London (Hammersmith Apollo) 7th June

[Seymour_Duncan]

All those who moaned and whinged about the lateness, get a life. You should know what to expect, he has never been one for being ontime. Although he can be forgiven as that was far and away one of the greatest guns concerts ever (i've seen them 4 times already). Crowd was as one, axl was on top form & the band was increadibly tight and functioning as a band, not hired guns! The setlist could not be faulted & the new songs were stunning.

I was with a mate who was always sceptical about the new band. He walked out of there in disbelief & the biggest grin on his face. Guns n roses are truly back to being the greatest rock n roll band in the world!!!

Welcome back.

[mlewis]

And the Ritz show was the same as fifty others around the same time. You're sitting here, on the web, reading a setlist, and you think that summarizes a show? No, it was all about the interaction with the crowd, the chemistry, the atmosphere in the place. The energy was incredible- that's why I make the comparison, and I think that those of us who were there and who have pretty much all given ecstatic reviews would know a little better than somoeone whose entire knowledge is based upon SMS messages from the show.

[slashisvr]

I kinda felt sorry for all the people that missed the last tubes.

But hey, you could not of asked for more from that gig.? It was perfect.

I was one of those guys that missed the tubes- it took me till 6.30 to get home, but I didn't care. That show, was as good as rock shows get. The chemistry between the band, and just as much between the audience and the band, and the general atmosphere, and of course the show itself, were just amazing.

i got home at 11 2day, ruffed it in hammersmith.worth it though

[pilferk]

This show at Hammersmith was like the one at Budapest or Madrid.

It is special for you because you attended it. Comparing it with Ritz '88 is an exaggeration.

Again, were you there? ?Have you even seen a bootleg?

I know the obvious answers, so....perhaps any assertions you have on the subject are irrelevant? ?Hmmm?

[jazjme]

Yeah, Robin was stealing the show. People were loving his mid-song solos, and the duet with Richard went down really well. Really, this was as intense and great a show as I imagine being at the Ritz in 88 woukd have been- this show, to me , was this band's Ritz.

Stop blaspheming.

Thanks.

Were you there? No. I was, and I know what it was like.

This show at Hammersmith was like the one at Budapest or Madrid.

It is special for you because you attended it. Comparing it with Ritz '88 is an exaggeration.

IOd have to disagree CAUSE I was at The RItz in 88!, so if anyone can compare I can, and these shows now, blow away what i orgional fell in love with 20 yrs ago!

HAnds Sown for me Hammerstein, on May 12th (because I was there) was my favorite show),followed by The felt forum in 87, and May 17th. (the ritz for me has droped to like 11 outta 17 shows i have seen.

[WARose]

of the 600 gigs I've been to (and obv. not just by GNR) only 3 have finished after 11.30

how many 0s did you post too much?

one or two?

[markreed]

GNR at Hammersmith was the 494th gig I've been to. (List available at request).

[slashisvr]

this was my 4th gig, 3times to see VR and one GNR

[Axl Z]

seen GN'R twice now (2002 & 2006) seeing them agaian at Wembley in july

loved the show last night, got plectrums off both bumblehead and robin!!   
they'll be framed next to the one i got from slash at one of the three VR gigs i've been to there.

Axl no offense thou but PLEASE start the show "about 9!" that was way too late and it took 2 hours to get home and ?15 more rather than just the tube!!

[Scabbie]

Awesome gig. Great entertainment and all of the musicians were on top form.

[Slashead]

This show at Hammersmith was like the one at Budapest or Madrid.

It is special for you because you attended it. Comparing it with Ritz '88 is an exaggeration.

Again, were you there? ?Have you even seen a bootleg?

I know the obvious answers, so....perhaps any assertions you have on the subject are irrelevant? ?Hmmm?

Pilferk, you think you are the smartest, but you're only a sad sophist. Mr mlewis is, according to his profile, 23. That means that he was 5 years old in 1988. But you are not asking him if he attended the Ritz show to make such a risky comparison with yesterday's show... You're asking me... And you don't even wait for my answers : you already know them ! You are exceptional, pilferk. You know everything. Or better said, you think you know everything.

The '88 Ritz is acknowledged as one of the best shows (if not the best) among the numerous shows the original GNR played. So the comparison is risky to say the least...

But in your case, pilferk, the dishonesty is evident.

[mlewis]

Again I ask you- what do you know about last night's show? My age is irrelevant- the Ritz show was small enough that I only know of one or two people online who claim to have been there, so we all know it through the bootlegged video. My  point was, it was the atmosphere and performance that made it great, not the setlist. And last night had both of those things in abundance.

[slashisvr]

IMO i think they really do need to start playing more new material, but the problem is no one knows the new material, so alot of people just sit there because its unfamiliar to them, axl needs to put the album out quicker, i mean they've so many shows now 2001-2006 with the old stuff and now the new stuff is old like madagascar the blues, i dont see the explaination for it really, it was a great show and im glad i went but i think its time for change, espescially if he wants this band to be accepted, you cant have the 'new' band playing 80% old material

[pilferk]

Pilferk, you think you are the smartest, but you're only a sad sophist. Mr mlewis is, according to his profile, 23. That means that he was 5 years old in 1988. But you are not asking him if he attended the Ritz show to make such a risky comparison with yesterday's show... You're asking me... And you don't even wait for my answers : you already know them ! You are exceptional, pilferk. You know everything. Or better said, you think you know everything.

The '88 Ritz is acknowledged as one of the best shows (if not the best) among the numerous shows the original GNR played. So the comparison is risky to say the least...

But in your case, pilferk, the dishonesty is evident.

On the contrary, sir..it is your dishonesty that is evident. ?And your bias. ?And the irrelevance of your opinions.

You were not there. That's the fact of the matter. No public bootleg of the entire performance has yet made it's way to the 'net. ?That, too, is fact right now. ?So, once again, as was the case in our last discussion, your OPINION on the matter is uninformed and baseless. ?And that's really all anyone needs to know.

I wasn't, and haven't, suggested the show was as good as Ritz '88. ?I wasn't at the Hammersmith show...so I don't know (contrary to your assertion that I "think I know everything").  ?What I'm suggesting is that, since you definitely weren't there either, to offer up your uninformed opinion as some sort of FACT is dishonest, irrelevant, and absurd.

And what I DO know is that, as evidenced by your past posts, your objectivity is clouded by your attachment to an incarnation of something that ceased to exist about a decade ago. ?

[andi]

First, perspective. I'm a music fan, not a GnR fan. Worked for Sony Music, own 1000s of CDs, blah blah. I don't know many songs from GnR. Having read the last 15 or so pages of commments, I thought you might like to read an account from the view of a non-hardcore fan:

I managed to pick up a couple of returns on Friday so we made our way to the show yesterday. We heard Guns would be on stage at 8:45, so we made it there for 8:45. A7x were still on stage. Whilst we were queueing to get into the venue, the doors opened on a tourbus parked outside. Two naked chicks (with page 3 style fake boobies) posed for a few seconds. I guess this was an omen that this wouldn't be an ordinary gig.


I was in the stalls (standing section), and there was plenty of time to meet the people around us. Standing around 15 people back from the front of the stage, I met an 11 year old kid and his mum . F'ing cool. One big guy behind me pissed into a cup (and drank some of it). Not F'ing cool. There were plenty of boos and handclaps. To be fair, I bet alot of people had been waiting much longer than me (several hours). A lot of it was to do with the fact that it was unbelievably hot inside the venue. I was sweating as soon as I was in the foyer. The queues at the bar were around 5 people deep.

However, as soon as the opening guitar of WTTJ echoed around the room, the crowd erupted! Not as much of a heavy mosh as I'd expected, but there was a large circle pit to stage left for some songs. All the hits had everyone within eyesight jumping in time.

Not many lighters for any of the slower songs. Not that many crowd surfers. Some people were crowd surfing before the band came on stage, I guess to entertain themselves, but all ended up getting dropped.

Axl's voice was basically perfect. He hit the hit notes with his trademark gravelly-ness. As usual, the mix was fine, but it was the whole crowd singing along that drowned him out a little. I was pretty much blown away the whole night by the entire band. Only November Rain stood out for me as a poor rendition. Some bits were out of time, and the soloing was shocking. I didn't like the way the guitarist imitated Slash's style of vertical guitar playing.

I didn't know who Sebastian Bach was, but he injected some energy back into GnR when they were flagging a little, with his flowing locks flying all over the stage.

Most of the soloing was extravagant guitar wanking, but I thought the guitar duet was awesome. It was cool when Axl lent his microphone to some kid to sing. At the end of the show, he threw his microphone into the audience, and everyone around us hit the deck to find it.

The pyrotechnics were amazing. Not just bangs and waterfalls, they actually had rockets on stage too.

With respect to the timing of the concert, it was sure annoying. Most bands find the curfew fines a sufficient incentive to appear on time. I guess if there's one man who can get away with it, it's Axl. I'm glad I saw him, and they show was amazing - it didn't matter that I had to pay ?40 ($75) for a cab home. To be fair, in London, England, UK, 95% of shows finish before 11pm. It may be different in your country, but don't slag off the guy who said 600. It's probably true. I've probably been to aroudn 300 gigs, and I've had the same experience. Then again, 95% of headline sets don't last 130 minutes...

I didn't really like the new tracks - my favourite new track was Nighttrain. I know it's an old track, but I hadn't heard it before.

In short, as a neutral, it sucked they were late, but they more than made up for that with a real show, great music and a great spectacle.

[Slashead]

Again I ask you- what do you know about last night's show? My age is irrelevant- the Ritz show was small enough that I only know of one or two people online who claim to have been there, so we all know it through the bootlegged video. My? point was, it was the atmosphere and performance that made it great, not the setlist. And last night had both of those things in abundance.

Mlewis, I'm glad you enjoyed yesterday's show, really. No sarcasm intended.

But to say that it was as good as one of the greatest performances of GNR is not only unconvincing, it is absurd too.

pilferk, sad sophist, there are bootlegs already... and it's absolutely certain that your attachment to the guys who wrote most of the songs played by Axl yesterday won't cloud your "objectivity", since you have no respect for them.

[mlewis]

Why is it absurd? It's just my fairly subjective opinion- and that's surely what counts. To me, it was as good as that. I didn't mean on any objective scale that it necessarily would have been, but to postulate that you can objectively quantify a show is absurd- the experience is king. To me, and most of the rest of the audience, we were completely blown away by the show. That's the feeling that I was comparing.

[slashisvr]

you spell it nightrain my friend

[Skeba]

First, perspective. I'm a music fan, not a GnR fan. Worked for Sony Music, own 1000s of CDs, blah blah. I don't know many songs from GnR. Having read the last 15 or so pages of commments, I thought you might like to read an account from the view of a non-hardcore fan:

...

I do believe that concerts out there end before 11pm. I just thought it was weird that the difference between countries could be that big.. Though my reference is a lot of club gigs and only a few bigger concerts.

Thanks for the review.

A lot of times people out here feel very passionately about the band to one way or another and it does tend to affect their opinion quite alot. So it's nice to hear someone's opinion that's not biased by prior beliefs from time to time.

[pilferk]

I'm glad you enjoyed yesterday's show, really. No sarcasm intended.

But to say that it was as good as one of the greatest performances of GNR is not only unconvincing, it is absurd too.

pilferk, sad sophist, there are bootlegs already... and it's absolutely certain that your attachment to the guys who wrote most of the songs played by Axl yesterday won't cloud your objectivity, since you have no respect for them.

Once again, your dishonesty presents itself in the form of an uninformed opinion presented as fact....actually, given our previous conversations, I could be persuaded to go so far as to say your outright lie is presented as fact.? I've detailed my respect for the old band in a conversation with you previously....so ignorance isn't an excuse at this point.

I have unbounded respect for the previous incarnations of the band. ?I love their material. ?I respect their musical ability. ?As I've said, previously, it's why I own just about every project those guys have put out since they were members of GnR.

I'm just able to seperate that incarnation from this one. ?I don't feel the need to, at each and every opportunity,  make this into an "old vs new" discussion. ?You seem mired in that...with views so clouded by your fandom for Slash, and the former incarnation of GnR, that you're unable to view anything concerning this version without extreme bias...which is why your opinions on all things to do with the current version of GnR, and Axl, are so irrelevant. ?

Oh, and I'd love to see a link to a full bootleg of the show. ?It's not on any public tracker or gnr site that I've seen. ?Just to see what you're basing your opinion on.....

Of course, I doubt such a thing exists.