Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Rose Still Gunning For Domination !!!

Axl Rose is the sole founding member remaining of a band formed in L.A. in 1985 and, as musicians quit, he has been taking control.

IN CONCERT

GUNS N' ROSES

Where: Pacific Coliseum, PNE

When: Saturday at 8 p.m.

Tickets: $36-$145.75 at ticketmaster.ca, livenation.com

If it weren't led by Axl Rose, Guns N' Roses would be just another hard-rock band.

It would be five guys trying to find the chemistry that would help them work together, record as often as possible and tour regularly. A sound and direction and possibly a personality would develop and that would be Guns N' Roses.

But before anyone gets to the Guns N' Roses show at the Coliseum Friday, one has to wade through the mire left by Axl Rose.

Rose gets a lot of the attention for what GNR has become and a lot of the blame, though he's not entirely at fault. He is the sole founding member remaining of a band formed in L.A. in 1985 and, as musicians quit, Rose increasingly has taken control since 1993. Despite having a new Guns N' Roses around him, he is the central character synonymous with GNR. And he is a magnet for controversy.

The last GNR album, Chinese Democracy, was 13 years in the making at a cost of about $13 million. Civil wars, technological and medical breakthroughs have happened in that time while there is no way Geffen Records, Guns' label, will recoup $13 million before the demise of the CD.

It created expectations that no record could live up to, and despite going platinum (selling one million copies) it hasn't had much impact and further has been identified as Axl Rose's folly. Three years after its release, Chinese Democracy now appears as an album whose reach exceeded its grasp. A recent listen to the original band's version of Paul McCartney's "Live And Let Die" suggests that this song might have been the template for Chinese Democracy. It has melody, dynamics, sudden changes that are dramatic, a vocal in which Axl shifts gears and a majestic bigness. Chinese Democracy shows that Rose is no McCartney and is a terrible lyricist.

But its completion, arduous as it must have been, signalled a new phase for Guns N' Roses. Long gone were Izzy Stradlin, Duff McK-agen, Slash and Stephen Adler, replaced by Dizzy Reed, Tommy Stinson, Richard Fortus, DJ Ashba, Frank Ferrer, Ron Thal and Chris Pitman. Their job was to mix the old - "Sweet Child O Mine," "Welcome to the Jungle," and "Paradise City" from Appetite for Destruction, the 1987 debut - with the new - "Better," "I.R.S.," and "Prostitute" - and be a band.

This, too, hasn't been an easy, straightforward process.

In November, 2002, fans rioted at GM Place when the arena's management cancelled at 8 p.m. a GNR concert that was scheduled to start at 9: 30. The official reason was that a travelling problem left Axl Rose stranded in L.A. He wasn't in Vancouver. The unofficial reason is that he just didn't want to do the date. Whatever the real reason, Rose had often held up shows for two hours, seemingly going on stage when and if he was in the mood.

Yet the band has worked to even the keel. "We've done two tours since then," says Ian Low, Live Nation's executive vice president of talent. "I'm not nervous about the show happening. I know what to expect."

Still, with Guns N' Roses there is unpredictability. Low admits as much but still is confident that the concert will take place, even if it might be late.

"Yeah," he concedes. "You have an idea of when they'll go onstage but until you see them go onstage you don't know."

The current Guns N' Roses has some stability. It's eye-opening that Stinson, for one, has been with the band since 1998, longer than the bassist he replaced, McKagen.

He is an unlikely member, too. Stinson came from The Replacements, a Minnesota punk band whose only apparent similarity to GNR was its recklessness. However, the open-ended schedule of GNR has allowed him to pursue his own recording career and to tour with fellow Minnesota band, Soul Asylum.

"It's been a good gig for me," Stinson agrees. "It's a good fit. We get along well."

Among Chinese Democracy's credits are engineers, producers, drummers, guitarists, keyboard players but only one bassist (although Chris Pitman plays on one track), suggesting that Rose is comfortable with Stinson.

For his part, the bassist isn't so sure, admit-ting he thought at one point he might have "worn out his welcome," and saying the development of Guns N' Roses 2.0 some-times has been stormy. Rose is more confident now, though.

"I can't speak for how much Axl has changed but he's having fun. Axl is pretty much our leader and we follow him."

Stinson is honest and a straight shooter, which is possibly why Rose likes him. He stands up to Rose while also being a team player

"In the past," Stinson says, "I've had to moderate the f---ing guitar players. Someone had to be the voice of reason.

"I've seen a lot of things evolve," Stinson continues. "There were some shaky things at first but we've worked those things out. We're a good band.

"As long as everyone can play their parts, I'm cool with it."

Guns plays a two-hour show that includes the old:

"We definitely play them - I wouldn't say differently - but I would say we've given them a kick in the pants."

The current:

"It's slightly different every night." But nothing new.

"We haven't had time to do any new stuff." They've instead opted for a few new covers, though Stinson won't reveal them.

"I'm not telling," he says with a laugh. "You'll have to come to the show."

http://www.theprovince.com/entertainment/Rose+still+gunning+domination/5864038/story.html