My night actually started kind'a crappy. I was at Houlihan's in Penn Station having a beer as I was waiting for the credentials to be brought down by management, and on the way to the bathroom I hit my head on a tv monitor that was sticking out into the walk way. Really dangerous. So I had what I thought was a big lump on the right side of my forehead near the hair line. I was planning on buying a hat later at the merch counter to cover it up, but a couple of hours later I was talking to someone backstage and they said they didn't even notice the bump. Funny how a bump on the head always FEELS bigger than it actually is.
I was at the show doing a personal photography project for one of the band members. "Personal" as in FOR the band member, and never to be sold or made available to the public. It was not only a once in a life time opportunity, but also an honor. Unfortunately for the info thirsty fans, there's nothing juicy in this review. No exact times when so-in-so showed up at the after party, no info on who drank what and how much was consumed, no pictures of any famous people, and no info on the album release date. However, I did include a few pics that I don't think are a big deal, and Frank told me an album tid bit that he said wasn't a secret. And fwiw; if anyone was close enough to the stage, I was the one wearing the red flanel shirt... and my hair is buzzed. (crew cut)
The backstage VIP area was cool. They had complimentary beer, wine, soda, cheese, fruit platters, raw vegetable platters and colored nacho chips n' dip. After having only one beer before the project I had to work on that night, I found the band member who I was there for. We chatted for a few, I filmed a "Walking up the ramp" shot, and then he had to go back into the band room to warm up before the show.
As usual, I spend most of my time in this capacity at these kinds of events talking to the road crew, arena employees and people in the VIP area. On this night, it was very special for some of the band members. More than one of them was playing at this venue for the first time in their life. As a result, and also because the event took place in New York City, there were alot of close friends and family members of the band present in the VIP area.
Also present?! JARMO! In fact, I chatted alot with him that night. Funny thing is, I didn't know who he was until the next day when some a-hole at another bb posted a picture of him with rude text transposed onto it. I was like, "Who is this guy? I met him at MSG!"
Anyway, he was really cool. I babbled mostly about Europe, and I also told him about the "American Tobacco" conspiracy. (I lost my cigarette cravings while spending some time in England over the summer... smoking Dunhill & Mayfair)
Sebastian's band was great, as usual. It's funny, sometimes he cracks this joke when fans ask him to sign an old Skid Row album. He says, "Oh that's when I was still good looking." But he really looks the same and his voice is still great for his age. And of course, the same with Axl. Which is ironic that Baz is opening for Guns on the tour. It's like, two 80's front-men who still look and sound great.
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Believe it or not, some people skip work to go to a Guns N' Roses concert 
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Guns N' Roses sounded great too, although I was right up front with my teeth near the stage for the first three songs. So I really only heard the monitor mixes. Sometimes I would move to a position and hear Axl clear as hell, then move near another monitor and hear Ron clear as hell. But later on, I went out into the crowd for a few songs and they DID sound good. If you'd like a better sound review, there are others at this forum.
After the show I was hanging out in the VIP area, and one by one, all of the band members strolled in to greet their fans, friends and family members. Then at some point when Axl still hadn't arrived in the VIP area, I needed to go pee. After I got back, a security guard near the entrance of the VIP area said, "Axl's in there... no pictures," as I walked back in. (I wouldn't have taken any to begin with)
So I walked over to the "huddle" that was around him, and he was shaking hands of fans. He turned around, I extended my hand with a smile, and said, "Great performance tonight" as he shook it. He said, "Thank you very much," while smiling. Then he turned to the left to continue meeting and greeting, as I politely bowed out of the huddle and went to get another beer... or maybe I went back to Jarmo's couch and cracked a "Wanna touch my hand?" joke. I'm not sure who I cracked that joke too, but it really was cool just to meet Axl. I'm not big on autographs and pictures, so the hand shake was cool.
A few minutes later I walked over and greeted Frank. I told him how I think he's a great drummer... especially for Live shows, and then I asked him the best question I could think up. Of course I DIDN'T want to ask the 64,000 dollar question, for obvious reasons, so I asked, "Is it like, TOTALLY top secret how many tracks you recorded on the new album?" And he answered, "No it's not a big secret. Five...."
Then he said something else, but I forgot what it was. I guess I was just trying to remember "Five" because I already had a few to drink.
At some point later, the party moved to a bar about 20 blocks away. On the way in I grabbed a fortune cookie out of a bowl. For some reason there were bowls of fortune cookies and Red Hots everywhere. After opening my fortune cookie, I put the fortune in my flannel pocket because I was already too buzzed to read small writing in a dimly lit club. But to my surprise, when I woke up at 4pm the day after and found the fortune in my shirt, it said "Why I'm here I can't quite remember," which was funny, because by 5 in the morning I was almost to blitzed to remember why I was there that night.
I can't say how crowded the place was because of, ironically enough, Fire Marshal issues, except to say that it wasn't uncomfortably full, and people weren't splashing drinks on each other. When I first went to the bar to get a drink though, I was shocked to find out that this was ALSO an "Open Bar." (Free) I can understand an open bar at the venue, but it surprised me at this after-party. And I can't IMAGINE the tab that Gn'R management must have had to pick up after the sun came up.
So there was nothing really juicy to report at the after party even if I WAS to do so. The band members arrived similarly to the way they did in VIP after the show. Axl was there too, and had a huddle around him most of the time. But as I said, there were alot of personal friends and family members there. So there wasn't really anyone asking for autographs and pictures. I spent most of the time at the after party talking to the band member who I did the project for, talking to Jarmo and his friends, and also talking to fans. I didn't attempt to talk to Axl because of the personal aspect of this after party mentioned above. (friends and family) And I also didn't really have anything to say, other than I'm a fan of his music and he did a great job that night.
I also can't stress enough, and I know it sounds cliche, that Axl seems like such a personable and nice guy. In fact, for being a supposed "Asshole," he sure does smile alot. In fact, he was never NOT smiling every time he walked by me or I saw him accross the way. EVERYONE in the band is nice, and I'm not just saying that.
My night ended when I took a taxi to the Staten Island Ferry terminal as the Sun was coming up. Then I fell asleep on the Staten Island train and ended up going back and forth one full trip to get to my stop, which was near my brother's house. He put me up in Staten Island last weekend until I came back to England yesterday. (Monday) For what it's worth, I'm from The U.S. but I live in England now.
I want to thank Axl for picking up the bar tab at the after party, as well as the band member I worked for that night. Also thank you to Merck for making the project I worked on possible.
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