Better then we thought

[axlslash4eva]

Well i just DL the 2002 VMA performance and some other videos from their live performances in 2002 and the GNR today is a complete diffrent band.  In the VMAs when jimmy fallon introduced them every1 went crazy and then they saw something that wasnt GNR and they were in shock.  In 2002 sure i was a huge Guns fan but i was disapointed bc it wasnt the Guns i expcted, we had a guy with a bucket on his head, a goth guitar player and a axl rose in sports jerseys who sounded like shit,  like cmon wtf happend 2 the band that would go out there and put on a show u would never 4get and a band that didnt need makeup or a gimic 2 make their point herd, well  I went to the may 17th show not knowing what to expect, sure i knew bucket was outta the band and i heard that axl sounded and looked great, then they hit the stage and i knew this wasnt the same band as they were in 2002, they were better, they lost the jerseys, the buckets and the goth.  NOw all of u reading this could bitch that its been posted b4 or that u dont care and quite honestly i dont care what u say its a discussion board and im discusing my opinon.

[Steel_Angel]

gnr is bigger and better indeedd 

[jimb0]

I do miss the nunchuck dance

[grog mug]

Buckethead is BY FAR the best guitarist GN'R EVER had!!  So don't know him or Finck's old look...they both looked cool out there lookin crazy as hell.  Normally I'm not into that look at all...but I do miss Bucket's solos on the new songs.  No one can play like him so as u can tell with the new band the solos are MUCH slower without BUCKETHEAD!! COME BACK BUCKET!!

[axlslash4eva]

Wow are u implying that buckethead is better then slash, if thats so then buckethead wouldnt have 2 join GNR in the 1st place and play slash songs.  IF he was so good he wouldnt need a bucket and a white mask 2 make his name know, whats his real name??? huh no1 knows  if u asked some1 if they knew him by his real name they would ahve no idea, but once u say the name slash ppl automaticaly know who he is, slash eaerned his name threw his guitar playin, buckhead earned his name threw a bucket

[Tomorrows]

Finck's old look could be pretty cool at times. I think he looked awesome at RiR3. But he looked terrible in a lot of other concerts.

New look is much easier to stomach though.

[Sukie]

Stay on topic. ?Let's not turn this into a Slash is better thread. ?

[axlslash4eva]

yea sorry lol my bad, anyway well stay on topic by im saying 2006 GNR is by far better then 2002 GNR

[grog mug]

2002 by far...2006 axl's vocals/performance MUCH better........I just miss Buckethead (yes better then Slash).  Go see his solo show and you'll understand.  The new band DOES rock though..12th show was great.  Anyway to get Rio on TV??!?!

[Evolution]

The band just seems like more of a band, not that I rejected the 2002 line-up, but there is more banter onstage and whatnot.

[axlslash4eva]

ok ill give buckethead his respeat and yea if he wasnt a good guitarst axl wouldnt get him 4 GNR but watch the 2002 vmas for example of 2002, axl sounds like shit, he cant even hold a note and he sounds nothing like himself, atleast now he sounds just like he did when UYI came out, and he can run around w/ losing his breath, and buckethead and goth fink just arnt guns n' roses, in the late '80s and early '90s would u ever think a guy with a bucket on his head and a goth guitar player would be playing in guns n' roses, its just not what GNR is about

[dave-gnfnr2k]

Ron Thal might just be as good as BH, let give him a chance.

[TheRaven]

Wow are u implying that buckethead is better then slash, if thats so then buckethead wouldnt have 2 join GNR in the 1st place and play slash songs.? IF he was so good he wouldnt need a bucket and a white mask 2 make his name know, whats his real name??? huh no1 knows? if u asked some1 if they knew him by his real name they would ahve no idea, but once u say the name slash ppl automaticaly know who he is, slash eaerned his name threw his guitar playin, buckhead earned his name threw a bucket

Umm, Slash's real name isn't Slash either. If you asked most people what Slash's real name is most people probably wouldn't know it's Saul Hudson. So the fact that most people wouldn't know Buckethead's real name is pointless. What next, The Edge with U2 isn't that good because people don't know his real name?

Raven

[axlslash4eva]

ok point taken, but whos a more popular guitar player slash, or buckethead.  But again lets stay on topic

[grog mug]

good point Raven...I don't know how to play any instruments myself, but I KNOW how good Buckethead is. ?The new GN'R is just fine..but watching Bumblefoot's solo was just "ok" in my mind. ?Great guitar player...like November rain he DOESN"T hold a candle to Buckethead. ?Still love the new lineup and will support them til the end..which hopefully is NEVER.

[axlslash4eva]

bumblefoot did a great job in my eyes, considering he was only in the band 4 a week and had 2 learn all the songs, granted i never saw buckethead play  the november rain solo but that solo was written by slash, so when buckethead does it he is doin what slash rote and mayb just changin it alittle, everybody has their opinions and my opinion is that slash has paid his dues and thats why he is considered one of the best of all time, and in my opinon buckethead was just covering the old songs such as november rain, and as for  the new songs he did a great job on those solos but if i were 2 make a all star band and had 2 pick from buckethead and slash i pick slash

[BluesGNR]

Wow are u implying that buckethead is better then slash, if thats so then buckethead wouldnt have 2 join GNR in the 1st place and play slash songs.? IF he was so good he wouldnt need a bucket and a white mask 2 make his name know, whats his real name??? huh no1 knows? if u asked some1 if they knew him by his real name they would ahve no idea, but once u say the name slash ppl automaticaly know who he is, slash eaerned his name threw his guitar playin, buckhead earned his name threw a bucket

Brian Carol.  Secondly, just as many people know Saul Hudson.  The die hard fans are the ones that know.  Who judges skill by popularity, anyway?

[BluesGNR]

Ron Thal might just be as good as BH, let give him a chance.

I'd take Thal over BH just because of his personality.  He cracks me up.  If you ever talk to him, you'll know exactly what I mean.  Skill wise, he kicks ass. He's been in the band for just about 2 weeks now.. lets cut him a break.  He's a cool guy.

[Slipdisc]

Wow are u implying that buckethead is better then slash, if thats so then buckethead wouldnt have 2 join GNR in the 1st place and play slash songs.? IF he was so good he wouldnt need a bucket and a white mask 2 make his name know, whats his real name??? huh no1 knows? if u asked some1 if they knew him by his real name they would ahve no idea, but once u say the name slash ppl automaticaly know who he is, slash eaerned his name threw his guitar playin, buckhead earned his name threw a bucket

That's the biggest pile of @#*% I've read in recent history....

So Slash is his real name??

You obviously know nothing about Buckethead so please refrain from the asstalk. I bet you never heard of Shawn Lane either, still he is regarded (by the biggest part of the guitar-community) as the best guitar player ever. Music is an artform, no freakin' popularity contest. By your standards Britney Spears must be the best thing since sliced bread. Buckethead's alter ego was mainly created to force people to only judge the music and not the personal life of the person behind the mask. To show you what inspires him in making music and to deal with shyness. He played like this throughout his whole career, from day one. Sure now it looks like some clever gimmick to draw attention, now he has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he's one of the best, but when he first came onto the scene it really didn't do too much for him in being taken serious. If anything he had a steeper hill to climb then most others.

What you need to learn is that Buckethead reached the status of the (almost) untouchable virtuoso by relying on nothing but his own goods. Slash never would have been this big without GNR. Afterall, time has shown what's left of him when it's (almost) just about him (real solo material is almost non existent, it always another band)..... it doesn't even come close to what he was doing a decade and a half ago. Buckethead doesn't need others to show how brilliant he is, people came to that conclusion years ago after the umpteenth brilliant groundbreaking soloalbum.

-PEACE-

Ps. Ron is of an equal greatness, people bashing him should think a minute about the short time he's actually in the band now. Buckethead probably wouldn't have done it any better or worse in the same situation.

[TheMole]

What you need to learn is that Buckethead reached the status of the (almost) untouchable virtuoso by relying on nothing but his own goods. Slash never would have been this big without GNR. Afterall, time has shown what's left of him when it's (almost) just about him (real solo material is almost non existent, it always another band)..... it doesn't even come close to what he was doing a decade and a half ago. Buckethead doesn't need others to show how brilliant he is, people came to that conclusion years ago after the umpteenth brilliant groundbreaking soloalbum.

Your view is skewed. You obviously know your guitargods and I can see where you're comming from... pretty solid reasoning and all...
Although you're correct about bucket being highly regarded in guitarist circles (despite the bucket, not thanks to the bucket), the big difference is Slash touched a much broader audience with his playing, he inspired a whole new batch of young guitar players with his unique yet down-to-earth playingstyle. He broke with the 80's tapping, sweeping, arpeggiating virtuosos and re-introduced back to basics emotional guitar playing. Non guitar geeks liked him whilest it takes a connaiseur to like bucket. 95% of the rock-loving world (and I mean listeners, not musicians) never heard of buckethead before he joined Guns N' Roses.

Slash is on par with Hendrickx, thriving not on his technical proficiency (which is more than adequate) but on the ability to touch people with his playing.