November 27 - Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena

[Blackls2]

The Loop is/was selling tix to Monday's show for 20 bucks?  That is not a good sign!

I am having serious doubt to my Monday night?  I hope I'm proven wrong!!

[misterbrownstone]

i'll see you mother fuckers there!

[sexkitten]

It's close to a sold out show. So, don't know why the radio station would be selling tix for $20.  Shoeless joe's is a cool sportsbar (it doesn't suck)
here's the website: shoelessjoesrosemont.com
10290 W. Higgins Rd.
Rosemont, IL 60018
847-296-5760

All State Arena
6920 N. Mannheim Rd.
Rosemont, IL  60018

I read that parking at all-state opens 2 hours before event.  It's def. walking distance from Shoeless Joe's.  See you guys in about 27 hrs.!

[FlyingDutchman]

I know this is last minute, but I'm looking for one floor GA ticket to this show.? Please email me at flydutch2003@yahoo.com if you happen to have an extra.? Thanks!

[crazycheryl]

Fire em up sex kitten! Damn, girl you're working the pre-party. It is now officially 24 hours away! Who is gonna sleep tonight! Heard you got a sweet belt to show all the HTGTH folks! That is so awesome! Bring your fun bag. I'll bring mine.

24 hours MF'rs, 24 hours til we rock!

And please don't tell me they put Suicide Girls on this bill!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please!!!!!!!!!!! This is the midwest, get that sh** out of here! Sorry if you like them! I thought it was just going to be my lover and GNR!

24 hours to serious head banging and singing my ass off! I should have asked Johnnie B to try and interview him! If anyone calls the loop tomorrow, tell Brandmeier to wake him up! They must be staying the night? No show tonight right?

[Annie]

Mods I apologize if this is in the wrong section but I want it to get noticed. I just had the good fortune to score a seat in section 110 on Ticketmaster, so I have a totally awesome seat in section 111 to sell. It is rowEE seat 25. I think this is 5th row. I paid $90 with ticketmaster fees but will sell for face value, $75. Pm me. 

[freedom78]

Yeah, no show tonight.  Can't fuckin' wait!

[sexkitten]

Suicide Girls (and if they add another band) will go on first, so Baz won't start until 9-9:30ish. Gn'r will go on anytime btwn. 11 and 12.  So, pace yourself crazy cheryl. 

[crazycheryl]

Yeah. I will need to! Cause you know I can get crazy or not so and pass out in my seat. I would be sooooooooooooooooo pissed at myself if I did that! So, the pace is on. But, I think Allstate has a cut-off time which is pretty early for beers cause they cut us off at Metallica! Metallica played one song and beer sales were over. So, that should help the pace.

I'll be on again later! It's hereeeeeeeeeeee! 

[savedsol]

I'm guite pumped by tonight. Probably won't be as magical as the Hammerstein was put cool nonetheless. Of course, a mention at midnight (Tuesday) that Chinese Democracy is now for sale wouldn't hurt - especially if it was in the lobby after the show!

[crazycheryl]

Nothing is as magical as seeing any band at a small arena! But, I guess you have to take what you can get!

Hey, I called Allstate and some very nice (not) lady who sounded thrilled to be doing her job told me only Suicide Girls and Bach will be the bands opening. I also asked when they would cut off alcohol sales and she said she didn't know. And I wanted to ask if Rosemont has an ordinance cause I think they do regarding time and alcohol but she was like ok, bye.

So, bring the flasks and any other party material cause you never know!

[1badapple]

I'll be heading to the arena about 8:30, in time to see Bach. See y'all there

[crazycheryl]

I'll see any HTGTH members at Shoeless at 6 PM and then maybe the rest of you at the show! Might skip Suicide Girls if they go on before Bach but never the less we will be there in section 111 row DD. I'm leaving and can't wait for the party!

Have a kick ass rock til your tits fall off night cats! I know I will!

[WhatIsItMan]

Okay, I'm getting ready to leave.  See you guys there.  Save me a spot in front!      

[Annie]

7 more? hours til we see AXL!

[crazycheryl]

Does anyone know where the review thread is?

Came to work, stayed for the whole show, can't speak from screaming, tired as hell and I still wish it wasn't over.

[jarmo]

You can post reviews here in this thread.

Will be easier to find it in the future...




/jarmo

[crazycheryl]

I didn't know Axl was sick and still performing!!!!!!! Holy shitballs! The lyrics cut out some times but I thought it was the sound because they were having problems at other shows. No wonder he didn't say much!

This show was f***ing fantastic! Saw Bach and GNR. Bach fired up the audience like crazy because he was ranting about how his first show was in Chicago and here it was 20 years later and could we believe he was back? Also dissed MSG but I think it was to fire up the audience even more! Then made some jokes about Allstate. They deserve it cause they cut off beer sales way too early!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Solid performance and played longer than expected.

GNR. What can I say that hasn't been said? The band members (even though not the original, sounded excellent) are total showmen and sounded tight as hell! I didn't want this show to end, even at 2:00 AM. I was tired but euphoric! Some lamies in the crowd but overall great crowd and great reception to every song - critics say the new songs didn't make a dent but the audience responded very positively and many of the audience already knew the tunes! People around us did try to bum some OH's but I was like, unless you are a HTGTH member, no.

The thing I missed the most was Axl's ranting - I used to love how he would talk to the audience and sometimes go off on a tangent and fire people up! But now I see why he didn't speak much - strep! I wonder just how much more this show would have rocked if he wasn't sick! Seriously - the audience was crazy about him - he said on a press release that he was going to do a surprise acoustic jam but because he wasn't feeling well - would he have done that here in Chi-town? Showed up someplace and played?? Or at the show???

And a couple of side notes - sex kitten is one of the greatest cats around! She made me this awesome t-shirt that I wore proudly the whole night - it says - I love Axl on the front with a picture of him in the back of a squad car being arrested and laughing - love it!!! The back says - loaded like a freight train. Many comments on that one!!!!!!!!! Plus, she had cats buying her drinks - not just one - in shoeless joe's before we even got there - she needs to be a good will ambassador!!!!!!!

Didn't see any HTGTH peeps at Shoeless, where were all you guys?

Also, a three year old in our row, smelling so much marijuana is just not cool. Who the hell brings a three year old to a show that lasts until 2:00 AM? Scary.

Head banged my ass off, arms up all night, screaming and singing to every song. Damn, if only I could be 21 again and follow this band on the road!

Sorry, if it's long. Just can't stop thinking about the show! Let's hear it folks! 

[brock]

At Allstate Arena, a polished Guns N' Roses now more brand than band

By Greg Kot
Tribune music critic
Published November 28, 2006, 6:20 AM CST


When last seen at the Allstate Arena, in 2002, Guns N' Roses had retooled its lineup and was previewing tracks from its years-in-the-making album, "Chinese Democracy." Pyro and fireworks exploded, guys not named Slash played fancy guitar solos, and the songs from "Appetite for Destruction" still sounded unbeatable.

On Monday at the same venue, it was 2002 all over again. The Gunners lineup had once again been shuffled around singer Axl Rose, and "Chinese Democracy" had still not been released. Several songs from that endlessly forthcoming album were once again trotted out to little notice, but "Sweet Child O' Mine" and the rest of the "Appetite" tracks still rolled through the joint like a freight train on fire. There were more long guitar solos by Slash stand-ins, and the pyro was still hot enough to flush cheeks in the lower balcony.

If Rose and his revolving door of bandmates sound like they're spinning their wheels, that didn't bother an audience that filled the arena to three-quarters capacity and lingered through three opening acts and a two-hour-plus Gunners set that didn't end till nearly 2 a.m. They came to relive the era when Rose, Slash, Duff McKagen, Izzy Stradlin and Stephen Adler put the sleaze back in Sunset Strip rock 'n' roll, and sold millions upon millions of records. Since his 1987-92 heyday, Rose has managed to alienate all his sidekicks and many of his fans. Now he stands alone atop GNR, but there's the inescapable notion that it is now more of a brand than a band.

Monday's show was a polished procession of oldies and a smattering of new tracks. Rose's recent material sounded more labored than the swaggering older material. The "Chinese Democracy" songs were outfitted in once-trendy touches, such as trip-hop beats, but they already sound dated. The fans were unmoved. They came to hear "Appetite" played in its entirety, and Rose played most of it. Night-prowling anthems "Welcome to the Jungle" and "Paradise City" framed the concert, and "Mr. Brownstone," "Sweet Child O' Mine," "It's So Easy," "Nightrain" and "My Michelle" (which Rose sung with opener Sebastian Bach) still packed a wallop.

Rose's snake dancing charisma isn't what it once was. With his beefier frame, sun-glasses, and braids pulled back in a pony tail, he looked like one of those oily '80s talent scouts who once might've signed Guns N' Roses. But when his yowl wasn't badly undermixed, as it was in the early portion of the show, it still cut like a rusty blade. He was at his best on "Patience," first whistling the melody, then crooning it with grizzled authority against a subdued acoustic backdrop.

The singer was unfailingly gracious, and the set rolled along without a hint of trouble. The musicians around him, including bassist Tommy Stinson and guitarists Robin Finck, Richard Fortus and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, sounded well-rehearsed. They were pros doing what pros do when on six-figure retainers.

And so the night was a journey along the back road of mega-stardom, where professionalism rules. Like Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart, the Gallagher brothers and countless others, Rose is just the latest rock 'n' roll rogue to take final refuge in its comforts.

gregkot@aol.com

[freedom78]

If he has to call them Slash stand-ins, I can live with that, but he should have enough respect to make that statement AFTER discussing them by name.  I get the feeling he came in with preconceived notions, and was looking for evidence to back them up.