MY FRONT ROW REVIEW of the NOV 3 Show in West Virginia!!!! [updated with pics]

[Guns N RockMusic]

Let me start off by saying that I too was surprised that they chose this venue on the tour, but this was the greatest show of my life and can never top it.? I arrived at around 2:00 to stand in line, to meet 2 other gunners who were waiting.? Several more people came later on, and so forth and so on.? At 5;00. there were maybe 100 people there, but by 6:00 the entrance had well over 400 people there.? The whole entry process was very unorganized.? Rather than having a formal line, people just stood around the 15 or so doors at the entrance.? 2 Guys ran down and opened the doors, but luckily I was able to be the first one through on my side.? I got checked for contraband, and was able to push through 50 people to be the 2nd one through the arena entrance when they surprised us by not opening the main doors.? I sprinted past everyone (see the Army training does pay off) and got a perfect spot on the railing as seen in the pic Brody posted.? I?m the guy in the Ohio U shirt (and yes, the woman on the left wasn?t a day under 40, she has a 16 year old daughter and was very annoying.)?
      Bach came on and the place exploded.? I?ve never been a very big fan of Sebastian, but I am after last night.? He really interacted with the crowd and lit the place up.? He was on for around an hour, and then took off.? About 20 minutes later, Papa roach too stage.? A lot of the younger kids were really into them.? I hate seeing people up front not enjoying the show, but I was that guy while papa roach was on stage.? The lead singer ran up right on top of me.? I didn?t move quickly enough so his crotch (yes dick and balls) were all over my hand.? The grandma you see to the left of me was reaching over me trying to pull him down.? But in all fairness, they did a good job keeping the crowd going and weren?t nearly as bad a BFMV at the Hammerstein shows.? Papa got done around 10:40 and the wait began.
   I often have heard people bitch about the delay between sets, but being right up front gave me a perspective I never had before.? I watched them set the stage up and hook up all the equipment, by the time that was done, it was about 11:10.? Guns took the stage at 11:21, so that gave them a few more minutes of getting some other technical shit done before Guns appeared.? So next time someone complains about GN?R waiting so long to get on, it?s not like they?re fucking off or don?t care.? They can?t come on until the stage is ready and they really came on as soon as they could.
   The lights cut out and the magic happened.? The opening notes to Jungle and the crowd went wild. They played WTTJ, ISE, Mr Brownstone, LALD, KOHD, YCBM all back to back with no break.? Robin took the stage and I caught his attention by yelling his name (which would pay off later).? He smiled and pointed at me before doing a solo that really put the place in awe before going into SCOM.? Dizzy came out next and did some piano jams which was really cool.? I made a bunch of acquaintances outside the venue.? There was a wide variety of fans there.? A lot had heard the leaks, but didn?t really know the members; yes there was an idiot who thought Slash was still in the band.? After Robin did his solo, one of the girls I met asked me his name, cause they were all impressed with him ? like I told everyone, once you see Robin you?ll say ?Slash who??.? They went right into The Blues and it was received very well.? The whole time I was right in front of Robin singing the words, as was I when he went into Better.? He smiled at me and nodded a few times and after Better tossed me his water bottle (nice little keep sake).? Richard came on to do his solo and was joined by Robin for Beautiful.? The crowd was real mellow during this and seemed to really dig it.? They jumped right into OTGM? and the crowd exploded, Axl has that effect you know.? Richard came right by me again, and I was able to get his attention and smile and nod from him as well.? Axl came out with the piano to do November Rain and I told everyone around me to get ready for Ron?s outro solo, as it would blow them away.? Sure enough, Richard, Robin and Bumblefoot provided the goods and the crowd loved it.?
   After they put the piano back, Axl was talking to Tommy and said something to the effect ?This could be a complete disaster as I haven?t sang this song in over 15 years.? They went into Down On The Farm (which was a highlight of the night I must say) to a warm reception.? Ron came out next and played Don?t Cry in its entirety.? I don?t know if he always does this, as I?ve only heard him play about a minute of it before, but it was awesome having him jam it out with the crowd singing the whole song.? I was able to yell loud enough at him when he was by me and he pointed back at me and smiled.? It was just an amazing experience to be able to get their attention and have them acknowledge you.? As you all know by now, they went into Rocket Queen, and IRS where I was able to get Tommy?s attention.? Baz came out and they did a great job with My Michelle.? I was shocked when they played the lies version of You?re Crazy followed by I used to Love her.? They went into patience and the Nightrain.? Nighttain had to be the highlight for me though, cause Tommy came back and sang the chorus with me.? After the chorus he looked at me and said ?Fuck you man, fuck you? smiled and went back to jamming.? After Nightrain was done, he came over and tried to throw me his picks, but they kept curving to the right and he said ?I?m sorry man.??
   They came back out to do Chinese Democracy and finish with Paradise City.? Bumblefoot came down during Paradise City and he let everyone up front touch his guitar, so that was really cool to be able to do.? They came out, thanked everyone for such a great evening did their bows and that was all she wrote.

I will say though, I set a new low for desperation before Baz came on.? I had to piss like a race horse, and there was no way I was going to leave, so I took a cup from the old lady to my right and pissed in it right there on the railing in front of security.? The people around me thought it was funny.? The night was nothing short of amazing.? The set list was awesome and the best and longest we?ve heard yet on the tour.? Being able to make a personal connection, no matter how small, with 4 of the guys is something I?ll never forget.? I can?t wait until Cleveland on the 24th.? Part of me hopes they continue to deliver setlist like last night, but part of me wants to no that it was a special thing they did just for that venue, something I can say I was a part of.? This was the best concert of my life and was so much better than the Hammerstein (though I didn?t think it possible until last night).? The place was packed, almost at full capacity and the energy and support was amazing.? There weren?t groups of people bitching or chanting for them to come on because they thought it was taking too long.? It was a very special night and one I won?t forget.


Edited to add some photos:
?
? I'm in the Ohio U shirt

[Katrin]

Cool review. Glad you enjoyed the show!   

[Chief]

thanks for the review, that was a killer show it looks like!!!!

[mega_music]

Great review man!!! I will also be in Cleveland on the 24th. Hope to also be up front for this show. I'm kicking myself for not making the drive for last nights show, but I guess you gotta work to pay those bills  . Again great review thanks for taking the time to post it.

[riotact_vancity]

that place looks like something they'd have a county fair in....WTF?

[Minneapolisnewsman]

that place looks like something they'd have a county fair in....WTF?

What are you talking about?  That is the basketball arena where Marshall plays.  FYI, Hunington is not huge, but whatever, that is a great place for a concert.  Most name bands play there.

[The Legend]

that place looks like something they'd have a county fair in....WTF?

That's what Estero looked like also.

Anyways man, i'm glad you enjoyed the show. That setlist has been the best of the 2001-2006 era thus far.

[fishyguy]

Great review man and thanks for the pics!

[ppbebe]

It's great that you sung a duet with Tommy. lucky bastard.

and the lady next to you. was she rocking out?

[Guns N RockMusic]

It's great that you sung a duet with Tommy. lucky bastard.

and the lady next to you. was she rocking out?

she was there for Baz.  She was just very drunk and very obnoxius.  It didn't help that she kept grabbing me all night.

[ppbebe]

she was there for Baz.  She was just very drunk and very obnoxius.  It didn't help that she kept grabbing me all night.

oh....what to say....    how surreal.

[sexkitten]

EXCELLENT REVIEW, Randall!!!!!
I love that grandma was all loaded and trying to grab you!  And that's hysterical about peeing in the cup!  See, grandma was useful!
Love it!

[EFISH]

thanks for updating us, glad you had a blast!


and...

I hate seeing people up front not enjoying the show, but I was that guy while papa roach was on stage.  The lead singer ran up right on top of me.  I didn?t move quickly enough so his crotch (yes dick and balls) were all over my hand.

THE EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED TO ME! GROSS!

The whole time I was right in front of Robin singing the words, as was I when he went into Better.  He smiled at me and nodded a few times and after Better tossed me his water bottle (nice little keep sake).

AGAIN, the exact same thing happened!

 

[sexkitten]

LMFAO...Papa's package was in your face!!!

[grog mug]

The place was in the middle of NO WHERE. ?Definately some weird people (lookwise, etc) lol in attendance, but couldn't ask for a better venue. ?Being on the floor about 14 rows back was perfect. ?I was jammin out the whole time...getting everyone else around me into the show...GREAT TIME.

[greenhorn1]

My thoughts on the show. 

Got there about 10:30 after a drive from hell.  Yeah venue in the middle of nowhere with no major roads leading to it.  140 mile drive took 2:45 but since it just saved me from standing around waiting so long for GNR it wasn't all bad.

got a spot about 10 rows back on floor although by the end i was only about 5 back.

First, i'm sorry i doubted frank on drums.  I really didn't miss brain one bit.  And frank was energetic and does seem an integrated part of the band.  Probably not the beast behind the kit that brain is but like I said, during the songs I never noticed.

Second.  Robin is now one of my all time favorite guitarists.  I've been a fan of his from the NIN days but last night cemented it.  Awesome all the way around.  And almost as fun to watch as axl.

Third.  The crowd.  The venue was fairly full.  I'd say maybe 8,000 in attendence.   The crowd seemed to LOVE the band...BUT no one was moving.  Seemed very strange for me.  I'm not big into pits or anything but I at least head bang (at least as much as one can without hair) during the songs but very few people were moving at all.  But after songs the applause was quite loud and everyone around me was making comments about how good they sounded.  who knows, maybe just a WV thing.

The set and sound were both amazing.  Low point IMO was you're crazy which just didn't seem to gel as much as the rest of the set, and chinese democracy which is just a really crappy song.  Sorry i'm sure there's people who like it but in my opinon it's just downright bad.  The rest of the new songs sounded great though.  I think better benefitted from the live treatment more than IRS though.  Blues was killer too.  Axl didn't talk to the crowd too much but when he did he was charming, funny and seemed to be in a really good mood.  Bumblefoot didn't impress me as much as I thought he might but there were times when he was amazing.  Don't cry solo didn't do much for me.  And around me at least the crowd seemed confused by it...as in why isn't axl singing.  no one was singing the words around me.

Merch was overpriced (as is the case with any touring band these days) and actually I'm not real fond of any of the current designs.  The GNR posters they sell for $10 are awesome but I didn't buy any since i've been buying up silkscreened concert posters lately and I have no wallspace left.

[metallex78]

How did Down On The Farm sound?

Was it faithful to the version on TSI and did Axl do the "are you born in a fucking barn or what?!" bit at the end?

[grog mug]

can't remember if he said that, but that DOTF sounded great.  Never liked it before, but now I'm a huge fan.  Sounded really good for playing it for the first time in 15 years.  Axl warned the crowd it might be a disaster, but he played it anyway.

[riotact_vancity]

that place looks like something they'd have a county fair in....WTF?

What are you talking about?? That is the basketball arena where Marshall plays.? FYI, Hunington is not huge, but whatever, that is a great place for a concert.? Most name bands play there.

there's like 12 rows of seats in the background...isnt Marshall a DivIII school or something? just seems weird to play in a, pardon the phrase, hick town.

[jazjme]

Great review randall and others, thats a great pic with you and "grandma!. awesome stuff!