New York City, USA Hammerstein Ballroom - May 12, 2006 + general info

[darknemus]

In regards to the cameras filming for the screens on the stage.  I'd agree with you except for this.  About, hmm, 5-10 mins BEFORE Guns took the stage, if I recall, the camera guy was doing some serious crowd panning shots.  Focusing on people, encouraging them to act insane, etc.  The guy took ALOT of what I guess can best be described as B-Roll footage.

In addition, the crowd was also shot by the same guy while GNR was on stage.. so.. speculate away.

-darknemus

[Irish gunner II]

In regards to the cameras filming for the screens on the stage.  I'd agree with you except for this.  About, hmm, 5-10 mins BEFORE Guns took the stage, if I recall, the camera guy was doing some serious crowd panning shots.  Focusing on people, encouraging them to act insane, etc.  The guy took ALOT of what I guess can best be described as B-Roll footage.

In addition, the crowd was also shot by the same guy while GNR was on stage.. so.. speculate away.

-darknemus

So was it worth the wait ? Is axls voice back to what it was ? I heard axl looked much better than 2002.Havent seen the pics yet the pc is acting up.

[randy marsh]

some pics..
http://z13.invisionfree.com/Sixx_Roses/index.php?showtopic=810&st=0&#last

EDIT: reviews, images, audio and video available ^^

[Jessica]

Oh axl looks absolutely GOR ...................GEOUS

 

[mikegiuliana]

Let me start off by saying the meet up was amazing, mr I did a great job getting this shin dig together.. I loved meeting everyone..

hanna hat and young gunner were great, draguns, estranged 495893 (one of those type names really vcool) Porter house killing vector, birk, jenna side & dtj both gorgeous  Jazjme etc etc etc , all great people we all had  a blast...

I was at mustangs from 12 noon until 8-9pm, I drank more hennys then life... Amazingly enough I lasted the whole night..

I made my way over around 9ish got online, couldn't beleive how many people there were, and how many rock sluts..

Got inside then saw sebation bach and his super hot wife.. Walked right by me so I said hey and gave him a smack on the back.. Somebody screamed out hey I remember you 

After that I grabbed a plastic cup of heiny then skipped the merchandise it was really pricey (maybe next time)

Bullets played and sucked, it was like a ton of noise.. Guitar player was good, but one the drums kicked in you couldn't understand anything, felt like the drums were opeircing your heart...

They left and the fun began

GIRL IN THE WHITE MINI WITH NO PANTIES IN THE MEZZ(vip balcony)  She was watched for half hour or better (any pics people) I was fixated on her doing her dancing with no panties 

We listened to nirvana metallica greenday kiss twisted sister, everyone was singing along, great time...

Then the lights dimmed wttj riff and axl was out.. he was wearing a leather jacket, jeans and his braides were tide back...

I instant;ly saw the new guitar player and was like who's the homeless dude... I had never seen a pic of mr bumble foot...

Axl was a man possesed, the band was tight, BBft was awesome... We heard better (awesome) irs and twat... I wish we had heard one song we never did, axl wasn't that vocal info wise.... he was awesome though best in years..

had a great time, walked over to snitch but it was the early am and I was drunk and tired so I walked tot he train and went home

Awesome time...

I was hanging out with Cane the VJ who use to do the rock show on vh1.. Cool guy we shared some views about the band,,..

I did some interview bombed for talking metal.com.. I was just really giving my honest opinions.. DArknemus was really cool to taking so many pics///

Everyone was awesome, great night in general, barbie was cool....

Sorry I forgot names, but the pics posted rock

see you monday, new gnr ruled

Anthony yg still not converted

[illusionone]

Hello,

I've been up for over 24hours at this point so i'm not sure how this is going to come out - but here it goes.....

Venue:  Unfreakin real, I never thought that I would see GNR in such a small club sized venue.  IF you are short your best bet is to get Mezz seats.  The line to get in wrapped around three buildings roughly about 3 blocks <whew> never thought I'd get there.  PS: Don't drink beer while waiting in that line - the cops will write you a ticket ( I have 1st hand knowlede of that :-)

Opening Band:  Sucked - not my cup of tea

Guns N Roses:  Went on at 11pm sharp, and ended around 1;15.

Set List: (not going to attempt it right now)

Here are my general thoughts:

Axl sounds better than ever.  I saw him in '02 and he is 10x better - he has complete control over his voice and is allot closer to the late 80's ealry 90's.  Matter of fact, I couldn't pick up one note that he didn't hit.  I felt like I was listening to Live Era - HE FUCKIN ROCKED.  I was amazed by his performance on stage - the guy knows how to capture an audience.  He took the Hammersein by storm. The band looks and sounds great - I almost get more of a band feel from them than I did with the original group.  The new guitarist was pretty much a non-entity ( I'll be honest, I don't even know what he looks like.  He was not a huge factor.  All of the other band members ROCKED. The band played the new and old songs with power.



My highlights:



Better, T.W.A.T, Night train (this really stuck out to me, best version i've ever heard), My Michele w/ Baz (fuckin great), fuck it - every song was a highlight.  The way they played them mad me feel as if I had heard them for the 1st time.  Power, energetic etc. . .  Pyro and stage set up was unfreakin real as well. 



My Lowlights:



I love the set list, but they need to mix it up so that all of the slower songs are in the back half of the show.  I would not change the songs though, just the order - and i'm only suggesting moving one or two here or there.  Another lowlowlight would be the mosh pits  - I know it's part of the whole 'rock n roll' thing, but there were some drunk guys plowing over 4ft tall women - never got the whole mosh pit thing.



I'm looking forward to the 17th - Enjoy the shows inbetween,



-illusionone

Edit:  I should add that if this is a sign of things to come, I can really see GNR on top of the world again - I had my doubts in 2002 but still faithfully stood by.  The 2006 band rocks fuckin hard 

[marino95]

What an amazing, amazing show that was.

We went to Mustang Harry's for a few hours mid-day - what an interesting group that was. Definitely a good place to go to get in the mood, although you really couldn't hear the GNR playing - it was down too low.

Decided to head over to the line about 7:30 when doors opened (had floor tickets). Much to our surprise, at 7:30 the doors had yet to open and the line was about 3 1/2 blocks long. Seemed like everyone who had a ticket was in line at 7:30. Doors finally opened and we found a spot about 10-12 people back from the stage on the right by 8:45.

Bullet is terrible terrible terrible. Ugh. After an hour of "the greatest hits of rock history" blasting over the PA, GNR took the stage....

Rather than doing a play-by-play (others have done that) - I thought I'd include my observations from the show.

1) I was BLOWN AWAY by how good Axl looked and sounded. He looked very cool - and actually made it through the whole show with NO costume changes. Just straight rock. His voice was in top shape to say the least. For those of you going later this week or seeing him in Europe - you're not going to believe it. He's also greatly improved his stage presence and energy over the 2002 tours. Can't say enough.

2) It seemed like after the rabid reaction during WTTJ and ISE, the crowd stood stunned in disbelief that a) it was actually Axl and  he looked and sounded so amazing. I thought maybe some of the people around us were losing interest in the show because they were just standing there, but in between songs I overheard about 5 people say "This is f'ing unreal".

3) The duet with Bach was off the charts amazing. God, music today is so void of powerful great front men and seeing two of them duet together was something to behold.

4) The new guitarist was so-so. His solo was pretty pointless in my opinion.

5) TWAT, IRS and Better all translated well - in fact, I'd say TWAT was the highlight of the new songs.

6) People are talking about it being rough - I didn't feel that way at all. We were off to the side a little bit, but other than a little pushing here and there I thought it was pretty tame. VR at the 9:30 club in DC a few years ago was FAAAAARRRR more insane.

7) Why do people get so freaking drunk at these things? Maybe I'm just an old fart (33 yrs old) but there were several people around us puking and spending most of the show with their eyes closed. Genius.


Can't wait to hear about the rest of the shows. I'll be happy to post more if people have more questions about the show. The story of the night though was the amazing return to form of Axl Rose. WOW.

[littleredcorvette]

Robin and Tommy seemes ecstatic to be there. Robin was super animated. He ran across the small pit and got mauled and then stage dived twice. he seemed so happy.

NOBODY was calling for the old guys but when Richard, Robin and Tommy came to the front there were huge chants for them, a lot of love.

The sound was so bad at the front that i couldn't make out how even the new stuff sounded. Axl kept scanning the front row and shaking his head in disbelief at many of us singing the new stuff word for word.

There were a fair few cock ups. Robin's NR solo before the last verse went on too long and when he turned round once he releiased Axl was singing again Axl gave him a bit of a look. Axl didn't sing the first 'I would do anything for you...there was a time' bit. They may have rearranged it because the solo by Robin that leads into that after the 'Didn't wanna know it all chant' seemed to go on for ages before Bumble took Bucket's solo. He seemed to hit Bucket's solo note for note.

Axl messed up a few other times coming in too early on a Heaven's Door verse etc.

Overall I think his voice sounded stronger than 02, although a dry soundboard can vary a lot from amplified pro tools. He kinda chickened out of the IRS scream, it was more like a lower LALD scream and pretty short. But he did do an banshee wail for the end of TWAT.

His range is as ridiculously high as before, maybe even higher, and with more rasp but it's very tight sounding.

No new Illusion songs sadly. Couldn't hear the Madagascar solo for toffee. I'm not even sure who was playing it.

Gonna hand to the back on Sunday so I can actually hear the music.

[mikegiuliana]

NOBODY was calling for the old guys

someone in front of me was like where's slash..

[Swords n Orchids]

and you hit him right ?

[Jaffattack]

This guy freaking sucks. Nice solo Bumblefoot. NOT. I went a took a dump during his solo and it was the best decision I've ever made.

This guy is so not balls to the wall Rock n' Roll. Why does Axl feel the need to hire these schticky guitar players??

This asshole is our "suprise"

WHER IS IZZY?

The show was f-ing awesome

[SINSHINE]

Amazing Fn' show! So much Fn' energy and the crowd was great too! Axl looked and sounded top notch! Will be interested to see whether or not they change it up a bit for the following shows.

[gmGnR]

Here are my thoughts:

First, great show, Axl sounded super-powerful and didn't stop moving around, being realy into it, great shape, having a great time....  Just unbelievable.  The new songs are just great, light show was top-notch, crowd very into it....

The duo with Baz on My Michelle was great. Both of them singing facing each other at the front of the stage... priceless!

Songs played (no specific order): WTTJ, It's so easy, Nightrain, Out ta get Me, Brownstone, Paradise City, My Michelle, SCOM, Patience, Live and Let Die, November Rain, YCBM, KOHD  (I think that was it for th old sons); The Blues, Madagascar, IRS, Better, CD and 2 or 3 others that I don't know but based on previous post TWAT would be one of them ( i know there's more, can't remember right now)

The guitar players are good playing the songs (better than in '02) but the guitar solos in-between some songs were probably the worst I've ever heard  (and I've heard a ton).  I'm sure some of you will go nuts reading that,  but  I think these solos were a shame to the band and I can't  believe Axl lets them play like that.  For those who disagree, think about the silence during the mini-break in these solos and the total lack of reaction once the solos were over. Pathetic.  I heard many people complain about it so I am not the only one thinking that way. Robin was very energetic and great during the songs but don't let him pay solo, please!  I understand it gives a few minutes for Axl to rest but ...

Something else I am surprised noboddy talked about yet is the highly uneven sound quality.  That lasted the whole show. For example, about halfway through Madagascar, we couldn't barely here Axl. I felt bad as you could see he was screaming his lungs out and nothing was coming out of the speakers (at least from where I was (Mezz1, dead center)).  That kinda went on through half of You Could Be Mine and then we could hear him again.  That kind of problem lasted the whole show. Very annoying.

Again, show was amazing and I can't wait to go back tomorrow.

[BKinNYC]

I agree.  I wrote a review already, and Axl sounded great.  But NO ONE can say that Bumblefoot was good.  The crowd doesn't lie.  Solos in general are boring, but his was the WORST.  The entire crowd could care less (me included) and the mezzanine was seated. 

The levels definitely needed to be adjusted though, no doubt. 

[Mr. Madagascar]

Reveiw of the May 12 show at the Hammerstein Ballroon

I want to the line outside around 6.00pm. People was so exited to see this show, and to find out who was the new guitar player.
The doors was set to open at 7.30pm , but i think i was around 8.15 before we got in.
Then we finally was inside the Hammerstein Ballroom. It was a very nice place, with floor space to only around 1000 people or so i wold guess, and the 3 nice balcony that proberly also could take around 1000 fans.
After a little wile the warm up band Bullet for my vallentine went on, and did there show for about a hour or so. My openion was that it was some of the worst shit that i have ever seen, but maybe it is just me i don?t  now.

After BFMV the stage was changed for GN?R and there was played alot of cool classic rock tunes in the speaker. There was everything like Metallica, Ozzy, AC/DC and aso some Nirvana was played, and it suprised me because i always thought Axl hated Kurt Cobain...

Well around 11.00pm i was at the bar to buy a beer, and heard a voice in the speaked says "Are you readdy", and the one more time "Are you fucking readdy"....... I think i was Tommy Stinson, but i don?t now.
Now people goes crazy. "Welcome to the jungle" is started the same way as Buckethead normaly starts it, but who is playing the fucking guitar??
Suddenly the light was on, and Robin Finck was playing the intro. Axl came in and screemed like hell "You now where fuck you are" People was so wild.

After WTTJ the went directly into It?s so easy, and the Brownstone.

Axl was looking so fucking cool and better than ever. He was wearing a black shirth, jeans and a pair of sun glasses.
He was looking much cooler than the old shows. He also got a perfect voice, when we could hear it... There was a problem with his michrophone sometimes. He was pretty hard to hear through the hole show. And i don?t think the sound in there was the best. Hopefully they will make it better before the next 3 shows. I?m going to see them all, so i?ll hope it?s better.

After the three songs Axl says "Hammerstein, New york city. My new paradise city."

Then Robin Finck starts the new song "Better" with a cool sound on guitar. This song is so cool, but again the sound wasn?t to good. But anyway, a cool start and ending on this new song. I really like that.
Axl says good evening, and talkes a littel about all the roumers going on on the internet, and people thinking they now all about what is going on inside Guns N Roses. He then jokes around the stage, and take us into "Live and let die"

Then a break in one minute... There was 3 or 4 breakes in the show over one minute, and that?s too long. People was talking about what?s taking so long.

Robin got on stage and did a nice sole (but  not a Slash solo), and turns it in to "sweet Child O?Mine"
After that "knockin on heavens door" was played in a short version, but a nice and very slowly version.
Without a word he starts one of my favorits of the new songs, Madagascar. (see my username on this board.. )

Axl talkes a little about the European tour comming up, and introduce us to the band, and introduced the guitar player Ron Thal (Bumblefoot). Ending up introduce Brain on the drums, and he kick?s of "You Could Be MIne"

The stage was emtpy again, before a piano was on stage with Dizzy playing a nice and peaceful sole that leads into "The Blues" starting in a lower way than the other times we heard it. There was no guitar solo in the start. Nice to hear that again.

Then "Outta get me" followed by a guitar solo of the new guy Ron (Bumblefoot) Thal.

Finally what a lot of fans has waited for..... Axl with the Piano in the middle of the stage. Guess what song??? ofcause his love song November Rain.
That was ofsause one of the highlights of the show, but after that i got better. A guy is screeming like hell "Your Fucking Crazy" a lot of times..... It is Sebastian Bach (former Skid Row singer). He is going to do a fantastic duet with Axl on "My Michelle". That was pretty amazing. Axl thanks him, and after a little while some music and stuff was on the speaker. It says something about Chinese Democracy is starting now. What else song than "Chinese Democracy" could then be played.

Another song from the new album "There was a time" is played.
Axl call?s the fans motherfucker, for nowing the song. He says "You must how downloaded it from the net"

Also the next song "Patience" was a shorter version like Knocking on heavens door was too.

It starts to feel like the energy is over in the audience. A lot of people are just talking together instead of looking at the show.

Number six and last new song is performed. It is a song called I.R.S.

Guitarsolo again. I can?t remember if it was Richard Furtus. Please tell me someone. This solo goes into "Nightrain", and i have to tell you that the audience was going crazy right now.

Well that was the last song on the set, before the encore song, and that was ofcause "Paradice City"

Fantastic to see them again, but as i said i could a better sound.

Here is the complete setlist:

Welcome to the jungle
It?s so easy
Mr. Brownstone
Better
Live and let die
Guitar solo - Robin Fick
Sweet child o?mine
Knockin on heavens door
Madagascar
You could be mine
Piano solo - Dizzy Reed
The Blues
Outta get me
Guitar solo - Ron Thal (Bumblefoot)
November Rain
My Michelle (w/ Sebaistin Bach)
Chinese Democracy
There was a time
Patience
I.R.S.
Nightrain
Paradise City.

[Neemo]

thanks dude....so they did play lald?!

[DoubleTalkingJive]

I thought the show was great!  I thought as well that Robin was awesome!   I was to the right of the stage by the back stage entrance..stood next to Dizzy for a second when he came out to look at the opener, Sabastian Bach stood outside that entrance the entire show...5 ft away from me...and after he sang My Michelle, my friend slapped in five for a good job..I got the right on gesture from him cuz I couldn't reach him.   I dunno if anyone mentioned that Axl said "downloading muther fuckers" and giggled before IRS.  LOL   Overall I thought the band was tight...TWAT was shakey but for the most part they were great.  Axl looked awesome.  and Robin staged dived right infront of us twice.   I had a great time...I saw everything prefectly and upclose, 3 feet from the stage.   I couldn't of asked for a better spot and and it was great show.  Axl looked amazing he looked in great shape.   I can't wait till Monday

[shaun]

Also the next song "Patience" was a shorter version like Knocking on heavens door was too. It starts to feel like the energy is over in the audience. A lot of people are just talking together instead of looking at the show.


This happens at most shows. These are 2 songs GnR should drop. Play Rocket Queen instead 

[AxlFink]

my review: Axl is a new man.  He was happy.  He smiled during every song.   His voice was amazing.  He looked great.  GnR was a much different band than in 2002.  They are more of a rock band now.  Robin was amazing.  Bumblefoot.....ok...Brain Amazing...Richard Fortus perfect for his role.....Dizzy.... amazing... seemed like pitman had some mantits bouncing around but was amazing......  thought bumblefoot and pitman looked a bit old and made the band look older... I kinda missed buckethead.... i thought they should lose some of the solos between songs or improve them although some of Robin's were cool... just slowed the show down a bit.... Dizzy played and amazing solo.  Axl's voice was never better, better!   and better, twat, irs, madagascar, the blues and cd was the hightlight for me.   I'm gonna try and go on the 17th to see how things change over a few days.  peace

[Neemo]

so what did axl say in his speeches/rants ?