GN'R @ the 2002 MTV VMAs thread

[Immortal-Cry]

Jimmy Fallon sucks, he's so unnatural. Surely he didn't even heard a song of AFD

[Mutherfunker]

But by all means, continue with the excuses and denial.

Fuck the excuses, Axl was nowhere near his best maybe, but that doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that this was TV. What people saw was crowds going wild, a performance with huge energy, presenters saying "wow", confetti and shit everywhere. It doesn't matter how good Axl's singing was, the energy was there, and the precense was there, and it was impressive.

You think the average person watching this is gonna be sitting there going "hmmm, well that was a hell of a surprise, and a great spectacular finale, but, hmmm... I think Axl's vocals weren't the best" Fuck are they.

@#$%Muther

[slashman91]

it was fuckin awsome at first it almost made me piss  the living hell outa me damn good.

[Booker Floyd]

Fuck the excuses

...here comes the denial...

Axl was nowhere near his best maybe

Maybe?

but that doesn't matter.

To some more overzealous fans, perhaps not.  But blown notes and winded off-key screeching make an impression to the average viewer.

What matters is the fact that this was TV. What people saw was crowds going wild

 

I saw the crowd go wild all night?

a performance with huge energy, presenters saying "wow", confetti and shit everywhere. It doesn't matter how good Axl's singing was, the energy was there, and the precense was there, and it was impressive.

I agree, the presence was great, but that doesnt change that much of his singing was cringeworthy...

You think the average person watching this is gonna be sitting there going "hmmm, well that was a hell of a surprise, and a great spectacular finale, but, hmmm... I think Axl's vocals weren't the best" Fuck are they.

Hahaha, of course they are.  One of the people I was watching that show with was laughing at his singing, adding that "He sounds like shit".  It wasnt that Axls vocals "werent the best" - they were bad (at least in the beginning and end).  When hes blowing notes, squealing, and butchering the "Sha-na-na.." part, people notice and decide that it sucks.



@#$%Muther

[Mutherfunker]

What is this 'denial' you're fucking obsessed with. Axl's singing was not the best. End of story. Everyone knows that. All people are doing, is looking at the positives from the performance and there were plenty.

If you choose to be obsessed with the quality of Axl's voice then so be it.

The singing wasn't important in this context. You think many people were sitting their commenting on Axl's voice? You must be delusional. Oh, hang on there was one person sitting next to you who did that, so most people must have done it too.  

Now here comes the post where you analyse every word again......

[Booker Floyd]

What is this 'denial' you're fucking obsessed with.

Just pointing out that youre in denial, about Axls performance and peoples perception of it.  Hardly an obsession, but if thats your defense mechanism, I wont take it away from you...

Axl's singing was not the best.

Heres the denial...

"Not the best"?  I think most would describe it as "bad," or "not good" if theyre kind.

End of story. Everyone knows that. All people are doing, is looking at the positives from the performance and there were plenty.

Looking at the positives is fine, but ignoring or denying the bad...well thats denial.

If you choose to be obsessed with the quality of Axl's voice then so be it.

Obsessed

How are you going to judge a performance and ignore the actual performance?  You focus on the host and crowd reaction and confetti, and downplay the actual performance.    If his singing was spectacular that night, my guess you would be among the first to play that as your trump card..."Listen to how great his singing was!"...and it should be.  But because it sucked, youre choosing to downplay its importance.  

The singing wasn't important in this context.

Of course not, because it su...wasnt his best.

You think many people were sitting their commenting on Axl's voice?

Judging by media reaction (radio/TV comments, articles on the show, etc.), the many people Ive talked to about it in person, and even the online GNR fan community - Yes.

You must be delusional.

Defense Mechanism #2?  Turn it around on me...clever!

Oh, hang on there was one person sitting next to you who did that, so most people must have done it too.  

And theres been tons of people in person, and on here, whove said the same thing.

[Mutherfunker]

Bleh, whatever. You make up your own stories. The majority of people in this thread have said how much they enjoyed seeing gun n roses at such a big event, and so did I.

I'll happily watch that performance many times and enjoy it.

Yet again, the whole of your post was dedicated to Axl's voice and you're constant talking about people's denial, defense mechanisms, etc

Get over it, learn to enjoy things, it'll make you a happier person  

Good luck!  

@#$%Muther

[jarmo]

I enjoyed it, it was exciting to see the new band on tv.

I'm also aware of the fact that singers have bad nights. If you don't believe me, go listen to U2 live in Sarajevo 97.  



/jarmo

[Malcolm]

I thaught the show was amazing and axls voice was awsome and u could tell how excited he was to be up thee on tv

[SLCPUNK]

I think they gave off more energy than anybody else that night.

[Nytunz]

I just came home from town, and decided to watch some GNR videos i have recorded over the years!
So i Started with the VMA performance! And DAMN! I started with the last award to Eminem,
and when Fallon began to get excited about the next performance, the goosebumps started to
take over me! This is a feeling i never get, watching other GNR videos! And all the excitment shows,
that this is somthing very very special! Its something that will be written down in the music history!
Axl and the new band was amazing! Look at the great start of the show! Look at Brian! And Fortus!
They give all theyr energy, and just prove that this is a big event! Even if Axl dont sound like one of
he`s best performance, he give EVERYTHING! He run like hell! And dont lay back anything of the old
Axl! He prove that he is still the same Kickass Rockstar he was in the early 90`s.
 This is really a great show! You just have to watch it over, and over again!! I dont think there
ever has been so much excitment over a performance on MTV or VMA before!! Its just Sanctuary!

What do u think will happen when Chinese Democracy come out??? I actualy dont care! As long i like it!
But enyway, im sure there will be a big hype! They will be so fucking big, that only God knows how to
handle the whole thing! Just take good notice to the crowd, how they yell when Fallon Introduce GNR!
This is fact! GNR is soon ready to start from scratch again, and they will make a musical revolution!
I just gotta say this, even how bad it sounds, but this guy called Axl, has got som magical, sanctuary
in hes eyes! Maybe its just us longtime fans who can see it! but im sure that we all can the same flame
of greatness, and starlight in this guy`s eye!

Well... I hope u all got to see this sunrise performe soon in the future!

[nesquick]

the VMA 2002 was one of the most exiting musical moment I have ever seen. ok, Axl's voice wasn't great, but his CHARISMA totally blew me away. I was just like "wow"?
Axl Rose stage presence is absolutely phenomenal. can't explain that. the man is a legend. this is a feeling. You can see his whole life when he is on stage. You can feel it. It's sincere. You can feel he lives for music.
oh yeah and Richard Fortus was really great too, especially on paradise city he moved everywhere on stage.

[ClintroN]

it was an amazing performance, my tape's fuckin' worn out!!!

I think Axl's pretty nervous at this show too, his voice just loses it after the intro scream..BUT..wasnt that scream just fucking kick arse , everytime im shivering, unreal!!
if they do MTV again i hope they do CHI-DEM, its got the sounds that everyone will dig.

[ccorn69]

i suspected something was up when pink mentioned in the preshow if axl had brought buckethead and sat watched the show blowing of a date with a hot chick, oh well it was worth it, that performance raised the hairs on my arms and it still pumps me up, that is truely one of the great VMA moments in history .

peace 

[grog mug]

I show it to everyone all the time, I've even brought it to party's and made them play it over the speakers.  Great sounding show.  Axl sounded best when he busted out MADAGASCAR.  Can't wait for the studio version.

[DJM]

Ive never seen the show where can get download

[Dave_Rose]

I love the performance the band look like they are having a really good time and I thought WTTJ was ok and the Maddy and Paradise City was great that was such a kick ass performance I remember seeing it I was like  Guns N' Fuckin' Roses 

[GnFnR87]

u can get it on Kazaa

[Mattman]

I just downloaded the nuGN'R's performance at the 2002 VMAs.  I'd only seen it the one time it was broadcast, and I remember thinking that it was merely okay; my biggest problem was that Axl seemed a bit winded and out of key.  In the time since, I've spent countless hours on this message board talking about the possibilities of nuGN'R.  Today, I decided that I should take another look at the performance that, for better or for worse, defines nuGN'R for most of the world.

The first thing I noticed was that the video clip I'd downloaded was the whole performance.  There were like two or three verses of "Madagascar", and I only remembered one from the original broadcast.  The thing that stood out to me the most on viewing this performance again was that Axl sounded winded, out-of-breath, and out-of-tune on the old material.  "Welcome to the Jungle", "Paradise City" - he tried, but he didn't seem to have the energy anymore.  I know now that he was having problems with the monitors, and indeed, he was adjusting his ear thing the whole performance.  But conversely, I was struck by how powerful the performance of "Madagascar" was.

It just seemed to fit in so much better with the new band, with the new Axl.  Not to mention that Axl's vocal performance on this song was easily the best of the medley.  I also liked seeing the  band perform a song that was THEIRS, not playing a cover version of songs that they had no part in creating.  Seeing Axl sing the old songs was disappointing; it had a bit of a fat Elvis feel.  Still, it's clear that Axl still has The Voice.  Whenever he screamed, it was exactly like the days of yore, every bit as powerful.  It's just that the rest of the time he couldn't stay in tune.  That's really too bad...I could see Axl trying to readjust his monitor the whole show, and I couldn't help but cringe.  Axl Rose, my favourite singer ever, and rock's ultimate recluse, finally comes out of his cave, and THAT is the time when his monitors break down.  Goddamn Murphy's Law.

All I can say is that watching the performance revived my faith in nuGN'R's future.  And by that, I mean their own original songs.  Their performance of "Madagascar" was great; their performance of the old hits was weak.  Okay, Axl's singing was shaky.  The band did alright on the material.  Especially Buckethead - watching solo at the end of "Paradise City", I was gripped with a wave of disappointment about how he quit the  band.  That guy had techniques like I'd never heard before.  The logical outgrowth of Eddie Van Halen.  I really hope we'll get to hear some solos by him on the album.  But as I was saying, it's time for nuGN'R to stop being the world's greatest Appetite For Destruction cover band, and start releasing thier own material.  They have the songs; "Madagascar" is as good as most of the classic Guns N' Roses ballads.  It's time for them to release them.  Axl needs to stop living in the past and realize that his future could be bright if he could only realize it.

He seemed so cool at the end, like he was having a lot of fun, in his interview with Kurt Loder.  He sure didn't seem crazy or delusional there, he just seemed like the cool Axl that I know from old footage.  Even the braids and sports jerseys didn't put me off so much after seeing them in a performance again.  I mean, really, they aren't so bad.  Axl will be Axl, and he's not 28 anymore.  He looks almost the same now as he did when he was younger anyway, just with braids and a shinier face (hmmm...).  And he still has decent moves onstage, too.  He's not a feeble old man...he can still move around.

Whoa...I think I'm having a dave-gnfnr2k moment here. 

[echrisl]

Not to be in a rush to make the first negative post, and maybe someone will beat me to it while I'm typing, but every time I watch the 2002 VMA's or any shows from the 2002 tour, I get depressed and think about what could have been.

You want to feel downright awful about the state of the band, go watch Paradise City from Madison Square ... See you next summer indeed ...