jaypayton Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 seems another critc did not liek the show at continental airlines arena...4,000 empty seats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thats not goodA long, late night with Axl RoseTuesday, November 07, 2006BY BRADLEY BAMBARGERStar-Ledger Staff There was a surprise guest at Sunday's Guns N'Roses show at Continental Airlines Arena -- Axl Rose, the cuddly version. The singer -- whose public tantrums, brawls and brutal dealings with intimates and fans are infamous -- seemed to be in a jolly mood, despite facing a surprising number of empty seats. Rose commented on the day's bright weather, continually thanked the crowd and even joked about the already late show's hour-long delay as not being his fault "this time." Since he made guitarist Slash and his other original Guns N'Roses mates walk the plank out of the piratical Sunset Strip band, the 44-year-old Rose has become something of a dark clown. The obsessive-compulsive indulgence that has delayed the release of the first G N'R album under his sole leadership is a decade-long joke; many fans would expect to see a unicorn appear before his mooted "Chinese Democracy." The original Guns N'Roses created one of the iconic rock albums of the late '80s, "Appetite for Destruction." And although the Meadowlands crowd was about 4,000 people shy of capacity, the G N'R brand name still draws -- Friday's Madison Square Garden show is sold-out, and four May shows at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom sold out in minutes. Rose and his seven-piece backing band opened Sunday's set in style with three "Appetite" signatures -- the sleaze-rock classic "Welcome to the Jungle," "It's So Easy" (blurring sexy/sexist in the "Spinal Tap" tradition) and authentically gritty heroin tale "Mr. Brownstone." Rose's grandiose side took over, though, with his long-standing covers of Paul McCartney's James Bond theme "Live and Let Die" (all the spectacle without the humor) and Bob Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door" (grim karaoke). As for material from "Chinese Democracy," the rocker "Better" was the standout, brimming with brawny hooks. The title track boasted a jaggedly appealing riff, but Rose indulged his inner Andrew Lloyd Webber on an awful ballad, "The Blues." Whether or not Rose has had plastic surgery as it appears, the years have not been kind to his voice. His vocals were a mannered mix of squeals and growls, which grew more strangulated as the night went on. The stripper's anthem "Sweet Child O'Mine" even brought to mind Adam Sandler's "Saturday Night Live" parody. Although the semi-acoustic jangle of "Use to Love Her" ("but I had to kill her") sounded like edgy black humor in the '80s, it just sounds ugly now. And anyone enamored of the romance in a real rock band would be disappointed by Rose's group of anonymous hired hands. Now in hit act Velvet Revolver with his fellow G N'R exiles, the charismatic Slash was most missed during the over-the-top power ballad "November Rain," as the climactic guitar solo drizzled rather than stormed. For a supposed megalomaniac, Rose was unusually generous with the spotlight; in this, he has something in common with Barbra Streisand, oddly. Like her recent use of smarmy vocal quartet Il Divo to cover her costume changes, Rose allowed all three of his guitarists and his piano player to take extended between-song solos. This was obviously to give his vocal cords a break, but these noodling features killed any momentum and bloated the set. The show didn't end until after 2 a.m. (with Rose having gone on at 11:40 p.m. after an hour-long technical glitch delayed his start following openers Sebastian Bach and Papa Roach.) After a bit of show biz good humor that even he found forced, Rose exhibited self-knowledge that perhaps Streisand wouldn't. He said, "It's like that joke about the key to acting being sincerity. Once you learn to fake sincerity, you've got it made." Bradley Bambarger writes about popular music for The Star-Ledger. He may be reached at bbambarger@starledger.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Appetite 4 Axl Posted November 7, 2006 Share Posted November 7, 2006 I cannot believe this garbage!! And we get The Star Ledger too. This guy obviously had preconcieved notions. What crap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abw1987 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 I cannot believe this garbage!! And we get The Star Ledger too. This guy obviously had preconcieved notions. What crap.They all do. It's horseshit that people won't let go of the old band and take the new one for what it is -- awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kick13 Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 The problem is the show on sunday wasn't that good..... How do I know? I was there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Appetite 4 Axl Posted November 8, 2006 Share Posted November 8, 2006 The problem is the show on sunday wasn't that good..... How do I know? I was there.So was I and I'd have to disagree. Actually I thought the crowd lacked.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpUd_Jr Posted November 10, 2006 Share Posted November 10, 2006 The Blues.... awful?First time I've heard that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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