so we arrived alittle late, about 40 mins into the set. i thought we were still on rock n roll time, not barry manilow time?!?
anyway...here goes...
Out of 10: 8.3
Over-all energy from Slash was VERY LOW!!! Slash, whats going on dude? i love you, but u looked like u were frozen on stage. Slash's playing was pretty good, although i heard some people joking outside after the show saying "too much slash, too much slash....plus every solo sounds the same...he's definitely over-rated"
Now i dont necessarily agree with that, however, i will say SLash looks alittle heart-broken. Either he just wants to be a family man and drop this rock crap, OR, he is still heartbroken over GNR and knows that Scott aint what Axl is. now again, i love slash, he is the reason i started playing guitar, started band and actually almost got signed!!! but he didnt move AT ALL last night. he went up to the front row once that i saw, well actually a few times, but he just really stood there, seemed dazed. all this said, he did play some great solos.....funny thing is, i used to talk alot of crap about robins mistakes and flubs.....and i love robin....but slash had some flubs as well....i guess we all do....but slash just seems nervous when he's playing. he played that STP song, i think Interstate love song or whatever the hell its called, and he didnt seem too confident playing the main riff...i felt like at any point he was going to mess up with riff. to wrap this up with slash, i love and worship and adore him. im just noticing he doesnt seem energized or happy. MAYBE he did stop drinking/drugs and now its just like a normal job for him. Playing high is AMAZING and fun. Playing sober can get not only boring, but u may become uninspired.
Scott.......oh, where to start. he's good. good. thats about it. not very good, not terrible. he works. VR actually has a very cool vibe to it, if they just all seemed happy, like in 2004. they all seem dead now and tired of this "big machine". although, scott DID try, he did his part. his dance moves are alittle played out, but atleast he tried and did his "Frontman of a rock band" thing. his voice crapped out many times....MANY times i cringed, but hey, what are u going to do...there arent many good rock singers left. he killed the melody to Patience a few times, but RECOVERED VERY NICELY in the outro to fix it and finish the outro right. its almost like he wants to show everyone he didnt spend too much time learning this "new song" for him. One thing, he doesnt seem to enjoy singing Axl's part. All in all, Scott is good....not great.....he works.....and if SLash and everyone was MORE INTO IT, Velvet Revolver would seem totally legit and strong, with a very cool vibe. However, they all seem like its over.....maybe it sjust my opinion. i DO THINK they rushed this album, its very generic-sounding. maybe they felt like they HAD to release this album, who knows....it does seem forced though.
As for everyone else....Matt was Matt....he's a solid, very good...ok great, drummer. thats about all....he does provide some good back-up vocals.
Duff was Duff. Not too much energy, but atleast more than Slash. im still surprised that Slash didnt seize the moment and be the rock icon he is, b/c one thing is for sure, that place WANTED SLASH....they wanted an epic solo to scream over. everytime Slash was on the main screen, people cheered. People do love Slash, and so do I.....he's a living legend.....i just wish he was having more fun that it seems....again, i think he misses Axl, but more so, misses the BIG MACHINE of Guns n' Roses....that band is (was?) his baby...
Now Dave....he was great!!! running all around, lots of energy....never heard one mistake, although he is playing rhythm guitar, its mostly chords and small riffs, BUT, he played flawlessly and is a great fit in the band i think. he had alot of energy...its too bad no once cares about him. thats the music business and the fickle nature of american crowds.
that said...the crowd was pretty lame and dead. but its hard to blame them, the band was really far away from the "lip of the stage", the front. they were all the way in the middle of the stage, so people in the front probably didnt get a good vibe. but the set list!!!! how are u going to play Its So Easy right after a slow ballad from the new album that no one really knows. they went right into Its So Easy, and b/c the crowd was dead, no one got juiced. I was thinking for ISE there would be a pit going or something, but nothing. NOTHING!!! people just standing in the front, watching.
mr. brownstone probably got the best reaction. no wait, PATIENCE definitely did, then Brownstone.
Also, there was such a wide range of ages there. i am 30. i grew up on GNR. but there were teenagers there, not many, but then there were lots of 40s, 50s people there, and oddly enough, they were ROCKING OUT!!!! it was both great and hysterical to see 50 yr old men singing along to STP!!!!! songs. GNR im sure everyone knows the classics, but STP??? LOL it was good to see though..
overall....not great, not bad. im very mixed, i dont know what to think. then again, ive seen GNR 6 times since 2002....and i was at the first MSG show in 2002 which was the best show in the history of rock (lol...my opinion anyway) and the first show in 2006 in nyc at hammerstein which was close to 2002 MSG, but just comes in second place. so its hard to impress me. i gotta say, the 2004 VR show in nyc was pretty good, but then again, the excitement was there b/c this was a new band.
a third album?? i dont know....i really dont know.......something makes me think scott belongs in STP. and Slash, Duff and Matt belong....well...... .... well im not going to say it b/c what Axl is doing, works. they just need to release the album this year, or else id say they are going to lose about 50% of their support....people are just about done now waiting for CD. So either release this new album Axl or make a call into VR and save them from themselves lolol i dont wanna make this seem GNR vs VR, its not. Axl has been doing the right things and making all the right moves.....there is just one more to make.
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