Here Today... Gone To Hell!

May 15, 2006

POP MUSIC REVIEW
Welcome to Axl's much tamer jungle
Guns N' Roses returns to the stage after a nearly four year absence.

By Richard Cromelin, Times Staff Writer

NEW YORK ? "What would Axl do?" read the T-shirt on one of the Guns N' Roses fans outside the Hammerstein Ballroom on Friday. They were lined up around the block waiting to get into the 3,300-capacity theater where Guns N' Roses was scheduled to play its first show since a 2002 concert a couple of blocks away at Madison Square Garden.

As it turned out, Axl Rose wouldn't do much, at least not in the way the T-shirt suggested ? nothing to add to the list of no-shows, walkouts and confrontations with audience members that has made the band's saga a trail of mayhem as well as music. The only musician to go into the audience Friday was guitarist Robin Finck, who did a little stage-diving and crowd-surfing near the end of the night.

ADVERTISEMENT
The last time the L.A. band opened a tour, in Vancouver, Canada, Rose was late, the show was canceled and the fans rioted. That 2002 tour came to a premature end later on when Rose did the same thing in Philadelphia.

That history ? as well as a newspaper report that Rose had missed a rehearsal ? might have been lingering in people's minds Friday as they came to witness the awakening of what they hoped was a slumbering giant. The four Hammerstein concerts (shows were also scheduled for Sunday, today and Wednesday) are a warm-up for a European tour, which will be followed, Rose recently announced, by the release of the band's first album of new material since 1991, the infamously, interminably in-progress "Chinese Democracy."

Showing good taste and high spirits, the crowd booed the opener, the Welsh band Bullet for My Valentine, off the stage, then waited for an hour until Guns N' Roses came on at 11 p.m., complete with its lead singer.

Rose, wearing jeans, a black leather shirt and sunglasses, his hair in cornrows and tied in a ponytail, got a hero's welcome as he led the band through its traditional opener, "Welcome to the Jungle." His frame looked a little heftier at age 44 than in his street-waif heyday 20 years ago, but he kicked and scampered around with spirited energy, and his raspy voice had its old barbed-wire edge.

That was the start of a solid, smooth-running 2 1/2-hour set that was dominated by vintage fan favorites, with no tirades, no impulsive departures from the book, unless you count a guest appearance by Skid Row's Sebastian Bach, singing with Rose on "My Michelle." There was also a lot less of the tension that fueled the band's performances in the late '80s and early '90s, largely because this is a different Guns N' Roses, with the original lineup ? most significantly, Rose's colorful, guitar-wielding foil Slash ? gone and new players in place since the late '90s.

One teaser for Friday's show was the unveiling of a new guitarist as replacement for the recently departed Buckethead. He turned out to be Ron Thal, from a New York outfit called, oddly enough, Bumblefoot, and who at one point played a guitar shaped and painted as a foot.

With its three guitarists, Guns N' Roses' 2006 edition is a hard-rock fan's dream, churning out the Stones-cum-Aerosmith-influenced songs with requisite power. On Friday, they re-created the structures of such old standbys as "Sweet Child O' Mine," "Patience," "Paradise City," "Mr. Brownstone," et al.

But at heart, it's very different from the band Rose once fronted ? one of the most popular, polarizing, powerful, controversial and fascinatingly self-sabotaging entities in rock. This is the curse of rock's bad boys (and girls). If you find enough stability to show up and do a good show, you've lost your edge. If you keep too much of your edge, you're going to find your audience dwindling to a morbid few waiting for your final mistake.

And two decades have created a distance from those early songs, which were immediate, close-to-the-bone expressions of rage and frustration from a troubled and eloquent kid. On Friday, they were all audience sing-alongs, enjoyable as celebrations of a community of fans and band but no longer scary, compelling pieces. The one that retained its essence best was the encore, "Paradise City," because its message of longing for refuge carries a more universal reach.

The trick for Rose is to summon those songs' original spirit while removing himself from the character who created them. The problem is that he hasn't given us a new Axl to put the old material in a new context or, more important, to sing something new.

If "Chinese Democracy" really is coming soon, this would have been a perfect time to showcase it, but the few new songs came and went without much impact amid the nostalgia. The energetic title song, with its more contemporary sound, was a promising indication.

While this return was long awaited by some, Rose and company have been long forgotten by many. You can't stay away forever if you want to keep your audience engaged plus attract new listeners. The intensity of Guns N' Roses' initial music and lifestyle might have earned Rose a temporary pass, but if he doesn't show up soon, he'll find he has the jungle all to himself.

http://www.calendarlive.com/music/cl-et-guns15may15,0,1064364.story?coll=cl-home-more-channels

Showing good taste and high spirits, the crowd booed the opener, the Welsh band Bullet for My Valentine, off the stage


lol was the band that bad to get booed off the stage?? Poor guys lol :hihi:

They weren't booed off the stage.? That's an overexageration.? Yes, there were boos, but not an audience wide chorus of boos.? They played there set then left the stage.

They're payed to exaggerate!!

Valentine played their full set in spite of the boos.? They seemed decent about it, and everytime the boo-ing got too loud, they would thanks the fans, and get them excited for Guns to hit the stage.? It was essentially a survival tactic, but it served its purpose.

Personally, I was okay with the "danger" element missing that the writer mentioned in the review.? I'd much rather see a full, killer set by GnR where they - for the first time in a long time, look and sound like an amazing rock band.? Even better, an amazing rock band having the time of their lives together, celebrating the music, the fans, and the band re-entering the spotlight.? I'll take that over temper tantrums and walk-offs any day.

But that's just me.

Naupis you're right to an extent... but I think that was the case mostly because the new songs have yet to be released and played in our cd players 37 million times like the others... Madagascar, TWAT and Better (and CITR for that matter) ALL have stadium anthem potential... if people could hear a proper recording of them several times before going to the venue... and actually get excited about hearing them played live.

Problem with the situation is that there is a distinct dropoff in energy level from the classics to the new songs, as the new ones just don't kick you in the ass the way the old stuff does. I know alot of the board members claim that everyone was screaming for the new ones, but having been in that theater you could tell there was a major dropoff in the crowd's energy level.? Some see that as a progression, others see it as losing something from the way it used to be. I guess it is in the eye of the beholder.

I know alot of the board members claim that everyone was screaming for the new ones, but having been in that theater you could tell there was a major dropoff in the crowd's energy level.

stop trying to turn every little thing into another excuse to bash the new band and the new songs....it is really lame.

Oh no, your absolutely right. It's not necessarily about "danger" or anything like that; like I said elsewhere, there are too many bands out there right now trying to have that kind of image and it's all been watered down now and it's a joke...at least with GNR now, as far as we can see, it's a solid rock machine, some world class musicianship, guys having a great time rocking out together...that's all that matters

Not what I am doing at all, I enjoyed the show friday. However, alot of people on this board have gotten hot and bothered at the media comments about fans not being as into the new songs as if they are making it up. I was simply pointing out that as someone that was there, it is true that the new songs didn't seem to get all that much of a reaction.

I know they haven't been released, and that contributes to it. However, even after they are released they just don't have that "in your face" element the Appetite stuff did, and in a live setting the new songs will never reach that level of energy as they just aren't as heavy. The new songs are awesome, but they are much more mellow than alot of the older material. Releasing an album won't change how those songs sound live.

Not what I am doing at all, I enjoyed the show friday. However, alot of people on this board have gotten hot and bothered at the media comments about fans not being as into the new songs as if they are making it up. I was simply pointing out that as someone that was there, it is true that the new songs didn't seem to get all that much of a reaction.

I know they haven't been released, and that contributes to it. However, even after they are released they just don't have that "in your face" element the Appetite stuff did, and in a live setting the new songs will never reach that level of energy as they just aren't as heavy. The new songs are awesome, but they are much more mellow than alot of the older material. Releasing an album won't change how those songs sound live.

the point is...you can't please everyone...the new music is good, but it's a different sound than the original gnr...some people won't like it as much, some people will like it more...but in the end, i believe the new material will be seen as some of the best music ever made.

Problem with the situation is that there is a distinct dropoff in energy level from the classics to the new songs, I know alot of the board members claim that everyone was screaming for the new ones, but having been in that theater you could tell there was a major dropoff in the crowd's energy level. 

Quote from the article:

"If "Chinese Democracy" really is coming soon, this would have been a perfect time to showcase it, but the few new songs came and went without much impact amid the nostalgia. The energetic title song, with its more contemporary sound, was a promising indication."

Sorry guys, but this statement is DEAD ON.? Face it - most people ARE seeing them for what they USED to be.? Personally, I still love them now.? I love the new stuff.? But you can't get all pissed off if a critic says this.? He's right.? And people who said "But people were standing around during the Illusion stuff too" are right, but that didn't mean Gn'R was right BACK THEN, either!!?

And the new songs didn't create much impact.? Like I said, I loved hearing them, and thought they sounded great.? But when he starts up a new song without an introduction, how do you expect people to react??

Personally, for me, this would be like seeing someone like Springsteen.? I love his old stuff.? I couldn't name one of his new songs.? So if he goes up there and plays a bunch of new stuff, do you think I'd jump up and down and go crazy?? No.? And neither would most of you.?