Hey All,
So it's the day after the Toronto show and I'd thought
I'd post my review. All in all, a pretty good show,
as there was plenty of energy to go around with the
Air Canada Centre close to a capacity crowd. Again, I
didn't bother seeing MixMaster Mike or CKY, as I still
have four more shows to catch their acts. Got there
around 9:15, a little earlier than I wanted to. This
was due to information from Angel that the vcurfewd
strict curfiew policies and would fine the band
severely if they played past 11:30. Despite the fact
that I know Axl wouldn'curfewa damn about curfiew
policies, I got there early just to make sure. First
complaint, the bar closed way to early (9:00). If I'm
waiting an hour and a half for the band, I want the
time to go by as quickly as possible. So big boo on
that one. It was funny to watch the staff at the ACC
run around with worried faces, as news spread that the
"star" of the show had not arrived yet and it was
10:10. I had to inform many of them that this was the
case at most GNR concerts and that Axl would be there.
I think thoughts of Vancouver occupied many people's
heads. This included the crowd, who became quite
impatient as 10:30 rolled around. I told many that if
the band was not out by 10:40, start to worry. Sure
enough, around 10:35, the curtain dropped and the band
kicked into Welcome to the Jungle. If you want the
rest of the setlist, visit Jarmo's site
(
www.heretodaygonetohell.com). One bright spot was
merchandise prices. Granted, still very high, most
items were much cheaper in Toronto than they were in
Detroit. The long sleeve shirt with the dragons
running down the arms was $80 Canadian. In Detroit,
that shirt was going for $100 US. Which means when I
purchased the shirt, I saved $70 Canadian ($1 US =
$1.50 Canadian). Pretty sweet.
Anyway, on with the show. As I mentioned earlier,
this show really rocked. I feel bad for anyone who
saw the Detroit show but couldn't make it for the
Toronto show. Paradise City was worth the ticket
price in my opinion. The band started around 10:35
and played a great two hour plus set (left the
building around 12:50). Here are my ratings for the
show:
Axl - 9/10
I guess I'm being a little hard on the guy, but his
voice wasn't as good as it was in Detroit. Granted, a
lot of it had to do with the sound system and the
mixing guys, but you could definitely tell his vocals
were not as on as they were in Detroit. Perhaps this
has to do with the fact that the tour is well underway
and his vocal chords could use a good rest. But he
still sounded amazing, and his vocals held up most of
the night. During Madagascar, Axl didn't elevate his
singing as he now usually does ("If we ever find it's
true..."). This was sang the same way he did at Rock
in Rio. Just some evidence why I thought his vocals
weren't as "tuned" as they were in Detroit. Oh,
Attire for the evening: Two Toronto Maple Leafs
jerseys (One home, the other away), a Toronto Raptors
jersey, a Blue Jays jersey, andLacrossestingly enough,
a Toronto Rock jersey (Toronto's Lacross team). I
would have thought he'd wear an argo (CFL) jersey, but
he chose the rock instead. Black baggy pants and
white shoes (looked to be skateboarding shoes).
Buckethead: 9/10
Again, this guy rocks. But he seriously creeped me
out during this show. He loses marks for his
rendition of patience (you couldn't hear him). I
would say that Patience is the one song where the old
band played it a bit better than this new one. I also
was wondering what was happening during Paradise City,
as he brought out his puppet like creature. For most
of the song he'd walk this stupid thing around the
stage, then act like he would talk to it, then beat on
it with his guitar and kick it around. Very creepy.
His solo was extremely enjoyable to watch, as it was a
nice break in the show. Overall, good job buckethead,
just leave that freaky puppet backstage.
Robin - 6/10
The more I see this guy the more I don't like him.
Someone mentioned earlier how Buckethead and Robin
were the fan favourites in their section, well, not in
mine. Everyone that stood around me did not like
Robin one bit, and for the most part, I have to agree.
His solos are truly brutal. Man, I thought his intro
for SCOM was bad, I couldn't believe his solo before
Paradise City. It sounded as though someone was just
plucking away at a guitar with no real purpose or any
idea as to where they're going. His performance
during November Rain wasn't too bad, and his solo
during SCOM was pretty good too, but I can't stand his
intros.
Stinson - 8/10
Again, not a major hitter on this team but
doesexcitement job. I get the feeling however that
his energy on the stage is transforming from excitment
to arrogance. Perhaps I'm being harsh on the guy, but
he had a cocky way about himself. During one point,
he was walking backwards and kind of stumbled over
himself, but played it off as though he meant to do
it. Afterwards, he turned his back on the crowd and
started laughing towards Dizzy and the sound guys at
the side (I was sitting on the left hand side of the
stage so I could see all this go down). I suppose
it's not a big thing, as he still rocks. But he's
trying to play it too cool sometimes. That's my only
negative remark about the guy, because otherwise, he
puts on a great show. His bass was on the money and
his punk feel to the songs really liven them up.
Fortus 9/10
Forgetting Buckethead, i think this guy is the best
guitarist on the stage. Kept the rythem going quite
well throughout the whole show. He knew when to take
charge and when to let Axl and the lead guitarist at
the time to take over. No real screw ups that I could
tell, and his slide guitar work during Rocket Queen is
really, really good. Overall, gexcitement on Axl's
part to get this guy in the group. He never brings
the band down as he only adds to the excitment.
Brain 9/10
At this show I was able to get a better appreciation
for Brain. His style is definitely looser than Matt's
(which I like), and he does a good job of keeping a
steady beat but not boring the crowd to death. I
forget which song it was but he did miss the beat once
or twice, but overall, a good job.
Dizzy - 8/10
This is probably one of the hardest working
guyphenomenalhe show (after Axl). It's hard to see,
but the number of keyboards this guy is using at the
same time is phenominal. His rendition of the Blues
was up to par and his keyboard work during the rest of
the show was well done.
Chris Pitman - n/a
I still don't know what to rate this guy because I
don't know what he does. Last night I noticed he
doesn't do much, that's for sure. As I mentioned in
my earlier email, the guy plays mosjudgmentith just
one hand. Even when Dizzy was playing the bongos,
Chris didn't do that much in terms of Keyboard work.
Hence I hold judgement.
Overall, a good show. "Show us your boobs" game is
becoming a slow fan favourite I've been noticing. I
suppose it's fun for about 20 minutes, but it's appeal
dies down a bit as the wait continues. For those who
care, definitely more skin at the Toronto show
thanmagnificentroit show.
The only other noteworthy thing to report was that
when Axl went to introduced the band, he referred to
them as the "magnificant seven," and then proceeded to
whistle the theme song to the movie. Pretty cool.
Overall, I give this show a 9/10. Performances aside,
what really brought this show down a small notch was
the sound mixing. It was noticeable when they weren't
doing a good job in promoting Axl's vocals. Too heavy
on the guitars, and honestly, I thought the show could
have been a bit louder.
I also want to mention that although this review
sounds a bit negative, that's only because everything
else was great. For the few things that weren't
amazing, there were a hundred things that were
top-notch. My marking scheme is that I give the show
a perfect mark and then start deducting points for
things that need improving. Plus, as long as this
review is, it would be much longer if I were to list
out everything great about the show. If you're going
to London tonight, you're in for a treat.
Cheers,
Andrew DNB-mailinglist
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