Leno Review Thread

[EricaLyn087]

I saw the Leno performance and I was also hoping FTP would be played. I don't mind Slither but I was like "again??" Regardless, it was still a good performance but certainly not as good as Letterman. Jarmo was right, Duff did look bored (but VERY good). I don't know... I wasn't really feeling this performance but everyone has their days!  

[Music For Life]

ummm, am i the only one that noticed leno introduce them by saying...

"they have already sold over a million copies"  ?

i doubt it sold another 500 thousand from a couple weeks ago when it was just announced gold?  im sure leno was talking about sales outside of the us as well though.  sales all over im sure have reached over a million.

[Booker Floyd]

No, but GN'R got a lot of shit because their VMA02 wasn't perfect

See, these things happen to bands who don't dance to a tape and choose to perform live instead.

I hope the people bashing Axl's/GN'R's VMA02 performance would get that. Hey! it's ok, even VR isn't perfect all the time.

These are all things that would be better-suited to a thread concerning GNR or the VMAs, but since you brought it up...

Youre absolutely right.  Bands very rarely sound "perfect" live, but thats not really what the GNR/VMA criticism was about, in my opinion.

First of all, theres a completely different set of circumstances.  This wasnt a gig, this was the gig.  The VMAs were Axls big comeback after so long, and it was on one of, if not the biggest music forum around.  So the expectations and pressure were in a completely different league, unfortunately.  Fair or not, Axls under a lot more scrutiny due to the circumstances.

And it wasnt just about Axl being winded - it was about his actual voice.  The sound of it was very different than before.  On Leno, Scotts voice was shaky in parts, but Scott wasnt coming out of hiding after 8 years on the biggest show out there with a strangely "new" voice.  It was Scotts voice, only shaky.  Weve gone over Axls "new" voice a million times, so Ill leave it at that.  And Scott wasnt struggling like Axl was in certain parts (the "sha-na-na..."s come to mind, as does "Paradise City".)

And I think I should just reiterate - since your comments were in response to my posts - that despite these criticisms, I ultimately liked the VMA performance a lot.  Awesome energy, great playing and Axl nailed "Madagascar".  It was completely memorable, and the good parts ultimately outweighed the bad in my opinion.  So theres no need to convince me of anything - and I know you were referring to those who do think otherwise, but I feel the need to clarify.  

It was mentioned by two people on a GN'R mailinglist that they looked bored, especially Duff.

Well, in the combined 20 seconds Duff was on camera, I didnt notice any boredom.  I mean if he sighed and checked his watch I might see what they were talking about.  But he was playing like he usually does as far as I could tell.

Same goes for the rest.  If anything, they could complain that they themselves were bored watching it, I could understand that.  After all, were hearing "Slither" for the 700th time...But I still dont see this so-called boredom.  In fact, I see the exact opposite in Weiland.  I just watched the Leno and Letterman performances back-to-back, and Weiland is waay more energetic in the Leno one.  Theres no arguing it.

[Top-Hatted One]

I've seen VR twice and Duff and Dave looked exactly the same as they did lastnight. They are not like Slash...jumping around.. They stay in the background more. Duff was exactly the same way during Letterman. Again, another example of people from other forums trying to find anything they can to criticize VR on.

Oh and I've seen Duff live 3 times before and still he's exactly the same way.

[tippasaurus]

I enjoyed the performance.  Was it "El Rey?"  No.  But it was still pretty energetic.   Weiland's voice was shaky, but like someone else said, there are a lot of variables when it comes to singing.

If you want clean perfect singing, watch "live" performances of said pop stars Justin TimberSpearsSimpson.    

[Jizzo]

The sound wasn't loud enough. I  don't think Leno's people did a good job of picking up the vocals.

[Top-Hatted One]

it could've been because they were outdoors

[VolcomStone]

in my opinion, the leno performance was great. of course scott's vocals were less than ideal, but what do you really expect. the rest of the band made up for it, i thought. the instrumental recording was killer and sounded very close to the studio recording. slash and duff both looked younger than have been recently. it was great to see slash break out his guns-era style garb once again. in addition the stage was better located than in the letterman performance. the larger, outdoor setting seemed more suiting than the indoor stage isolated from the audience on the letterman show. all in all i would rate this show a little higher than the performance on letterman.

[D]

i think VR are doing everything possible to shoot themselves in the foot

its time for another single, they must hurry and put another out! CB is fallin down the charts, some may have already dismissed them simply cause they keep playin the same fuckin song over and over

that cd is way to good to keep playin "slither" over and over

usually if u play one song on letterman, u play a different song on leno, what are they gonna do now? its rare a band gets 2 invites on the same talkshow so where are they gonna promote FTP? conan obrien? they wasted alot of publicity and a chance to help break FTP by not playin it on Leno

Usher already has released 3 singles, he had 3 songs in the top 10 and this is why his cd has been on top for so long and why it has sold through the roof

VR also going straight to europe hopefully will help their overall sales but they shouldve stuck around the US

FTP has to come out soon, they have to put slither behind them and get the ball moving, cause once CB loses its momentum,(which it is very close to doing) it will be finished!

debuting at number 1 means nothing if u fall out of the top 10 as fast as they have, that shows they arent drawing in that many new fans

FTP,YGNR will draw in some new fans, its time!

[axl1962]

Yes, I to would have liked to have seen them play FTP.  However, I think they may have played Slither because of the outdoor setting.  A "rocker" such as Slither would have got the crowd more fired up.  

[slashnbuckethead]

That was horrible, if that was one of their better performances then VR must really suck live.

I think with vr its all about the crowd. I saw some older women in the crowd of the leno show. Anyone who has been to a VR show will tell you they are amazing live. Scott has some crazy energy you can only feel by being right there (it has something to do with his eyes) im not even kidding you. It just requires a little effort from the crowd to get scott to that place, if you dont believe me ask anyone who went to the second wiltern show.

[gnrvrrule]

The sound on Letterman was better, the performance on Leno was better, simple as that.  Scott had much more energy on Leno, he reminded me of Axl in many ways.  He was also out of breath a lot, but that didn't matter.  Slash's solo on Leno was better as well.  I liked both performances.  They each had some good and bad about them, but I can't complain about either one.  Let me add that most outdoor shows have worse overall sound than indoor ones as you probably well know.

[Jizzo]

Do we really want new fans? They just take tickets from us (just kidding)

I'm sure they know what they are doing. Don't compare them to usher, they dont play to the same fanbase. Slither hasn't slipped on the charts. contraband is in the top 10. Releasing fall to pieces now ends slithers run. Let them release it when they have a video ready

[Billo]

I thought they played it a bit quicker....I liked scotts different singing at the start.......His voice wasent the best during the last half of the song cos of all his danceing but Slash was awesome...

[Bill 213]

Yes, I to would have liked to have seen them play FTP.  However, I think they may have played Slither because of the outdoor setting.  A "rocker" such as Slither would have got the crowd more fired up.  

Did you see the crowd they were playing to?  There were like 3 people bobbing their hands in the air and other than that it looked like a very mixed crowd...I noticed a lot of older people there.....It definitely wasn't a "rocker" crowd.  FTP would have hit right.

[Falcon]

i think VR are doing everything possible to shoot themselves in the foot

Again,

its time for another single, they must hurry and put another out! CB is fallin down the charts, some may have already dismissed them simply cause they keep playin the same fuckin song over and over

The band record company and management have done absolutely everything perfect so far, questioning them at this point in time is less than smart...

usually if u play one song on letterman, u play a different song on leno, what are they gonna do now?

Wrong.

3 recent examples of rock bands on Letterman,Leno, Conan and Kilborn playing the same song...

The Darkness - I Believe In A thing Called Love (Dave and Jay)
Courtney Love - Hold Onto Me (Dave and Jay)
Auf Der Maur - Followed ByThe Waves (Conan and Jay)

Usher already has released 3 singles, he had 3 songs in the top 10 and this is why his cd has been on top for so long and why it has sold through the roof

So?

VR also going straight to europe hopefully will help their overall sales but they shouldve stuck around the US

Again, questioning folks that have yet to make a mistake...

Puh-leaze..

FTP has to come out soon, they have to put slither behind them and get the ball moving, cause once CB loses its momentum,(which it is very close to doing) it will be finished!

Putting a still hot single behind them is flat out stupid.  The longer it stays successful, the longer legs the album will have.

debuting at number 1 means nothing if u fall out of the top 10 as fast as they have, that shows they arent drawing in that many new fans

Last time I checked, Contraband was indeed back in the top ten and doing just fine..

[D]

thanks for proving my point to me falcon


the darkness,courtney and whoever else u listed what new single have they played on those shows?

none i know of, why? cause they already got their appearance, now its finished

are leno or letterman gonna have em on next month to do FTP? i wouldnt bet on it!

slither is hot, release FTP capitalize on the momentum

Usher has sold over 5 million records and he released his cd just a couple months or so prior to VR he had 3 songs in the top 10, it keptpeople buyin the cd

Slither is over! its time to introduce fans to new stuff that have never heard of this band true its back in the top 10 which is great but the time FTP gets up the charts slither will have burnt out, i find it better to have a single already on the way up then slither burn out and then release the single

i like VR i just dont want them to fuck up a great album by killin their momentum and they could be in danger of doing so

[axl1962]

Yes, FTP may have been the more appropriate choice in retrospect.  However, maybe they did not know what the crowd would be like.  There were tickets for sale to see them.  They like I probably thought a younger audience would have snapped up the tickets.  Why the fuck would a middle aged bald man in business wear buy a VR ticket anyway?  I am sure VR was just as dissapointed with the crowd response as us.

[phaseONE]

For all of you who havent seen the performance, theres a link up at the belowempty site here...........

http://www.belowempty.com/vr/index.php?p=news#040717_1

Enjoy!
 

[Falcon]

thanks for proving my point to me falcon

Apparently your point of view was/is so weak and baseless you need(ed) some hackneyed misinterpretation to prove it to yourself..

Congrats..have another Zima....