Dec 7th - Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place [discussion/updates]

[Mama Kin]

I hate work, I missed both the Calgary and Edmonton shows because I had to work....oh well, it'll probably be only another 15 years before they head back this way

[slashsaxl]

just got back from this show, i was the cursed fan up to this point, i was in vancouver for the riot in 2002, and i bought tickets after that to see them in vegas towards the end of the tour, but as we all know the plug was pulled before they made it to vegas. that being said i was a little nervous waiting for this show

and i was not disappointed one bit, it was hard to hear axl some of the times, but he was as energetic as i've ever seen him through bootlegs, i felt the band was tight, and the setlist, had it all, they played for over 2 and a half hours. i bought my tickets on the floor, was right up front in the middle, and i think i bruised a rib, as i was screaming in pain during mr brownstone, and while the music was still going axl asked the crowd to take a step back cause people in the front were being crushed, that was nice of him. i lasted till after november rain, than i couldn't handle the pain of ribs, i asked security to help me out, and i enjoyed the rest of the show from the back of the floor, and in all honesty it was better from back there, you could hear axl's voice better, and you got to enjoy the entire light show with the pyros and what not.

all in all, i could be biased but i felt the energy the band put out, and thought that the show kicked ass, bach was full of energy too, he knows how to work a crowd. can't wait to see this band again

oh ya, i was with some friends that thought irs and madagascar kicked ass, it was the first time they heard those songs


rock n' roll

[DeadHorse]

Ok, I just got home and I'll give some details but I'll write a bigger review after work.

Fist off, I went to the gig early to get on the rail, and long a behold I did right on Ron's side. A couple of guys that were in line with me where there too when all of a sudden a guy walks up to us at the rail and offers me a cookie. It was fucking Ron " Bumblefoot" Thal. He had his hoodie up but I recoginzed him imediately.

I talked to him for a less than a min but it was very cool nonetheless. I mean, how many people out there can say they where given a cookie by Ron Thal.? The guys with me didn't know who he was until I told them.

The show was awesome. Some notes,

Axl stopped the show mid way through Brownstone to ask the crowd to step back. People I swear to you it was as if we were listening to Live Era when this happened. He asked everybody to tak one step back with everybody starting in the back. Then just when Axl was asking this some monkey decides to crowd surf and has to be hauled over the rail. Axl looked at him and said something along the lines as "What the fuck is wrong with you",? in his retard voice. Then we got to se some vintage Axl when he said, "well guess what, you get to go home, bye bye" and then laughs at the kid. It was pretty funny and claimed down the crowd at the same time.

Ron spent a lot time on our side, hell he even gave me a pic.? Speaking of Ron, during the outro to Paradise City he got down in front of the crowd and walked by the entire front row and let them strum his guitar. He then went down the side as well.

As I'm sure some people had mentioned, they played Down on The Farm and I used to love Her which was a treat for me b/c the didn't play them in Halifax.

The crowd was really rowdy in the middle section but on my side ( left side of the stage) it was pretty easy going. Actually I had only one bum try to take my spot on the rail and he was just a kid.

The sucurity was really tight. I could of had some awesome pics but man the sucurity were stopping people left right and centre.

The opening acts were pretty cool. I missed the Sucide Girls last time out but I got to catch it this time. The girls were pretty and the hoola-hoop, pretty sassy.

Helmet were alright, but as it was mentioned b/f it was a lot of distorted noise.

Baz was great. Man that guy is nuts. At one point in his set this very annoying girl (2 people down from me) was screaming at him and then flashed her breast at him. It was funny to watch Baz and Mike's ( his guitar player) reaction. Baz then opened up his shirt and started to rub his nipples, as did the girl. Needles to say after the show that girl and her firends got back stage.

Anywho I'm off to bed, got work sometime tomorrow.

Cheers,

DH

[mdttkk]

wow first gnr show, sebastian bach was fuckin awesome!!!!!  i think we got every optional setlist song tonight, Out Ta Get Me, Rocketqueen, Used to love her, Down on the Farm, Patience, Chinese Democracy and Madagascar.  i dont think there was any left out, axls voice was incredible the crowd was pretty good.  for song selection id probly say this was the best one all tour, i was hoping to get down on the farm and maybe 1 more but they played all of em, really great.  anyways i get to have 3 hours sleep and write an exam tomorrow, but well fuckin worth it!!!  ill post a better review tomorrow or the day after

[nothingman]

Great show!
Missed Helmet (thankfully)
Baz was great!
Show started around midnight. Axl sounds amazing. He is at the top of his game.

Some Axl comments:
1) Thanks the crowd for the mild Edmonton weather.
2) Talked to the owner of the Arena who made Axl and honorary Oiler (NHL hockey team). Axl says the crowd has so much energy that he is glad that nothing happens to make him cancel the show because he doesn't think this crowd would "disassemble peacefully" and not that anything like that has ever happened before, poking fun at himself.
3) Makes a comment about the "botanical" aroma coming from the crowd! 
4) Says he made a mistake inviting Baz on the bus with him after the Calgary show because Axl says he (Axl) is hurting bad!!

It was cool to hear Down on the Farm.
The place was packed and the crowd was into it!
The show wouldn't be complete unless Axl kicks some poor shmuck out and calls him an asshole now would it ?!?!

[NicoRourke]

Baz was great. Man that guy is nuts. At one point in his set this very annoying girl (2 people down from me) was screaming at him and then flashed her breast at him. It was funny to watch Baz and Mike's ( his guitar player) reaction. Baz then opened up his shirt and started to rub his nipples, as did the girl. Needles to say after the show that girl and her firends got backstage.

Man, I wish I was a rockstar

Thankx everybody for the reviews !

Vanessa should get some +1 karma for all the updates she's doing

[Malcolm]

Thanks for the reviews...Sounds like a great show...Also sounds like, apart from a few moments the Toronto show has been the least best out of the Canadian shows...I love it when Axl talks alot at the shows..Hopefuly they throw in one more song that hasnt been played yet soon

[crazycheryl]

You guys make me soooooooooooooo jealous. Ok I know he was sick, but Axl didn't say shit to the audience in Chicago nor did they play all those songs - I've never heard Down on the Farm live, I love Used to Love Her - they didn't play that, they didn't play Rocket Queen, etc.

I think I need to go to another show - just hope they come back around again cause I know I can't make any more shows on this leg.

[slashsaxl]

You guys make me soooooooooooooo jealous. Ok I know he was sick, but Axl didn't say shit to the audience in Chicago nor did they play all those songs - I've never heard Down on the Farm live, I love Used to Love Her - they didn't play that, they didn't play Rocket Queen, etc.

I think I need to go to another show - just hope they come back around again cause I know I can't make any more shows on this leg.

i was just reviewing previous set lists, it looks like us in edmonton got the most out of the tour so far, they played every song they've played in all previous shows and didn't leave anything out, once i heard rocket queen, i thought they'd pass on used to love her, but there it was, and to top it off, like you mentioned, down on the farm.  that was a nice treat.

i was actually worried, cause i heard they played a great and wicked show in calgary, so i thought edmonton might get the short end of the stick, but by all accounts, we got the better of the shows.  with one more song (down on the farm) than the calgarians got. 

i'm still blown away, i got my first live taste, my first cracked rib, and i want more


rock n' roll

[November_Rain]

3) Makes a comment about the "botanical" aroma coming from the crowd! 

Ha ha ha gotta love the WAR.He has a way with words

By the way, nice reviews everybody.

[LittleFly]

Thanks for the reviews everyone!    And thank you Vanessa for the setlist! The shows sound like they are getting better and better  

[freedom78]

While I really enjoyed the Chicago show, it's becoming more and more apparent that he truly was suffering with the strep and ear infection.  Hell, they've added a couple of songs, consistently (RQ and DOTF), and his crowd interaction seems to be up, which is great.  That was missing in Chicago (the last gig before the strep cancellation), and I think illness is why.  Glad to hear he's in top form (though he sang his ass of, while sick, so lots of respect for that!).

[tim_m]

You guys make me soooooooooooooo jealous. Ok I know he was sick, but Axl didn't say shit to the audience in Chicago nor did they play all those songs - I've never heard Down on the Farm live, I love Used to Love Her - they didn't play that, they didn't play Rocket Queen, etc.

I think I need to go to another show - just hope they come back around again cause I know I can't make any more shows on this leg.

i was just reviewing previous set lists, it looks like us in edmonton got the most out of the tour so far, they played every song they've played in all previous shows and didn't leave anything out, once i heard rocket queen, i thought they'd pass on used to love her, but there it was, and to top it off, like you mentioned, down on the farm.  that was a nice treat.

i was actually worried, cause i heard they played a great and wicked show in calgary, so i thought edmonton might get the short end of the stick, but by all accounts, we got the better of the shows.  with one more song (down on the farm) than the calgarians got. 

i'm still blown away, i got my first live taste, my first cracked rib, and i want more


rock n' roll

Actually i think they've played the Lies version of You're Crazy once so not quite every song played so far.

[Mama Kin]

I hate everyone who got to see the Edmonton and Calgary shows.........

Glad to hear it was awesome, guys and gals.

[zod]

Great show last night, I took missed out when the Vancouver show got cancelled a few years ago.  I think i know why now, Vancouver has that 11pm bylaw curfew on their concerts, and the venue freaked because axl wasn't going to show up to play until probably close to the curfew time, so the venue called off the show.  I always hated that curfew when i lived in BC, it made shows so f'in predictable, because bands had to plan out the encores and what not and get the timing done so the show would end at 11pm.

Last night was great.. I was little burned out from being up since 5:30am.. but I had no idea it would be that good.  I saw velvet revolver a few years back and they had nothing on this.  I did miss the way Slash plays some of his solos (sounded a little odd on the november rain/night train solos when performed by other talented musicians).  The setlists was pretty killer, Axl seemed to be having a great time, I think the only song I didn't get to hear thats a personal favorite is Civil War, I almost thought they were going to play it before paradise city, because they teased "what we've got here is failure to communicate".

Seening bubbles and Axl do liquor and whores was priceless, i saw the youtube video from halifax the other week and laughed my ass off, never thought I'd get to see that out here.  And edmonton transit gets two thumbs up.. usually the LRT stops around 1:30.. but they must of paid some drivers O/T, because when the show got out, they had two trains sitting there (one for each direction), just waiting to take us home.. I thought I was going to have to fight for a cab.

I'd definately go again if they played anywhere around here again.

[Fspen]

Ok, last nights show was amazing. ?Here's my thoughts on the show (from the floor)

- The Suicide Girls were alright - total eye candy, some cute gimicks (like that Resivoir dogs spoof).. but it was basically for the 17/18 yr olds that have never set foot in a pealer bar. ?My younger brother's friend wouldn't stfu about them.

- Helmet played with a surprising amount of enthusiasm. ?That "wall of sound" style is pretty much every song though, but overall they were solid.

- Sebastian Bach was so entertaining. ?I was really shocked by how well he can belt it. ?My buddies were too. ?And if I had to compare Axl and Sebastian, it would be no contest this night... Baz was sounding better. ?It seemed like Axl had a few problems with the mic, and there were times when he would have to skip lyrics because no sound was coming through... and his recent ear infection and strep throat problems couldn't have helped either. ?But what I did hear properly was spectacular. ?

- As for the start of the show, WTTJ sent the place into a frenzy. ?The floor, made up primarily of 16-22 yr old kids, started off crazy and but began showing fatigue as the set rolled along.

- Security kept ?a tight lid on the whole floor for most of the set. ?I saw security man-handle quite a few kids during the show... this crowd's behavior was nothing close to as violent or out of control as some of the shows I've seen in the past. ?And I respect the fact that Security are just trying to keep things under control and safe- not to mention how paranoid Axl can be on stage- but the non-stop rumble between security and these snot nosed kids began to get annoying. ?I don't know who to blame - both the security and the poser kids got on my nerves last night.

- Axl's stage presence is something to behold. ?I've seen everything from Jagger to Weiland, but nothing has messured up to how passionate a performance I witnessed last night. ?The facial expressions, hand gestures, menacing glares, and occassional grins were perfectly timed. ?He was easily the most entertaining frontman I've seen live.

- Bubbles appearance was timed well too. ?I hate to say it, but by 2/3 into Guns' set much of the crowd seemed to have had enough. ?Maybe it was the later start time or the nearly 4 hour wait before hand, the crowd just seemed a little flat by that point. ?But introducing Bubbles kind of re-sparked the crowd. ?Having a near capacity building howl "Cigrits and Dope, and Mustard and Baloney. ?Liquor and Whores" was awesome. ?Even Axl knew the words ?

- My favorite songs from last night were definitely... WTTJ, Better, Live and Let Die, Dizzy's piano solo, The Blues, Used to Love Her, and Paradise City.

- Overall, this was a damn good show. ?Alot of variety and bang for your buck. ?My ears rang all the way back to Lethbridge, but it was well worth it. ?I've had a smile on my face all day. ?One of the best concerts I've seen, period.

[axlrosehunny]

Ok it is 5pm and I am just waking up, had to call in sick. ? 2 straight days of getting back at 4am, really did me in.

Edmonton show.. ? Kick ass. ?I found it a lot better than the Calgary one the night before. ? Only down spot, was that Axl's mike kicked out a couple of times, no big deal.

You have the set list all ready, so I will just give you a couple of my highlights and shit that I noticed.

I think Axl was sick, mabey had a cold or something. ? Didnt affect his voice, but I saw him blow his nose a few time in the corner! ?lol.. ?So ya. ?Thanks Axl for sucking it up.

Some one all ready mentioned this, but durring Brownstone, Axl shut it down... ? ?"People in the Back, take one step back." ?Just like off of Live Era. ?Fucking great. ? Kicked some guy out too. ? ? After that I thought Axl was pissed... ? I was wrong. ? My first time seeing him go off like that. ? Perfect!!!

The set was killer. ?Down on the Farm was one of the best of the night. ?Chinease Dem, was very strong. ? They have it down for that one. ? Pefect song to either open a show, or like tonight, open the encore.

Before patience, Axl started screaming, ?"Fuck!!!! ? Fuck!!! ? Fuck!!! ? I need a little Patience... ? Fuckkkkkkkk!" ? lol, ya that was cool.

Over all the band seemed to be in a real great mood. ? Everyone had a smile on and seemed to be having a kickass time. ?I think Axl real gets a kick out of bubbles. ?I wonder if he would come down to the states what you guys might think. ? Sadley you will probably never hear liquor and whores. ? Great song, find it on youtube.com.

Like I said at the Calgary show I just love the suicide girls. ? They played a couple of different songs tonight. ? Ya. ? Great stuff.

Baz has one hell of a great voice. ?I was pumped when they played piece of me. ?Hope I wasnt the only one there that new that Axl did a cover of this, a few years back.. ? Great.

Well I hope Axl will be back soon. ? We will take him back anytime!!

Thanks boys for the best 2 days of my life!!!

[Axl&Baz07]

Ok, I just got home and I'll give some details but I'll write a bigger review after work.

Fist off, I went to the gig early to get on the rail, and long a behold I did right on Ron's side. A couple of guys that were in line with me where there too when all of a sudden a guy walks up to us at the rail and offers me a cookie. It was fucking Ron " Bumblefoot" Thal. He had his hoodie up but I recoginzed him imediately.

I talked to him for a less than a min but it was very cool nonetheless. I mean, how many people out there can say they where given a cookie by Ron Thal.? The guys with me didn't know who he was until I told them.

The show was awesome. Some notes,

Axl stopped the show mid way through Brownstone to ask the crowd to step back. People I swear to you it was as if we were listening to Live Era when this happened. He asked everybody to tak one step back with everybody starting in the back. Then just when Axl was asking this some monkey decides to crowd surf and has to be hauled over the rail. Axl looked at him and said something along the lines as "What the fuck is wrong with you",? in his retard voice. Then we got to se some vintage Axl when he said, "well guess what, you get to go home, bye bye" and then laughs at the kid. It was pretty funny and claimed down the crowd at the same time.

Ron spent a lot time on our side, hell he even gave me a pic.? Speaking of Ron, during the outro to Paradise City he got down in front of the crowd and walked by the entire front row and let them strum his guitar. He then went down the side as well.

As I'm sure some people had mentioned, they played Down on The Farm and I used to love Her which was a treat for me b/c the didn't play them in Halifax.

The crowd was really rowdy in the middle section but on my side ( left side of the stage) it was pretty easy going. Actually I had only one bum try to take my spot on the rail and he was just a kid.

The sucurity was really tight. I could of had some awesome pics but man the sucurity were stopping people left right and centre.

The opening acts were pretty cool. I missed the Sucide Girls last time out but I got to catch it this time. The girls were pretty and the hoola-hoop, pretty sassy.

Helmet were alright, but as it was mentioned b/f it was a lot of distorted noise.

Baz was great. Man that guy is nuts. At one point in his set this very annoying girl (2 people down from me) was screaming at him and then flashed her breast at him. It was funny to watch Baz and Mike's ( his guitar player) reaction. Baz then opened up his shirt and started to rub his nipples, as did the girl. Needles to say after the show that girl and her firends got back stage.

Anywho I'm off to bed, got work sometime tomorrow.

Cheers,

DH

i am so jealous of that annoying girl, i can hardly see straight. lol

i think i'll try to follow her lead at  the San Diego show.  hmm, my boobs are pretty small though... and it will be cold.    hopefully i don't chicken out.  i'll be on the floor, as close as i can get to the stage.

[thesloth]

Great to hear you guys had a great set list.  Axl interacted a lot with the crowd in The Peg as well he even shook a few fans hands which was cool.  One thing I noticed is for these Canadian shows at least the new ones the crowd has being very nice to the opening acts.  I think this makes a HUGE  diffrence.  Treat all the bands good don't boo them just cheer them on and have a great time.  You paid good money for the night out make the most of it. 

[kyrie]

http://www.edmontonsun.com/Entertainment/Music/2006/12/09/2703606-sun.html

Edmonton Sun gave the show a good review, and mentioned attendence at 15,000.