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

[NJ Guns]

The show was awesome, no doubt.  Seeing GNR in that type of venue is as good as it gets.  Was about 15 feet from the stage, dead center.  Unbelievable.  Now I can die in peace.

For a while after the opening act went off I thought I'd stumbled into a Metallica/Nirvana double bill.  I swear the longer Axl took to show up the more concerned I was that I was going to hear more Kurt Cobain than Axl Rose last night.  Just when everyone around me was starting to be like "this is getting ridiculous" Axl shows up to save the day.

Bumblefoot...eh.

Finck...awesome.  When he first came out everyone was like who the heck is that?  Completely unrecognizable.  He was soooooooooo into it.  Great to see.

Axl looked great and sounded great when you could actually hear him.  They need to do some serious work on their mix.  Axl was getting obliterated by drums/guitars on too many songs.

Highlight...well it was all one giant highlight but My Michelle...amazing.  When Axl said "I'd like to introduce you to a friend of mine" everyone was thinking, and shouting, Izzy.  Bas...well that works too.  Oh boy, did that ever work.

To be expected at a warmup show (and first show of any kind in four years) but it seemed there were a lot of audio problems.  Axl seemed to have a lot of trouble hearing things and actually yanked out his earpiece a few times.  I was like, "Oh God he's gonna have a fit."  But he showed remarkable patience and overcame whatever difficulties they were having.  Stinson did have a fit during Paradise City.  He apparently couldn't hear anything and spent most of the song screaming at someone (techs I would imagine) off stage.  It was obvious that he was really, really unhappy.  Too bad it ended on a bit of a down note there because it was obvious, as he said himself, that he was having a great f'n time during the show.

Axl also showed remarkable patience with all the people taking pictures and there were plenty of them.  One guy in front of me must have taken about 8,632 shots.  Axl spent a good while staring a hole through him during one song and then he stopped.

Although I shouldn't be surprised the one thing that never ceases to tick me off is the egotistical, self-important arseholes who show up five minutes before GNR starts and go barging right through people who've been standing there three hours, literally shoving people (women included) out of the way as they barrel their way to the front.  And then when people tell them they're arseholes they get all offended.  Arseholes.

[muffinass]

    i know it was posted earlier...can't find it w/ search function...in huge hurry, need to sell a dud-ticket...

    Was the show all ages, or did they ID at the door?

[NJ Guns]

No ID unless you want to drink.  Just walk right in.

[gmGnR]

Agree with you NJ Guns except on a couple of points.

The way I see it, a pit is a moving piece except for people in the first few rows that are kinda glued together. IMO, the rest of the pit is there to move, jump, mosh, dive.... you name it. That's what makes a show great: both a great performance on stage and an audience that is very responsive to what it hears with a pit reacting to it. I personnaly get pissed when you hear a great grove and nobody's moving. Same reason I can't stand places with seats all over. Call me old school I guess. Now when some guys push their way in when there's no music or during a slow song, that pisses me off too. By the way, I was in Mezz1 last night. For example, watching WTTJ was just amazing: great show on stage and the pit going crazy....

Now, Robin... in my previous post, I wrote how bad the guitar solos between the songs were...  I believe Robin did 2 solos (correct me if I'm wrong) and I'ms sorry for all the Robin's fans but both were just plain horrible. Made me think of me trying to play a solo, it's one of those you don't wanna hear...

[hac]

jUST PULLED TICKETS OFF tICKETMASTER FOR mONDAY SHOW!!!

[JennaSide]

I don't care about people "moving around" during a show, but the first 3 songs last night were outta control where I was. I thought I was going to break some ribs, it was scary. Which pissed me off because I couldn't even enjoy the songs, I was too busy fighting for my life! And for the record, I'm not some dainty flower type person, either. I can hold my own in a pit, but it was a bit much where I was.

[bazgnr]

The set list has been covered so no sense in repeating. ?I was about 30 ft from the stage, and the show was incredible (ears are *still* ringing, though I blame BfMY for that).

Axl looked...happy. ?In spite of the sound problems, songs screw up, etc., things kept right on moving, the energy was paplable, and the band looked thrilled to be performing again.

My some of my initial memories and antecdotes from the night:

Before the show:
Snapping a photo of the "official GnR schedule" posted inside the Hammerstein loading area. ?Lists time for lunch, sound check, GnR show (9:45 - 11:45), etc. ?PM me for a picture.

The Line:
-To the board guy who drove from MA and left his GnR loving wife at home...very cool to talk to you, man.
-One of the longest lines I've ever seen
-Getting (2) new GnR T-shirts w/ Hammerstein on the back - PM for pics if you haven't seen yet.

During the show:
-What a phenominal entrance. ?Hearing WTTJ, and looking around the Hammerstein and seeing so many people smiling from ear to ear. ?A triumphant return.
-Wow, does Robin look like Chris Robinson and John Frusciante got a hold of him.
-Rather than a goth-influenced freak show, GnR looks like a full-on rock band again...jeans, T-shirts, leather - yes!!
-Axl dedicating one of the first few songs to "Carolyn," and looking towards Mezz 1 to his right.? ?Any ideas?!?!?
-Hearing "Better" live, followed by Axl saying, "That was a Robin song."
-Seeing all that pryo so close to the stage, not to mention when Axl almost got caught in one of the blasts, a la Michael Jackson. ?Close call, and he knew it, and gave a huge grin at Brain.
-Having all vocals fall out of the mix for 2 or so songs, starting w/ Madagascar...WTF?!?!?
-coincidence that all leaks but CITR are now in the set?
-Bumblefoot's first solo was god-awful, in my opinion, but his second solo, as well as in-song solos, were really quite good.
-Axl running off stage and into a tent between songs and during songs.  Oxygen?  Ideas?
-The insanity that engulfed the crown when Baz stepped out for "My Michelle"
-Tommy's monitor falling out during Paradise City, and him messing up twice in a row, grinning and having a blast the entire time.
-A killer, killer show that I was so glad to be a part of.

If anyone has pics, PLEASE PM ME!!! ?I only have some camera phone video, which - as usual - is pretty poor. ?Thanks in advance...

[bazgnr]

I don't care about people "moving around" during a show, but the first 3 songs last night were outta control where I was. I thought I was going to break some ribs, it was scary. Which pissed me off because I couldn't even enjoy the songs, I was too busy fighting for my life! And for the record, I'm not some dainty flower type person, either. I can hold my own in a pit, but it was a bit much where I was.

I'm betting you weren't too far from me, then...I had to spend a good amount of time looking left to the pit...

[NJ Guns]

I'm not really talking about the pit.  People want to be in the pit, god bless 'em.  If you don't want to deal with the pit you should know where not to stand.  What I'm talking about is when people are standing there minding their own business waiting for the show to start, and have been standing there for three hours, and then literally get SHOVED out of the way by some fat, drunk loser who then takes offense when everyone points out he's a fat, drunk loser.

[bazgnr]

were there any official cameras? a pro shot?
and did you see anyone taping the show?
thanks for the answers

It was DEFINITELY being pro shot for something, because they were filming people cheering before the show, (right in front of the stage), and throughout the show. ?Two camera men in the front row. ?Definitely official.

One big camera on the upstairs level one as well.

[TheDave0206]

I was in Mezz 1 on the right   (when looked at from the crowd's Point of view) .  We could barely hear axl talking for much of the show, and the only reason anyone could understand Madagascar was because some of the people around were singing the words for it.  A lot of people were screaming for them to turn it up around us throughout the concert, and until the end really,you could just hear axl a little bit over the music.  Great show in general, but the sound issues sucked cause you could hear everyone else reacting but had no clue what they were saying.  Anyone notice Bumble trying to get the band onstage during both of his solos near the end as if they left him hanging, as well as when Robin grabbed Tommy right before the NR Pyro went off cause he was walking directly where it was about to shoot?  I will be on the floor on Wed.  with a first time guns attendee.  We have floor seats-- is it worth showing up at 3 or whenever and waiting or is the sound so bad that we should aim more for middle and back.  One last thing-- anybody see that chick holdin her own in the semi-mosh pit near the center/back of the floor--   Anybody else think KOHD was the lowpoint by far-- just completely reworked (I think) from 2002) with little or no solos-- I liked the mellower version with the nice solo at the end

[sandman]

Axl seems like a new person. it started with the Trunk interview - very.....normal (for lack of a better word). the craziness is gone. no rants. almost like he's on medication or something.

and the band is "new" as well. not a freak show at all. straight up hard rock vibe. and axl's voice, presence, and look are as good as ever.

great band, great show. i do miss b-head and axl's craziness a little bit, but this band is ready to take over the world.

[Annie]

jUST PULLED TICKETS OFF tICKETMASTER FOR mONDAY SHOW!!!

Thankyou so much for posting that! Being a tiny Shakira sized blonde you guys have scared me off the floor! I just found a mezzanine 1 seat for Monday on ticketmaster!

[axlirs]

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

lol @ you eating your own words when axl and bumble become the new axl and slash

[gmGnR]

I'm not really talking about the pit.? People want to be in the pit, god bless 'em.? If you don't want to deal with the pit you should know where not to stand.? What I'm talking about is when people are standing there minding their own business waiting for the show to start, and have been standing there for three hours, and then literally get SHOVED out of the way by some fat, drunk loser who then takes offense when everyone points out he's a fat, drunk loser.

Before the show.... then sure, I completely agree with you. Can't stand that either.

[marino95]

A few other things.

Did anyone else notice Baz look to run over to jam with Axl during the guitar solo in MM, only to see Axl take off running backstage? ?That was pretty funny.

Kind of a small crowd at Mustang Harry's ? ?Would love to hear people's stories from the characters they met there.

IRS and Better did sound a little messed up - but nothing major.

There is no question that Axl is a new man. ?I totally agree with whoever pointed out that they look like a real rock band now and not a freak show. ?It appears Axl is happy and normal and ready to rock again. ?I think this show really demonstrated how he can make that transition for maniacal rebellious young rock hero to middle-aged kick ass adult rock band. ?

I feel so glad to have been there. ?It was completely overwhelming. ?There were several points where I felt like those little girls watching the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show. ?I'll admit it......

[bazgnr]

I was in Mezz 1 on the right? ?(when looked at from the crowd's Point of view) .? We could barely hear axl talking for much of the show, and the only reason anyone could understand Madagascar was because some of the people around were singing the words for it.? A lot of people were screaming for them to turn it up around us throughout the concert, and until the end really,you could just hear axl a little bit over the music.? Great show in general, but the sound issues sucked cause you could hear everyone else reacting but had no clue what they were saying.? Anyone notice Bumble trying to get the band onstage during both of his solos near the end as if they left him hanging, as well as when Robin grabbed Tommy right before the NR Pyro went off cause he was walking directly where it was about to shoot?? I will be on the floor on Wed.? with a first time guns attendee.? We have floor seats-- is it worth showing up at 3 or whenever and waiting or is the sound so bad that we should aim more for middle and back.? One last thing-- anybody see that chick holdin her own in the semi-mosh pit near the center/back of the floor--? ?Anybody else think KOHD was the lowpoint by far-- just completely reworked (I think) from 2002) with little or no solos-- I liked the mellower version with the nice solo at the end

Axl almost got caught in the pyro as well, when he was on the upper right riser near Dizzy. ?He realized how close he came, turned and grinned at Brain.

I was on the floor, right up against the pit on the right side. ?The mosh pit & crowd surfing chick was about three people away from me.

I didn't show up and get in line until 7:25, bought some T-shirts and hit the bathroom when I got in, and *still* was only about 20-25 feet from the stage. ?I wouldn't waste my time in line unless you want to be pressed againt the stage. ?The key is to move up front and suffer through the BfMV set...after that, it's going to be far trickier to get a good spot.

[marino95]

Agree with Bazgnr - I got in line about a mile from Hammerstein at 7:25 too (maybe we were in line together?).  And I ended up off to the right of the stage about 10-12 people back.

[JennaSide]

I'm not really talking about the pit.? People want to be in the pit, god bless 'em.? If you don't want to deal with the pit you should know where not to stand.? What I'm talking about is when people are standing there minding their own business waiting for the show to start, and have been standing there for three hours, and then literally get SHOVED out of the way by some fat, drunk loser who then takes offense when everyone points out he's a fat, drunk loser.

Yeah, i hate that too. I almost got in a straight-up fight with this drunk girl that did that to me. She was weaving around, couldn't even stand up straight and yet NEEDS to push past everyone to get up front? Not happenin'. I wouldn't let her through and she starts whining "what's your problem? You're a bitch" "No, YOU'RE a bitch, I was here all night"    But she was with her equally drunk and hostile boyfriend, and I didn't feel like getting kicked out before the show even started, so I let 'em through. They stood in front of me for like 15 minutes and then left again, I think she was going to either puke, pass-out or both.

[IFINGLOVEGNR]

NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW!!!


'Warm-Up Show' for Guns N' Roses
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By BEN RATLIFF
Published: May 13, 2006
Rock and roll audiences want to identify with the guy singing the song; they need to, in fact. But you?d be hard-pressed to prove that the crowd at the Hammerstein Ballroom on Friday night was identifying with W. Axl Rose. What does he represent, at this stage of the game? Survival? Re-invention? Creative control? The tortured artist? The persistence of the yowl? If the spirit of his age resides in him, his long postponement of an infamous album has diluted that spirit somewhat.

But if the physical reality of Mr. Rose - dressed L.A. style in a leather shirt and jeans and wearing a large silver cross, his hair corn-rowed and pulled back - wasn?t an easy figure to identify with, his voice and body language did the job instead. When he sang ?Paradise City,? the crowd adopted a yowl in kind; when he danced in his undulating movements, like the letter S turning itself inside out, the men and women in the audience involuntarily moved that way too.

Friday night?s concert was the first of four Guns N? Roses shows at Hammerstein Ballroom. On stage, Mr. Rose called them ?warm-up shows? for the band?s European tour, which begins May 25 in Madrid. It?s fair to assume that the large-theater shows will have clearer sound and more effective stagecraft; Mr. Rose?s voice sounded strong, even in his highest nasal shrieks, but the band wasn?t using the warm-up time to experiment. The set list of the two-hours-plus show, complete with flash pots and confetti, came pretty close to what an only slightly different version of the band was playing four years ago, on its last tour.

Mr. Rose is the only original member left in the quintessential ?80s hard-rock band, and this has been the case since 1997. The newest of the seven musicians backing up Mr. Rose on Friday, one of its three guitarists, is Ron Thal, also known as Bumblefoot. (One of his guitars has been designed to look like the bottom of a foot, with bumblebee stripes.) He takes up the role of the pyrotechnic shredder, vacated in 2004 by the guitarist Buckethead. At certain points in the show, including a few discontinuous unaccompanied solos, he accelerated to impressive speeds in chromatic-scale soloing; he also played some lavish, Hendrix-influenced blues language. Why this band?s gut-level songs now require the ornamentation of a wizardly guitarist at all remains unclear. It makes the band more atemporal, more Vegas-y, than necessary.

It was the group?s principal guitarist, Robin Finck, who made the sweetest and most grounded music of the night, and seemed most comfortable at work. An off-and-on member of the band for nine years now, Mr. Finck assumed most of the lines in the old songs formerly played by the guitarist Slash. But when he improvised, he spun out simple patterns, shaking the guitar?s neck and getting warmth and resonance out of each note or chord; his own unaccompanied solo, just before the concert?s final number, was a beautifully coherent, non-shredding couple of minutes, the best of the less-familiar music played in the show. He gave himself to the crowd, even literally, diving in to the audience three times.

The less-familiar songs were, actually, kind of familiar. That infamous, postponed Guns N? Roses album, of course, is ?Chinese Democracy,? which has been in the making for much of the last decade, and still has not been scheduled for release. Some of its songs included in the concert??The Blues,? ?Better,? ?Madagascar,? ?Chinese Democracy,? ?There Was a Time,? and ?IRS??are easy enough to find on the internet, in leaked demos and bootlegged live performances. And in the concert, the new songs distinguished themselves visually as well as sonically, with serious-looking video backdrops: stained-glass details, religious portraiture, Martin Luther King speeches.

The crowd didn?t go nuts for them. Most of the new songs are dystopian, tense, portentous, finally a bit inconclusive; they dabble in electronic rhythms, big keyboard sounds and droning repetition. They didn?t produce much catharsis, on stage or in the audience. ?Sweet Child o? Mine? and ?Patience,? on the other hand, were among the set?s old songs that motored along on earthy, meaty riffs, and provoked the fully expected but still astonishing spectacle of a full house roaring along with every word.

Guns N? Roses continue at Hammerstein Ballroom on May 14, 15, and 17.