A Pretty Harsh Inland Review:OC Register

[King Dick]

Actually, Ben Wener reviewed Velvet Revolver's last concert. I posted it here.

He praised the band, but also had some valid criticism, imo.

I like his stuff. Shares a lot of my opinions - so I can only assume he's also very smart and devilishly good looking.

That is exactly why he is an absolute SHIT journalist. As a journalist it is not your job to present your fucking opinion, it is your job to present an un-biast fair and even presentation about whatever it is your covering. If you share the same opinions as him, wooptee fuck, get together and rub his nuts for him as well, maybe he'll give his opinion and say in his opinion your good looking. When in reality your a simply conieded.

fuck yea man. This is journalism at its worst. its no different than DF himself writing a review for a newspaper on this show. Most of the review was already written beforehand, he just filled in some of the details of the show and this is his lame attempt to spread his stupid anti Guns N Roses propganda.

[F*ck Fear]

I've seen this band live. Although it was in 2002, I scrolled down quick in this review/. What caught my eye was this.

"t least Velvet Revolver has recaptured that spirit and moved forward. Axl is just idling in a glorified tribute band."

Now, I've seen both live. VR twice. But in Toronto 2002, Axl was a far better front man.

Get your ass back to Canada!!!!!!

[angel of music]

I honestly don't know what was he expecting.. didn't he know, Axl is always late (even in the old days), that he always sings like that ("oh, don't you cry-eee-yi," "knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's doh-oooh-whoa"), that he always goes offstage between songs, and some other things he wrongly points out???? it's like he never saw them live

pathetic

[King Dick]

I honestly don't know what was he expecting.. didn't he know, Axl is always late (even in the old days), that he always sings like that ("oh, don't you cry-eee-yi," "knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's doh-oooh-whoa"), that he always goes offstage between songs, and some other things he wrongly points out???? it's like he never saw them live

pathetic

actually I think its more like a hater who knew all this already and just wanted to write a shit review because he don't like Axl, or GNR for that matter.

[angel of music]

I honestly don't know what was he expecting.. didn't he know, Axl is always late (even in the old days), that he always sings like that ("oh, don't you cry-eee-yi," "knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's doh-oooh-whoa"), that he always goes offstage between songs, and some other things he wrongly points out???? it's like he never saw them live

pathetic

actually I think its more like a hater who knew all this already and just wanted to write a shit review because he don't like Axl, or GNR for that matter.

well that's even more fucked up.. and yeah, I bet he didn't even saw this concert yesterday, he's writing all this shit out of his ass

[PrettyTiedUp763]

Oh, this guy can go to hell. I was very impressed by their performance. It was awesome!

[F*ck Fear]

I honestly don't know what was he expecting.. didn't he know, Axl is always late (even in the old days), that he always sings like that ("oh, don't you cry-eee-yi," "knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's doh-oooh-whoa"), that he always goes offstage between songs, and some other things he wrongly points out???? it's like he never saw them live

pathetic

actually I think its more like a hater who knew all this already and just wanted to write a shit review because he don't like Axl, or GNR for that matter.

Hey, hey. Who is King Dick? (I mean the poster)

[Rainman]

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/enter...cle_1286422.php

Inland Invasion: Duds N' Poses

Review: Axl Rose's delayed return at Inland Invasion fell flat, but Muse and Alice in Chains saved the day.

By BEN WENER

The Orange County Register

The harder-edged sixth staging of KROQ's Inland Invasion festival was supposed to be remembered for the highly anticipated but somewhat dubious return of headliner Guns N' Roses, marking oft-ridiculed, long-missing Axl Rose's first major performance near his adopted hometown of Los Angeles in nearly 15 years.

Instead, it's just as likely that the event will be remembered for the final 90 buzz-killing minutes before Axl and his technically proficient but still fake GNR emerged.

The 30,000-plus multitudes on hand Saturday at Hyundai Pavilion were well aware he was due on at 10, which already made the 40-minute gap of nothing that followed a surprisingly strong turn from a reconstituted Alice in Chains an irritation, considering how the rest of the fest arrived almost nonstop. Tack on an extra 50 minutes of downtime, filled with bone-chilling gusty winds and a loop of the same dozen songs KROQ had been playing for hours, and it's little wonder that trash was soon flying and fires on the lawn started blazing.

It was a long enough wait to make even never-say-die fans wonder if Axl would cause yet another riot by flaking at the last minute, as he had more than once when GNR attempted a quickly aborted North American tour four years ago. To say that everywhere you turned there was palpable, rapidly accelerating tension among ready-to-rumble types who had been downing giant beers all day is an understatement. A rumor that Axl wasn't even on the premises once Alice finished its set didn't help.

Gratefully, just before 11 the seemingly impossible became a reality – and the crowd let out a deafening, cathartic cry as the teasing opening of "Welcome to the Jungle" rang out. Out of the darkness sprang the notorious one himself, wrapped in leather and leaning back to shriek with all his might: "Do you know where the (bleep) you are?"

It was undoubtedly a striking moment, exactly the jolt not-so-patient devotees were hoping for.

It was also the best moment in GNR's set.

Everything that followed became increasingly laughable, from Axl's hilariously overstated trademark phrasing (you know: "oh, don't you cry-eee-yi," "knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's doh-oooh-whoa") to momentum-shredding, stage-clearing solos from L.A. scenesters that merely helped a 75-minute set stretch to nearly two hours. (I'm sure a two-guitar solo built around Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" is precisely what GNR die-hards were hoping to hear.)

It's bewildering how this pseudo-GNR has earned near-raves overseas and elsewhere stateside. Yes, the seven-man band performs the group's hard-rock staples (the overwhelming majority this night from 1987's seminal "Appetite for Destruction") with considerable skill, though I'd expect nothing less from players whose resumés include stints in Nine Inch Nails (guitarist Robin Finck), Primus (drummer Brain) and the Replacements (bassist Tommy Stinson).

But, c'mon, Velvet Revolver (sporting three former Gunners) is more GNR than this sham – and they've got a frontman (Scott Weiland) with still-strong pipes. At 44, Axl Rose, who really should perform under his own name, is a hulking, huffy shell of his former terrifying self.

His cornrows remain, and now and then he can flash his old sinisterly sweet smile. His beefiness, however, can appear bloated. His bursts of comin'-to-get-ya energy have all the danger of a belligerent dad at a family picnic – that is, when he's even on stage, since much of the time he disappears to change shirts or perhaps have a cig.

Worst of all, his voice is shot. Once in a while here he could muster the high-pitched police-siren wail of yore (notably during "Sweet Child o' Mine" and parts of "November Rain") as strongly as he could summon his skull-piercing screech-bark (at its best during "It's So Easy" and "You Could Be Mine"). I have no doubt that, well-tweaked in the studio, his cartoonish nasality could still be potent on record, should the fabled "Chinese Democracy" or anything else ever see the light of day. (Though if new glop like the Billy Joel-ish "The Blues" is any indication, maybe it should stay unreleased.)

Live, Axl simply lacks force, his faint words fading into the mix, his "act" reduced to mythologizing the past. At least Velvet Revolver has recaptured that spirit and moved forward. Axl is just idling in a glorified tribute band.

To be fair, Alice in Chains, one of the small handful of truly noteworthy bands to emerge from the Seattle explosion of the early '90s, is little more than an homage to what it once was as well, with relative unknown William Duvall filling in for vocalist Layne Staley, who was claimed by drugs in 2002. But where heightened expectations after a lengthy absence helped sink GNR, zero expectations after nearly a decade away made Alice's return that much more invigorating.

Usually reunions with new singers mimicking old heroes are doomed to fail instantly. But frankly it's been so long since Alice's finest sides have been heard, much less performed so confidently by original members like guitarist Jerry Cantrell, that it was like discovering some of these heavy but lysergic and uniquely moody songs all over again.

"Rooster," for one, is a slow burner like few have attempted since, and "Man in the Box" – here treated to a deeply impressive vocal turn from freshly mohawked Chester Bennington of Linkin Park – will remain a stone cold classic. Those cuts alongside the rest of the band's equally superior material reminded that Alice should be lauded for the multilayered density of what it created, not what it spawned (that is, dreck from Candlebox to Godsmack).

No band on the bill, however, could hold a flame to the staggering power of Muse, the tenacious, gifted, few-frills English trio that is finally surpassing years of all-too-easy Radiohead comparisons.

Nothing else here compared. Not Papa Roach, though its newly Hollywoodized metal continues to gloss over its self-pitying annoyances. Not Jared Leto's star trip 30 Seconds to Mars, which, like My Chemical Romance, is all style and no substance. Not Chicago's Rise Against, an out-of-place punk band nowhere near as strong live as it is on record.

And not any of the day's O.C.-based or -related acts, be it Avenged Sevenfold (which, youth on its side, can handily out-GNR the real thing these days) or the Aerosmith-y throwbacks of Buckcherry and illustrated frontman Josh Todd (who, though he resembles Willem Dafoe, can easily out-Axl Axl) or the talentless growling and emo whining of Atreyu.

Muse, led by the sick skills of guitarist Matt Bellamy and bassist Chris Wolstenholme, simply operates on an entirely higher level. Its wall of sonics can be as tremendous as anything at Ozzfest, but the intense, almost Tool-like complexity of its frantically but fluidly arpeggioed structures, set against Bellamy's near-operatic, emotionally rousing melodies (think neo-Queen) and the group's inventive danceable grooves, puts it in a class by itself right now.

It took a great album ("Black Holes and Revelations," its fourth) to make me hear Muse's greatness at home. Took seeing the group amid a fairly redundant and formulaic metal fest to solidify that realization live.

Now I'm reallykicking myself hard for having missed its recent Greek gig.

You can send comments to this site or paper and I SUGGEST every to do just that !!!! Tell them how this is such a bull sh*t article. Flood their inbox !!!!!!!!!!! :devil:

Rainman

[bin laden killed gnr]

Thats it. I think ya stumbled onto something here. A worldwide conspiracy to try to brainwash you into thinking that GNR sucks right now.

It's not that these new songs are boring. That their structure is that of emo pop. Forget rocking songs, everyone in the world wants to hear synth and lyrics about lost loves. WTF is the rock world thinking. We should all write poetry about ex's from 10 years ago maybe even 15 years ago. That will be so badass man. Let's all invade the biker bars with our pink sleeveless shirts and glitter pants to show them what's tough. Who needs a guitarist up front who lets his playing speak for itself. All new bands just need to find the guy that can do the best constipated walk on the stage. When he hits a hard power chord, he shall move about as if his dick is crawling back inside. Then look up at the sky and act like it was orgasmic. Hell fuckin yeah man, That's the essence of rock n roll. That's what the kids want on their walls on the posters.

Shit man, rock needs a face lift. Whole rock wasnt based on our society's roots. It's based on dolphins, warships and krispy kreme. Fans? Ah this band dont need no stinking fans, well until we need someone to buy their products.

The recipe for being a genius is to take something in it's prime, dismantle it, and rebuild it into something it wasn't meant to be. Conformist and a slave to the establishment. Axl for president. Isn't that what we "supporters" want? All you who oppose have got something wrong with your mind. How dare you feel differently. The purpose of this site is to have everyone saying the same thing over and over all agreeing on everything. We want to be boring fucks who don't challenge ourselves.

Hey supporters,

Not everyone in the media is going to feel that "earth changing moment" that CD is supposed to bring. You are hyped about all this? Good. Enjoy it. Stop fucking crying and think everyone is "out to get you" or the band when they arent as thrilled with mediocre song structure with whiney lyrics. I'll agree that it does suck to see non die hards and their articles burst your fragile bubbles.

[LoungeFly04]

Some one said this isn't journalism, because it reflects his opinion. Actually it is journalism, because a review is supposed to reflect the opinion of the writer. He happens to have an opinion that differs from the majority of this board. Flooding him with e-mails and complaints isn't going to change his opinion or anything. He'll probably just be happy so many people read his article.

[Frozen Inferno]

this part says it all

Everything that followed became increasingly laughable, from Axl's hilariously overstated trademark phrasing (you know: "oh, don't you cry-eee-yi," "knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's doh-oooh-whoa") to momentum-shredding, stage-clearing solos from L.A. scenesters that merely helped a 75-minute set stretch to nearly two hours. (I'm sure a two-guitar solo built around Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful" is precisely what GNR die-hards were hoping to hear.)

THe guy wasnt even there.. i mean.. Axl didnt sing DONT CRY. now that is what u call a 'hater'. and plus, GNR > VR.

EDIT: king dick beat me to it.

Edited September 25, 2006 by dark_future

[potbreath]

The only thing this guy got wrong was the part about Axls voice, he sounded pretty good.

Face it, the current set sucks balls:

Bunch of twenty year old songs.

Couple of covers.

Cheesy ass bloated love ballad, (obviously I speak of the Blues).

Boring fucking solos.

More twenty year old songs.

Two fresh songs (that are ok)

More twenty year old songs.

Another solo.

One more new song (actually at least five years old)

Another twenty year old song.

WOW, NOW THATS A REVOLUTIONARY BAND!!!!!!

[darkstar_legend]

I think it's obvious what angle the reviewer is coming from and because of that, there's really not that much to get worked up over. What he said hardly holds any water. Begs the question, why write a review of GNR in the first place when he could've have done one on Muse or Alice In Chains. Fuck I hate Muse and if I were to write a review of them, I bet it would sound exactly like this. Point being, as King Dick said, "its more like a hater who just wanted to write a shit review because he don't like Axl, or GNR for that matter".

[Dead Flower]

That is exactly why he is an absolute SHIT journalist. As a journalist it is not your job to present your fucking opinion, it is your job to present an un-biast fair and even presentation about whatever it is your covering.

He's reviewing a concert. How can he do that without presenting his opinion?

[CoolHandLuke]

Did Axl take his lunch money? Talk about a petty and venomous attack! For a "music" review he spends a lot of time calling a Axl a sham and a beefy bloated 44yr old. What about the music, set list, Axl's voice which was spot on? This guy needs to learn how to review. I don't mind a negative review as long as it's objective. Not a personal hit piece.

[Dead Flower]

What about the set list

He covered it.

[tainted_conscience]

i left the fucking stage at 11:30... along with 2/5 of the audience

im glad i did too., sole because of this comment:

"We'll dedicate this next song to all you, downloading motherfuckers. It's all your fault you know. You're the ones who are responsible for putting us on this gig you downloading sons of bitches. That's the facts, that's the facts... That's my story and I'm sticking to it."

[ohmygod]

what a dumbass

[New Rose]

i left the fucking stage at 11:30... along with 2/5 of the audience

im glad i did too., sole because of this comment:

"We'll dedicate this next song to all you, downloading motherfuckers. It's all your fault you know. You're the ones who are responsible for putting us on this gig you downloading sons of bitches. That's the facts, that's the facts... That's my story and I'm sticking to it."

He really said that?

[Greekgelboy]

Thae parts of the review which were actually about the performance, were pretty close to what i thought of the vienna gig. Boring long solos, energy drained out of the set as it trudged along, not enough new tunes. I only disagree with the comment on the blues, which i like.

The new Muse album is rubbish btw. It is nowhere close to 'origin of symmetry', although they are class live.

[Monty]

Everything that followed became increasingly laughable, from Axl's hilariously overstated trademark phrasing (you know: "oh, don't you cry-eee-yi,"....

Seeing as they don't play Don't Cry, I wonder when he heard Axl singing this last night :S

Monty

[Greekgelboy]

Thats it. I think ya stumbled onto something here. A worldwide conspiracy to try to brainwash you into thinking that GNR sucks right now.

It's not that these new songs are boring. That their structure is that of emo pop. Forget rocking songs, everyone in the world wants to hear synth and lyrics about lost loves. WTF is the rock world thinking. We should all write poetry about ex's from 10 years ago maybe even 15 years ago. That will be so badass man. Let's all invade the biker bars with our pink sleeveless shirts and glitter pants to show them what's tough. Who needs a guitarist up front who lets his playing speak for itself. All new bands just need to find the guy that can do the best constipated walk on the stage. When he hits a hard power chord, he shall move about as if his dick is crawling back inside. Then look up at the sky and act like it was orgasmic. Hell fuckin yeah man, That's the essence of rock n roll. That's what the kids want on their walls on the posters.

Shit man, rock needs a face lift. Whole rock wasnt based on our society's roots. It's based on dolphins, warships and krispy kreme. Fans? Ah this band dont need no stinking fans, well until we need someone to buy their products.

The recipe for being a genius is to take something in it's prime, dismantle it, and rebuild it into something it wasn't meant to be. Conformist and a slave to the establishment. Axl for president. Isn't that what we "supporters" want? All you who oppose have got something wrong with your mind. How dare you feel differently. The purpose of this site is to have everyone saying the same thing over and over all agreeing on everything. We want to be boring fucks who don't challenge ourselves.

Hey supporters,

Not everyone in the media is going to feel that "earth changing moment" that CD is supposed to bring. You are hyped about all this? Good. Enjoy it. Stop fucking crying and think everyone is "out to get you" or the band when they arent as thrilled with mediocre song structure with whiney lyrics. I'll agree that it does suck to see non die hards and their articles burst your fragile bubbles.

Great post btw.

[Chris 55]

Actually, Ben Wener reviewed Velvet Revolver's last concert. I posted it here.

He praised the band, but also had some valid criticism, imo.

I like his stuff. Shares a lot of my opinions - so I can only assume he's also very smart and devilishly good looking.

That is exactly why he is an absolute SHIT journalist. As a journalist it is not your job to present your fucking opinion, it is your job to present an un-biast fair and even presentation about whatever it is your covering. If you share the same opinions as him, wooptee fuck, get together and rub his nuts for him as well, maybe he'll give his opinion and say in his opinion your good looking. When in reality your a simply conieded.

He was hired to post a review of a concert and he did. He didn't like the show, oh well. It happens. Not EVERY reviewer will dig ANY band's show. It's a bad review but it won't make me lose any sleep or anything. I could care less

[frankwhite]

reviews like this worry me cuz it makes me wonder whether i got a blind fanboys faith as opposed to an objective eye. n the responses in this thread add to the worry because EVERY negative review has prompted people on here to go "oh, he's OBVIOUSLY biased" etc n no one can possibly seem to fathom that maybe someone objectively thinks they are crap. smacks of the aforementioned blind fanboys faith.

fuck it, i like em, end of story for me.

[RebelRose89]

ya, know for every bad harsh review there is, there's always one thats positive. This is by some hunky dunk paper i'm presuming and not a big statewide one right. I believe the LA Times have a very good review and i think thats the kind of papers and reviews we should be worried about. not some biased reporter who probably didn't even attend, rather a top notch paper with a lot more credibility.