapers. It's not unlikely that they haven't kept up with the band... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turn_It_Up Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 (edited) AD, what's strange is that you claim to be a long time Guns fan, yet when some random reviewer or forum member mentions Slash your comeback is almost always to spew some bullshit at Slash himself(a"washed up waste" being the latest jewel).Are you some conspiracy nut who believes Slash has personally assembled an army of people to hit the newspapers and forums just to get you pissed? If so, the men in white coats are going to come through your PC some day with a big net to take you away(all on the orders of Slash, of course). This incarnation of GNR hasn't really even begun yet, but you're actually expecting there not to be comparisons(though I think you'd enjoy the comparisons if they were more pro-new/anti-old). Sorry, but you're WAAAY too hyper-sensitive and out of touch with reality on this dude... Edited September 23, 2006 by Turn_It_Up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moreblack Posted September 23, 2006 Share Posted September 23, 2006 (edited) Fact is, the moment the show starts with the WTTJ riff, the shadow of Slash is cast on the entire concert...Same for Duff when It's So Easy startsYou Could Be Mine for MattMr. Brownstone/AdlerPatience/Izzy Edited September 23, 2006 by moreblack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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