My Long Ass Review

[jah772]

Yo, i wrote this on the train on the way back to Philly, and am just now hitting the sack. I hope this is somewhat decent:

Here is my review of the Nov. 11 2006 Guns N' Roses concert at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore.

I spent the weekend home (I attend college in Philadelphia, but am from Annapolis, MD) and had my father drop my brother and I off at the venue around 7:30 PM. I had planned to attempt to meet the band afterwards, and so I brought my camera along. My bro and I stopped in the Dunkin' Doughnuts across the street so he could grab some dinner, and I could attempt to secure my digital camera to my grundle area, because I noticed they were hand searching everyone that entered pretty thoroughly. I had a rather hilarious conversation with a girl who was waiting to use the Doughnut shack's restroom about my plan, and she informed me that she had been at concerts at the Arena where they used metal detectors, and in that case I was screwed.

While we were in the doughnut shack, the General Admission line was let in, and I finally decided just to go for the camera thing, and I hung the camera from the button on my pants, so that it was directly in the center of my crotch. Well all nervousness aside, we slid past security, and headed to our seats.

-he rest of the show, and got everyone excited for the main act.

Then the waiting began.

Well, actually it was pretty short. My bro and I walked a loop around the arena, stopped at the merchandise stand (I bought a poster), and then headed back to our seats. While in the lav, this tall drunk guy decided to garnish everyone's urination with a loud string of rhetorical questions, such as "WHEN DO YOU ALL THINK AXL'S GONNA GO ON!" and statements such as "LAST TIME HE DIDN'T EVEN GO ON!!!" People, although trying to piss, seemed to laugh off his tirade, and seemed genuinely excited for GN'R.

When we got back to our seats, we watched the crew finishing setup, and I spotted Beta walking around below. Before I knew it, the lights dimmed and the intro played. I would estimate that it was only 30 minutes between Bach and GN'R. Everyone freaked out as jungle began, and people pretty much kept standing throughout the entire show.

I've seen a ton of shows on video, probably at least 30 of the old band's performances, and most of the widely circulated video gigs from this year, and I must say that seeing the band live is MUCH different than watching a video.

I am what you would call an Axl fan, predominately because of his no-shit attitude, and his charisma on stage. Videos do not portray his energy accurately, and seeing him running, dancing, and slithering around on the stage below me was an indescribable experience. In comparison, the antics of the other band members, save Fink and Dizzy, seemed weak, although in videos, they all seem to have equal dominance. It is not that I wasn't impressed with their collective musicianship, which I think is top notch, along with their emotional investments, I just felt that their stage presences were so greatly overshadowed by Axl's that it seemed unbalanced. I was exhausted by the time GN'R came on, and this may have contributed to my impression, but I just felt this needed to be said to the people who are saying that the only reason to go is Axl.

I really REALLY wish I had seen the old band live to see if this same kind of dominance was present. From videos, I think both bands pretty much have the same overall charisma, but I would have loved to have seen Duff, Slash, Steven, and Matt interact live with Axl for some kind of comparison.

Anyway, I won't go into each song individually, but the set was incredible, and Axl's voice was amazing. I am a rasp-lover, and feel that I have enough experience listening to the band's recordings and bootlegs to be at least somewhat of an authority on Axl's sound. He was singing very high in his throat tonight, ALA 1992, and I was worried about him Mickey Mousing near the end, but he managed to stay strong throughout, and only became a little hoarse on PC and Nightrain. His voice was PERFECT in my opinion, and he had all the power I could have hoped for and more!

The standout performer of the night, bandwise, would have to be Richard. 4tus had not really hovered above and beyond in what I had seen in the past, but he really proved himself to me tonight. His shredding solo, his handling of the classic material, and the humble aura he emits on stage all helped win me over.

Fink and Bumble, as expected, were both excellent as well.

I am pissed at the sound guys, as the mix started out okay, but was bad and muddy by the end of the show. I was sorely disappointed on YCBM (Axl told a story about meeting a Motley Crue fan who had "Fit To Burn" tattooed across his neckline) as I could not hear the base part AT ALL. Tommy managed to make it over to my side of the stage, and looked up at my area a few times. I only wish I could have heard his playing. By the end of the show, the mix was so muddy that all 3 guitars were blending together, and it was just awful. I think the sound guys really dropped the ball on this one, although it could have just been my area of the arena that was not getting great sound.

Axl told the crowd how awesome and rowdy they were several times saying "This really is a great crowd." at the end of the show, after bidding everyone a safe trip home, he said "We really really wish and hope to see you all again someday!" He talked about how he liked Baltimore and that one of his favorite shows, The Wire (Also one of my favorites...and Snoop Dogg's!) is filmed and set in B-More. Before better, he announced that they were going to play another song that "only some of you know!" and seemed to be a little peeved that people were not familiar with the new tunes.

The solos. Well, I appreciated the ones that were actual songs, and my brother liked the Beautiful solo, but they were a little too much. They were nice near the end of the show, as I REALLY needed to sit for a few seconds as I was exhausted from dancing and throwing my arms around. Axl commented that people were sleeping now so that they could be awake for the rest of the show. People in my section sat for some portions of these solos, but the majority of the audience remained standing, and everyone, even the sitters, for the most part, seemed to appreciate the interludes to an extent, although they were sort of a downer.

One thing that happened during the Beautiful solo, really, in my mind, epitomized the plight that GN'R faces right now. All around me, most people seemed to be casual fans, probably from the UYI days, and I believe they were at the show because of the old band. They all seemed to enjoy the show, even the new songs. I had the couple next to me (casual fans) dancing along to all the new hits (out of drunkeness or appreciation...I don't know) and they seemed, although unfamiliar, to like the new songs. The only person I saw not having a good time was this one guy in front of me. He had come with 3 other dudes, all were decked out in leather, long hair, dark jeans, and with bandannas dangling from pockets. Arch-typical metal fans. They enjoyed the old songs. They enjoyed the new songs. But when Fink and 4tus played beautiful, the one guy got seriously offended, and stood with both middle fingers extended, leaning forward toward the stage for the entire song. He was pissed off for much of the rest of the show, too. His friends didn't mind, but I think he took the solo as a serious Emo assault on his Rock N' Roll. I hope people like this can learn to get over trivialities. I have seen, in the past few weeks, much of the Axl v. Slash feuds melt away with people finally agreeing to like both musicians, and not to bash the other, but this hard rock v. ballad/more emotional music debate could be a big hurdle for GN'R, as I feel it sort of challenges their original 86-89 image, and makes the new band seem a little soft.

Oh well, everyone else was having a good time.

Mother Goose Pitman and Dizzwald both did their parts. 'Nuff said. Both have a place in this band for sure.

Merck was leaning on the railings at the top of the stage entrance stairs for most of the show, standing next to Beta, who was dancing along with every song! She reminds me of how my mom dances when a song she enjoys comes on the radio, and I think it is good for the band to have a mother figure on the road with them. She could have a totally killer reality show, too.

Hell yeah! They played Down On The Farm and UTLH!

Anyway, sorry this was so fucking long. After the show, I waited out back with about 35 people 'till about 2:00 for the band, and then my pop picked my bro and I up ( I was pretty grumpy as the bus area had just begun gearing up and I am sure I just missed the band members). Anyways, my dad dropped me off at the train station where I waited until my train at 3:55. and now I sit alone in a traincar, exhausted, and dreading the next few hours and two classes I have to endure before I can sleep at 12 noon!

I had an amazing night tonight, and I hope I managed to describe some of the moments I experienced, as well as did an okay job of touching on some points that I do not think have been addressed very much on the discussion boards. I'll post this on the major boards after I wake up tomorrow afternoon.

Cheers, and a HUGE THANKS TO AXL AND COMPANY for a GREAT NIGHT!!!,

-Jeff Haines

Forgot to mention, Bach went through like six mikes. He was twirling them above his head and crap, and they kept hitting stuff and breaking, and there were various other problems with them. Was a great time.

[Guest Matt13]

Yo, i wrote this on the train on the way back to Philly, and am just now hitting the sack. I hope this is somewhat decent:

Here is my review of the Nov. 11 2006 Guns N' Roses concert at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore.

I spent the weekend home (I attend college in Philadelphia, but am from Annapolis, MD) and had my father drop my brother and I off at the venue around 7:30 PM. I had planned to attempt to meet the band afterwards, and so I brought my camera along. My bro and I stopped in the Dunkin' Doughnuts across the street so he could grab some dinner, and I could attempt to secure my digital camera to my grundle area, because I noticed they were hand searching everyone that entered pretty thoroughly. I had a rather hilarious conversation with a girl who was waiting to use the Doughnut shack's restroom about my plan, and she informed me that she had been at concerts at the Arena where they used metal detectors, and in that case I was screwed.

While we were in the doughnut shack, the General Admission line was let in, and I finally decided just to go for the camera thing, and I hung the camera from the button on my pants, so that it was directly in the center of my crotch. Well all nervousness aside, we slid past security, and headed to our seats.

-he rest of the show, and got everyone excited for the main act.

Then the waiting began.

Well, actually it was pretty short. My bro and I walked a loop around the arena, stopped at the merchandise stand (I bought a poster), and then headed back to our seats. While in the lav, this tall drunk guy decided to garnish everyone's urination with a loud string of rhetorical questions, such as "WHEN DO YOU ALL THINK AXL'S GONNA GO ON!" and statements such as "LAST TIME HE DIDN'T EVEN GO ON!!!" People, although trying to piss, seemed to laugh off his tirade, and seemed genuinely excited for GN'R.

When we got back to our seats, we watched the crew finishing setup, and I spotted Beta walking around below. Before I knew it, the lights dimmed and the intro played. I would estimate that it was only 30 minutes between Bach and GN'R. Everyone freaked out as jungle began, and people pretty much kept standing throughout the entire show.

I've seen a ton of shows on video, probably at least 30 of the old band's performances, and most of the widely circulated video gigs from this year, and I must say that seeing the band live is MUCH different than watching a video.

I am what you would call an Axl fan, predominately because of his no-shit attitude, and his charisma on stage. Videos do not portray his energy accurately, and seeing him running, dancing, and slithering around on the stage below me was an indescribable experience. In comparison, the antics of the other band members, save Fink and Dizzy, seemed weak, although in videos, they all seem to have equal dominance. It is not that I wasn't impressed with their collective musicianship, which I think is top notch, along with their emotional investments, I just felt that their stage presences were so greatly overshadowed by Axl's that it seemed unbalanced. I was exhausted by the time GN'R came on, and this may have contributed to my impression, but I just felt this needed to be said to the people who are saying that the only reason to go is Axl.

I really REALLY wish I had seen the old band live to see if this same kind of dominance was present. From videos, I think both bands pretty much have the same overall charisma, but I would have loved to have seen Duff, Slash, Steven, and Matt interact live with Axl for some kind of comparison.

Anyway, I won't go into each song individually, but the set was incredible, and Axl's voice was amazing. I am a rasp-lover, and feel that I have enough experience listening to the band's recordings and bootlegs to be at least somewhat of an authority on Axl's sound. He was singing very high in his throat tonight, ALA 1992, and I was worried about him Mickey Mousing near the end, but he managed to stay strong throughout, and only became a little hoarse on PC and Nightrain. His voice was PERFECT in my opinion, and he had all the power I could have hoped for and more!

The standout performer of the night, bandwise, would have to be Richard. 4tus had not really hovered above and beyond in what I had seen in the past, but he really proved himself to me tonight. His shredding solo, his handling of the classic material, and the humble aura he emits on stage all helped win me over.

Fink and Bumble, as expected, were both excellent as well.

I am pissed at the sound guys, as the mix started out okay, but was bad and muddy by the end of the show. I was sorely disappointed on YCBM (Axl told a story about meeting a Motley Crue fan who had "Fit To Burn" tattooed across his neckline) as I could not hear the base part AT ALL. Tommy managed to make it over to my side of the stage, and looked up at my area a few times. I only wish I could have heard his playing. By the end of the show, the mix was so muddy that all 3 guitars were blending together, and it was just awful. I think the sound guys really dropped the ball on this one, although it could have just been my area of the arena that was not getting great sound.

Axl told the crowd how awesome and rowdy they were several times saying "This really is a great crowd." at the end of the show, after bidding everyone a safe trip home, he said "We really really wish and hope to see you all again someday!" He talked about how he liked Baltimore and that one of his favorite shows, The Wire (Also one of my favorites...and Snoop Dogg's!) is filmed and set in B-More. Before better, he announced that they were going to play another song that "only some of you know!" and seemed to be a little peeved that people were not familiar with the new tunes.

The solos. Well, I appreciated the ones that were actual songs, and my brother liked the Beautiful solo, but they were a little too much. They were nice near the end of the show, as I REALLY needed to sit for a few seconds as I was exhausted from dancing and throwing my arms around. Axl commented that people were sleeping now so that they could be awake for the rest of the show. People in my section sat for some portions of these solos, but the majority of the audience remained standing, and everyone, even the sitters, for the most part, seemed to appreciate the interludes to an extent, although they were sort of a downer.

One thing that happened during the Beautiful solo, really, in my mind, epitomized the plight that GN'R faces right now. All around me, most people seemed to be casual fans, probably from the UYI days, and I believe they were at the show because of the old band. They all seemed to enjoy the show, even the new songs. I had the couple next to me (casual fans) dancing along to all the new hits (out of drunkeness or appreciation...I don't know) and they seemed, although unfamiliar, to like the new songs. The only person I saw not having a good time was this one guy in front of me. He had come with 3 other dudes, all were decked out in leather, long hair, dark jeans, and with bandannas dangling from pockets. Arch-typical metal fans. They enjoyed the old songs. They enjoyed the new songs. But when Fink and 4tus played beautiful, the one guy got seriously offended, and stood with both middle fingers extended, leaning forward toward the stage for the entire song. He was pissed off for much of the rest of the show, too. His friends didn't mind, but I think he took the solo as a serious Emo assault on his Rock N' Roll. I hope people like this can learn to get over trivialities. I have seen, in the past few weeks, much of the Axl v. Slash feuds melt away with people finally agreeing to like both musicians, and not to bash the other, but this hard rock v. ballad/more emotional music debate could be a big hurdle for GN'R, as I feel it sort of challenges their original 86-89 image, and makes the new band seem a little soft.

Oh well, everyone else was having a good time.

Mother Goose Pitman and Dizzwald both did their parts. 'Nuff said. Both have a place in this band for sure.

Merck was leaning on the railings at the top of the stage entrance stairs for most of the show, standing next to Beta, who was dancing along with every song! She reminds me of how my mom dances when a song she enjoys comes on the radio, and I think it is good for the band to have a mother figure on the road with them. She could have a totally killer reality show, too.

Hell yeah! They played Down On The Farm and UTLH!

Anyway, sorry this was so fucking long. After the show, I waited out back with about 35 people 'till about 2:00 for the band, and then my pop picked my bro and I up ( I was pretty grumpy as the bus area had just begun gearing up and I am sure I just missed the band members). Anyways, my dad dropped me off at the train station where I waited until my train at 3:55. and now I sit alone in a traincar, exhausted, and dreading the next few hours and two classes I have to endure before I can sleep at 12 noon!

I had an amazing night tonight, and I hope I managed to describe some of the moments I experienced, as well as did an okay job of touching on some points that I do not think have been addressed very much on the discussion boards. I'll post this on the major boards after I wake up tomorrow afternoon.

Cheers, and a HUGE THANKS TO AXL AND COMPANY for a GREAT NIGHT!!!,

-Jeff Haines

Good review! I think the sound problems you experienced were a fluke of your part of the arena. The ceiling there is low compared to many other arenas... and square with those flanged overhangs. I remember seeing NIN from that side of the stage vantage point you had back in 96 and the sound was awful. I was center stage, front row behind the floor this time around... and the sound was very spot on at that location for whatever reason.

Great show! Good review!

[rocketking]

Thanks for the review, dude.

[GeorgeGlass]

No the sound was no fluke, it sucked in Worcester too. WTF??

[Hejanne]

Thanks for your long ass review

Sounds awsome B)

[Almost Famous]

Fuckin' sweet review, Jeff.

Glad you had a great time.

[Manstis1604]

Good review, and really good point about the challenge the band faces by changing their sound from the 1986-89 years. No one wants to hear a "pussy" version of Guns N' Roses. I've never heard this Beautiful solo before, but I could definitely see a metal head getting pissed off about it. Eclecticism has to be done very well to be accepted, hopefully GNR (AXL) can pull it off.