November 20 - Halifax, NS @ Halifax Metro Centre [DISCUSSION]

[Psychophobia]

The acoustics are so bad at the Metro Centre though, a lot of the sound quality really depends where you end up sitting unfortunately. The best sound quality I've heard there was probably BB King, in 2002 or so... that was from the middle of the floor section. It also wasn't as loud of a show obviously, which helped a bit. The worst sound I've heard at a concert there was Damageplan when they opened for Slayer... I was in the lower bowl on the bassist's side, and virtually all I could hear were drums, some guitar, muddled vocals, and a whole lot of distortion.

It's one of the drawbacks to a 3 guitar lineup, as well, I think, that it makes for a bit of a muddled live sound. I found it real difficult to hear Thal from where I was sitting, for most of the night.

[RJ1221]

GNR +? Bubbles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVsp9gos3_8

yes!! love it...great vid?

that is fuckign awesome!

[-Jack-]

I didn't really mind the solos at Inland Invasion.. but when my friends and girlfriend did.. it makes me enjoy the show less. I kinda just wish the band would drop them.. keep the show moving.. but its fine.

[jguns]

Sweet child at Halifax is one of the best I have ever heard, It's there on the page with TPB's.

[holtzmn73]

Last night was awesome, when the Trailer Park Boys showed up it was awesome, hopefully our American cousins will have the honor of seeing this song played.

I doubt it as not many people in the US have seen the Trailer Park Boys.

[JonnyG]

Ha just found this gem...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfzsEgPlQxg

[sexkitten]

Uhhh, let me get this straight....there was no beer??? THAT'S SO UN-METAL!

[JonnyG]

No alcohol at the venue, but as I understand it the Metro Center never has alcohol at concerts.

I was most bothered when I went up for a drink to find no concession stands open at 12:30am and the vending machines turned off for this particular event.

No biggie though!

[axl2]

Any chance a DVD will come out of this show?

[Slash_N_Roses]

pyscho, what seat/section were u? i was thinking the same thing, that video from sweet child and liquor and wh0res looked pretty close to where i was.

[daubs]

i think the video was upper bowl, close to the front row. i know where psych and slash_n_roses were, i think he was just above you, in the upper bowl.

[Psychophobia]

Yeah, it does look like an upper bowl shot, on second look.

I was in section 8, surrounded mostly by older folks, with a smattering of cute girls in front of and behind me.

[ppbebe]

The Halifax Herald coverage with some pics
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Entertainment/542561.html

Rockin? the Metro Centre in the early mornin?
Gunners deliver two-hour-plus show led by consummate showman Rose
By STEPHEN COOKE Entertainment Reporter

Whoever coined the phrase "better late than never" must have been a Guns N? Roses fan.

A band that is used to setting records ? whether it?s having one of the biggest selling debut albums in history with Appetite for Destruction, or the first band to have simultaneously released discs sit at No. 1 and No. 2 on the chart, after the release of Use Your Illusion I and II ? it set a new one at the Halifax Metro Centre, as the first headliner to hit the stage at midnight.

But that?s generally been par for the course on this current Guns N? Roses tour, which the band has made up for by delivering an impressive two-hour-plus show featuring a high level of musicianship by a trio of crafty guitarists and founding member Axl Rose being the consummate showman.

Thankfully for the eager sold-out crowd at the downtown arena, Halifax was no different.

Guns N? Roses hasn?t played Atlantic Canada since the ?80s, when it opened for Iron Maiden and, if you can believe it, The Cult, and now it?s back as a headliner, albeit on tour for an album that?s been nearly a decade in the making and still hasn?t seen the light of day. But whatever demons dog this band, they didn?t appear on stage on Monday night as it tore through an enviable repertoire ? including most of Appetite for Destruction ? with a handful of songs from the long-awaited Chinese Democracy project for good measure.

With explosive flashpots and the churning riff of Welcome to the Jungle, GN?R hit the stage with gusto. "I wanna hear you scream," commanded Rose, and the crowd obliged. As the smell of pyrotechnics smoke hung in the air, the ornery vocalist performed his familiar sashay across the stage, clad in a shiny shirt, black wrap-around shades and with his braided hair pulled back into a pony tail.

Appetite tunes It?s So Easy and Mr. Brownstone followed, with guitarist Ron Thal looking like a Cossack in his wool hat and long black coat, before the pyrotechnics came back into play on Live and Let Die, a truly exciting rendition of the James Bond theme with sometimes Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck shining in the solo spot.

Finck was really in the solo spot after an extended Knockin? on Heaven?s Door, with inspired wailing from somewhere between David Gilmour and Frank Zappa, before launching into the iconic opening riff of Sweet Child O?Mine, prompting rousing cheers from the crowd, many of them squished together in a standing-room-only space on the floor in front of the stage.

While third guitarist Richard Fortus punched at his instrument, Finck soloed with wah pedal intensity.

Thal got his chance to show his stuff in the new tune Better and the Terminator 2 soundtrack song You Could Be Mine, which he played with full-throttle intensity while Rose whirled like a dervish around the stage.

Other six-string highlights included Fortus and Finck?s instrumental duet on Christina Aguilera?s Beautiful, of all things, and their consecutive solos on November Rain, which also saw one of the highest counts of lighters being held aloft I?ve ever seen at the Metro Centre.

The big surprise of the night ? well, a surprise to anyone who hasn?t read reviews of other Canadian concerts on this tour ? was an appearance by the Trailer Park Boys to perform a song Bubbles said "we play down at the Legion sometimes"; the infamous Liquor and Whores. Bubbles (a.k.a. actor/musician Mike Smith) sang with abandon, even knocking over Rose?s mic stand, while the GN"R vocalist could barely contain his laughter. In some ways it resembled a ramshackle live moment from the former career of bassist Tommy Stinson, in his old band the Replacements.

"We?re not too far from our own trailer park," grinned Rose. "I think that?s going to become a staple of our set. We?re going to have to play those guys some royalties."

Into the home stretch, GN?R played Appetite tunes like My Michelle and Night Train with punk fervour, while Thal did a solo version of O Canada that had the audience on its feet and singing along, before he indulged in some insane finger tapping on the fretboard.

At 2 a.m. the band hit its encore, starting with Chinese Democracy?s Madagascar, then the farewell strains of Paradise City.

Rose?s gravel-lined voice held out until the end (there were a few moments where I had my doubts), and in fact it seemed to get stronger as the night drew on. Who knows, if the band can maintain this level of performance and recreate the energy in the studio, Guns N? Roses could easily have a third decade in it.

Toronto trio Die Mannequin poured a ton of energy into their opening set, especially singer/guitarist Care Failure, but only generated a modest crowd response as many were still filtering in through the security checkpoints.

A quintet of Suicide Girls put on a striptease show that was supposed to be a lesson in cutting-edge sexuality, but mostly just felt like marketing.

At least I could appreciate the nearly nude restaging of Reservoir Dogs? infamous interrogation scene.

Local heroes the Trews were also on the bill, showing off well-honed arena rock chops, and looking like they were having the time of their lives. Thankfully, they kept their clothes on.

[RoCoKiN]

Well, I'm a day late with my review, but better late than never.  Did anyone else notice Del James and Frank Ferrer walking around the floor before the Trews came on.  They kept looking up at the crowd and walking around the floor.  Del even walked up the aisle by my section with a flashlight in one hand and a walkie in the other.  The show was absolutely fucking amazing.  I would have waited until 2am to see that.  It was everything I was expecting and more.  Axl sounded really good and he seemed to be having a helluva time.  At one point he ran over to the side of the stage near I was on and he went to close to the edge and it looked like he lost his footing for a sec...he could have landed in the pit if he hadn't corrected himself...a little scary.  The only bad thing that I can say about the show was that it went by way too fast.  I could have kept rockin' until 3am.  I went with a couple of fiends and my girlfriend:  My girlfriend has always given me such a hard time about being a Guns fan over the last few years because she's always considered them washed up...and the only reason she went to the show was because she knew it was huge for me to see them and she wanted to see my reaction, anyway she was really impressed with the show and has been telling everyone that i was a really good show.  That in itself blows my mind.  At some points in the show she would turn to me and be like " Wow, he can really move" with a little lust in her eyes    Anyway, well worth the wait and I'm sorry it is over  and I can't wait for them to return.  I was happily suprised that everyone stuck around to the end considering it didn't end until 2:15am.

[RoCoKiN]

the only problem was 4 drunk guys in front of me who kept hugging each other and holding hands above their heads. and this one guy, some girl came over and sat on his lap and they just made out for like 5 songs. i didnt mind that so much, but the hugging and stuff was getting on our nerves as they blocked our view all the time and talked loudly thru the whole show.

I think I was sitting a few rows behind you because I remember four guys who were standing during Ron's solo while everyone else was sitting and it looked like the person behind them said something and three of them sat right away and the fourth guy was putting up an argument...I was thinking a fight was going to break out...and there was a guy and girl there who were making out for a bit too...If I was sitting behind them I probably would have knocked them on their ass.?

[Codith]

Roco what row were u in? i was in 7 row p, and i remember seeing like 4-5 lebonese guys hugging and dancing through the last hour or so lol.

[Codith]

Oh guys they do serve alcohol regularly at concerts, I remember have like 8 beer when Our lady peace came here during the summer

[RoCoKiN]

Roco what row were u in? i was in 7 row p, and i remember seeing like 4-5 lebonese guys hugging and dancing through the last hour or so lol.

Cool, I was Sec 7 row n, seat 4

[Noticeboy]

There was beer for sale again last night at the Goo Goo Dolls.
And the concert was over by 10:00... felt like it was just starting after the night before..lol

And as for sound in the Metro Centre being bad and depending on where you sit.. that's bull.
It's always good for the headline acts. GnR had the worst mix I have heard in there and I have been to A LOT of concerts there.

Good times.. when are they coming back? lol

[daubs]

I think I was sitting a few rows behind you because I remember four guys who were standing during Ron's solo while everyone else was sitting and it looked like the person behind them said something and three of them sat right away and the fourth guy was putting up an argument...I was thinking a fight was going to break out...and there was a guy and girl there who were making out for a bit too...If I was sitting behind them I probably would have knocked them on their ass. 

haha yeah that was me and my friend who told them to shut the fuck up and sit down. they were just hugging eachother like what the fuck? i was glad that they started making out because it shut him the fuck up. we told them to shut the fuck up and the one guy was like "did you pay more than us? no? ok just making sure." they left soon after .there was one point i was considering pushing the guy in white down the stairs. i didnt mind them standing, like of course they had the right to that, but hugging eachother, holding hands above their heads, talking loudly to eachother, basically they were just disrupting the concert. we saw the really annoying guy after the concert alone and considered jumping him.

how many rows back from us were you?