New York Daily News -
http://www.nydailynews.com GUNS ROSE TO OCCASION Tuesday, May 16th, 2006
Someone must have given Axl Rose a personality transplant.
At a rare Guns N' Roses show at Hammerstein Ballroom on Sunday, rock's most celebrated loon often acted like the perfect gentleman. He smiled broadly, cracked jokes, thanked the crowd incessantly and even saluted his mom for Mother's Day.
He did not, however, change his famously tardy ways. Seventy-five minutes past the stated start time, the band took the stage at 11 p.m. With a 2 1/2-hour show, that meant fans didn't go home until after 1 a.m., leaving them necessarily bleary-eyed the next day.
On that level, Rose conformed to his old operating principle, which is the opposite of Jesus' "We must suffer for His sins."
Few in the crowd could complain, however, given the punch, vim and authority of this performance. (A final show takes place tomorrow, then the band heads off for some Euro dates.) Though Rose remains the sole original member of the band, the show recalled GNR's prime, packed with expert solos, a churning rhythm section and Axl in (largely) fine yowl.
Fans had reason to doubt things would end so happily. The band had previously toured only once in more than a decade. That stint, in 2002, ended, inexplicably, after Rose didn't show for a Philly date, sparking a riot.
Consider, too, that Rose hasn't put out an album of new material in 15 years. And every time he claims a release date for his work in progress ("Chinese Democracy"), it never seems to show. It's the Big Foot of CDs. Rose's latest claim is that it will arrive in December.
We'll see.
Sunday's show featured several songs from "Democracy," but they earned little audience response. Mostly, the band dutifully twisted to the oldies and did so with verve. The three guitarists traded solos with aplomb.
Rose himself did a credible version of his old serpentine dance, though he's got less swivel in the hips. The now meatier, 44-year-old Rose looks like Gregg Allman with Bo Derek's hair. But his energy made up for some loss in finesse.
Otherwise, the show was largely about re-creation rather than reinvention. With much of the material drawn from the band's debut "Appetite for Destruction," they were partying like it was 1987.
If that meant the show ended up an exercise in nostalgia, at least it was a rare brand. Most in the crowd probably hadn't seen Rose in over a decade. Many probably never had at all and, surely, not in a theater this cozy. For their wait, Rose and company exuded plenty of old-time rock star charisma and showcased a catalogue still worth celebrating.
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