jack99 Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 Axl Rose's catharsis was evident - and energizingBy Candy PalmaterThe Daily NewsOn a Sunday night in February 1987, I was sitting at a corner table of the Social Club on the campus of the University of New Brunswick. I was talking with a guy named Greg whom I had just met, who incidentally died in a car crash the next weekend. During the two hours that I knew Greg, we talked about music. The club we were in was playing Soft Cell and The Cure. It was the year that U2's Joshua Tree exploded the band into the mainstream.After our second pitcher of draft, and his realization that we had the same taste in music, Greg pulled a cassette out of his pocket and told me I absolutely had to buy it. That cassette was called Appetite For Destruction by a band I had never heard of called Guns 'N Roses.The next day I headed out to A&A Records and bought the cassette. For the next two days I skipped classes and listened to that album over and over again. It was like nothing I had ever heard before. Ten months later, Appetite for Destruction changed the face of popular music. The rest is history.On Monday night, Guns 'N Roses performed at the Halifax Metro Centre. Many of my contemporaries scoffed at the idea of going to the show, since Axl is all that is left of the band. However Axl Rose was the voice behind the greatest rock 'n' roll album of my generation. I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to see him.When the first notes of Welcome to the Jungle started to play, you could feel the adrenalin rush through the venue. We rose to our feet in a surreal haze, as though 9,000 people had forgotten for a moment that it wasn't Slash playing those notes. As though collectively, just before the lights washed the stage, we all wanted to believe it was Slash.The whole night was a roller coaster of emotion. Rose's braided weave and thicker mid-section had me feeling sorry for him, as though the best years of his life had passed him by.As the evening went on, my perspective started to change. We were seeing a far happier and more relaxed Axl Rose than the troubled young man who struggled with addiction and anger control problems during the late '80s.At 25, I was spending my rent money at The Misty Moon five nights a week and wasting my time with bad men. Lucky for me, none of those mistakes were aired to the world. It must have been difficult to work through the mistakes of youth while hitting the peak of commercial success, as Rose did.Most fans dream of the day when we will see Axl and Slash side by side on stage again; I am no exception. However, by the end of the show this week, I was feeling euphoric. Rose looked healthy and happy. He brought us the songs of our youth with his trademark whine. His hips are a bit wider, but they still have that serpentine slither that became his trademark in the late '80s.Judging by the reaction of my fellow concertgoers, many like me, forgot about who was not on the stage and lost themselves in the grandeur of this powerhouse of rock 'n' roll, whom many of us thought was lost forever.Rose showed us many things that night. He showed us that a person can rise again, no matter how far they may have fallen. He showed us that, as we age, the energy of who we are can flow beyond the limitations of our physical image.He showed us peace of mind sometimes comes, not in the time of our greatest public success, but in the time of our greatest personal success.As the show ended I felt more introspective than I ever have at a rock concert. I wonder if this is the feeling the Baby Boomers feel when they see the Rolling Stones.Axl Rose's performance touched me deeply. What he demonstrated for me is the inevitability of change. We will all age, and that's not so bad. We will all experience hard times, but they too shall pass. In the end it can all be summed up with Rose's "Nothing lasts forever ... even cold November rain."Source: http://www.hfxnews.ca/index.cfm?sid=9729&sc=5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankwhite Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 he never struggled with addiction...did he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnEskimo Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 (edited) he never struggled with addiction...did he? Have you ever listened to Mr. Brownstone? What do you think that is about? The whole band was drug addicts lmao.on topic though: Great article for sure! Edited November 25, 2006 by AnEskimo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvmygabby Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 Loved the article, Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Seal Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 Great read! Thanks Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nika Rose Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 thats so emotional, really great artical.Axl is such an inspiration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sucker punch Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 cool axl is god Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gina9 Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 (edited) he never struggled with addiction...did he? I believe there is no rock star who doesn't use drugs. And if there was, he definitely wouldn't be Axl Edited November 25, 2006 by gina9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.b Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 Good article... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negative_Creep Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 sweet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inthisriver Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 Great Aritcle, thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carsonskitz Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 nice read there !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highvoltage Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 he never struggled with addiction...did he? I believe there is no rock star who doesn't use drugs. And if there was, he definitely wouldn't be Axl There's a big difference between "using drugs" and "struggling with addiction". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vogstar90_G'N'R Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 that was a great and inspiring read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old School Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 The whole night was a roller coaster of emotion. Rose's braided weave and thicker mid-section had me feeling sorry for him, as though the best years of his life had passed him by.What? Is this guy a fucking moron or what? Is he blind? The asshole is NOT fat!!!!!!!!!!! Why do people think he looks fat, he looks great, WTF? Feeling sorry for him? The guy looks great all around. Hip clothing style, slim, fit. Some people...I just can't fucking believe it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shootingstar Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 (edited) The whole night was a roller coaster of emotion. Rose's braided weave and thicker mid-section had me feeling sorry for him, as though the best years of his life had passed him by.What? Is this guy a fucking moron or what? Is he blind? The asshole is NOT fat!!!!!!!!!!! Why do people think he looks fat, he looks great, WTF? Feeling sorry for him? The guy looks great all around. Hip clothing style, slim, fit. Some people...I just can't fucking believe it.Agree. He has actually become more "normal" these days. He was really thin back then. More from a boy to a real man. But for christ sake NOT fat!!EDIT* GREAT review BTW in general. Describe pretty much it all. Edited November 25, 2006 by shootingstar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris 55 Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 The whole night was a roller coaster of emotion. Rose's braided weave and thicker mid-section had me feeling sorry for him, as though the best years of his life had passed him by.What? Is this guy a fucking moron or what? Is he blind? What!? Can't you read!? a WOMAN wrote the article!!!Sorry, couldn't resist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worldwideboss Posted November 25, 2006 Share Posted November 25, 2006 he never struggled with addiction...did he? I believe there is no rock star who doesn't use drugs. And if there was, he definitely wouldn't be Axl There's a big difference between "using drugs" and "struggling with addiction".I don't think he was in a coma because he used to smoke a bit of weed from time to time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Let And Let Live Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Best review i've read so far- is axl slowly beggining to win the press over i wonder? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoon87 Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Great article, definetly. Very good read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deniro Posted November 26, 2006 Share Posted November 26, 2006 Best review i've read so far- is axl slowly beggining to win the press over i wonder?No. It's just Merck using his checkbook. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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