Two Year NYC Hammerstein Ballroom Anniversary

[Wheres Izzy]

I was at the first show... I was 21 and had been listening to GnR since I was about 9. I was also at the Philly show that never was. Waiting that long to see your favorite singer ever could have easily been a let down because of the tremendous build up but I was blown away. Fantastic show from start to finish.

[Axl4Prez2004]

Great thread!  I was thinking about May 12, 2006 all morning at work and then again at the gym after work.  I can't believe it was exactly 2 years ago today I was taking a day off from work and driving up to the Big Apple from little ol' Delaware to see GNR.  God damn that day was perfect.  Me, a buddy, and my bro-in-law met a ton of great GNR fans who were just genuinely cool people to meet and talk with at the pre-party at Mustang Harry's.  I had the most expensive hamburger and fries I've ever eaten...but who cares!!!  It was great visiting Manhattan.  That line outside the Hammerstein seemed to stretch forever!  The buzz in the air was just fucking amazing.....

I remember bounding up the fucking staircase headed up to mezz 2 not knowing what I'd find when I got there.  Then, to see Axl bad-ass again, looking and sounding better than '02...I'll never forget that day, or night!  I was sooo fucking stoked There Was a Time was played.  My favorite new song...and I was there for the first live performance.  

                   


 

[Kujo]

I was thinking about this yesterday. I always remember the "Happy Mothers Day, motherfuckers" comment on Mothers Day.

I took the week off from work and went to all 4 shows. Just an amazing week that I will never forget. Have to thank all the people involved with setting up the presales for those shows as well.

Also saw Spamalot twice. GnR and Monty Python, does it get any better?

[horsey]

i had a good time myself.but the late show had us stuck under the subways.till the weeee hours of the morning.some strange people under there at night.but the concert was all worth it. it rocked and i had a great time.

[mrbucketfoot]

Hopefully soon we'll all be posting crappy camera phone pictures again and going wild. The only thing for sure about Guns N' Roses, is that nothings for sure. 

[horsey]

lets hope there's more life in guns n' roses yet !
rock on my brotha's rock on !
 

[draguns]

I remember this concert. I couldn't get any of my friends to go to the concert since they are not GNR fans. I decided to go by myself and had a great time meeting new people.  It was such an awesome experience hearing the  opening riffs of Jungle and hearing Axl scream during TWAT. It was a great way to make a comeback!

[jazjme]

Without a doubt that was a great fucking night.. and all the shows rocked, but that first show,and Mustang Harrys, and meeting so many of you guys, was itself awesome, but the show was mindblowing.. and I so yes look forward to doin it all over again!

[sandman]

those were good times. that friday night show was one of the best nights of my life.

on friday, i had a somewhat sad flashback of that day. in 2006, i was rushing home to my house in philly heading south on 95 around 1pm. i was pissed cause i was running about 30 minutes behind my planned schedule. next thing i knew, i was passing a long funeral procession for a police officer that had been murdered in the line of duty. i remember feeling almost guilty that i was so angry for being behind schedule, yet here is a hero that lost his life. it helped put things into perspective, and i it gave me an even greater appreciation for the day/night i was going to have.

so this past friday, i'm driving south on 95 and again, and i pass another funeral procession for a police officer that was murdered in the line of duty. i immediately thought of the day of the first gnr show. and then i realized that it was the same day - not the same date, but the friday before mother's day. kinda strange.

[Continental Drift]

Was there the 3rd show ( should've been the first)

It was a great show and that week alone, was one of the best for a Gnr fan

Now we're here, with no album, talking about Finck being gone, Brain being gone and being told that this thing is in " negotiations"

Unfortunately, they blew a big chance to get the album out there back then, when the buzz was rather large about Axl's return

Fortunately, if they announce an actual release date and repeat history and play the Hammerstein again, they can start the buzz again

We'll see

Honestly... I think they're one of the few bands in the world that are capable of flicking on the "buzz" switch whenever they feel like it... 2006/07 would have been a great time to drop the album.... but 2008/09 could be just as great if not better.

Anyway, was at the first show... and had an absolute blast. I remember being especially blown away by how well Axl and Robin performed together in particular...

[Mr.Intensity]

Just reading this thread pumps me up and makes me want to do it all over again.

Imagine if Axl and Co. announced a 4 night stint again somewhere again in the United States by New Years.

[russtcb]

Just reading this thread pumps me up and makes me want to do it all over again.

Imagine if Axl and Co. announced a 4 night stint again somewhere again in the United States by New Years.

I'd be there again in a heartbeat. No questions asked. Even with Robin in limbo currently, I'd be all over it like stink on a monkey.

[GnR-NOW]

I can't believe it was 2 Years AGO !!!  I got tix to the 5/15 show before the 12th was announced.  And the night of the 12th I was all boosted checking online updates, I still didn't believe it would happen until the 15th.  The whole day was awesome, went to Mustang Harry's around 12, hung out there for a few hours, went to Friday's during happy hour, then got on line in the front.  Standing online was like one big party, met so many people, since my seats where in the Mezz2, once the doors opened I practically ran upstairs, sat right in front .... it was just awesome.  Nothing will ever compare, not even the shows I saw in the winter of 06, the Hammerstein shows were once in a lifetime shows 

[14 Yrs Of Silence]

Yeah, I don't think anything can compare to the excitment of the first Hammerstein show.  That was a blast.  Hope they play some smaller venues again next time out.  By the way, much props to all those involved with the presales back then...I was one of the most memorable experiences of my life and was much appreciated.

[Verse Chorus Verse]

Aw...I wanted to make this thread. Oh well.

Hard to believe the time passed so quickly. I remember all the excitement building up to this day so clearly...I hope we can soon experience that again.

[icpillusions]

I remember this concert. I couldn't get any of my friends to go to the concert since they are not GNR fans. I decided to go by myself and had a great time meeting new people.  It was such an awesome experience hearing the  opening riffs of Jungle and hearing Axl scream during TWAT. It was a great way to make a comeback!

That day went from bad to absolutely amazing.  I had a friend going that didn't care for GnR but was going cause I paid for the ticket.  An hour before we leave, he says he can't make it. So I went alone and one ticket was wasted. I tried giving it away in line but everyone had tickets and I didn't want to act like a scalper and have a run in with the law.  
At one point, I thought I saw a KFC bucket poke out from behind the curtain while waiting for GnR to come out.  Then Brain threw his drumstick and it hit the girl next to me and I didn't even see it coming. The highlight was hearing There was a Time live.  Yep, great night that was.

[uzisuicide2002]

Yup the best weekend i ever had. Got in line at 10AM sunday the 14th and was 2nd in line. The dude 1st in line was sleeping on the ground from the night before lol. It was great to see afew of you on here there. It was suck a good fuckin time. 

[HoldenCaulfield]

I flew to NYC from Kentucky for the 17th show and had the absolute best time of my life. I'll never forget it...

[deep pocketz]

Yeah, I don't think anything can compare to the excitment of the first Hammerstein show.  That was a blast.  Hope they play some smaller venues again next time out.  By the way, much props to all those involved with the presales back then...I was one of the most memorable experiences of my life and was much appreciated.

Yeah kind of funny that I started this thread. Back then I was new to the forum and couldn't get a sniff of presale passwords in fear that I was maybe a scalper/broker. I ended up buying my tickets off e-bay for around $200.00 a piece (right on the floor). I dont hold a grudge it was one of the best nights of my life. I would pay $500 today if I could have it all happen again.

Detroit guys you were very cool. I flew up from Florida for the gigs 12th & 17th, as there were no gaurantee there would be a US tour at that point.

[estebanf]

I remember myself sitting in my computer like 3 hours before the start of the show. I think I smoked like 20 cigarettes that night, and drank like 10 coffees. It was a very cold night in Buenos Aires, and I was extremely nervous and anxious.

My internet explorer had like 12 opened windows with different sites, to try to catch all updates possible. I remember also chatting with a lot of people, people from all over the world, speaking different languages.

Other things I remember:

* The rumours about the new lead guitarist
* All the collapsed updates websites due to the insane online traffic
* I said ''yeah, sure'' when I read somewhere GNR played ''TWAT''. I didn't believe it until I've heard the first audio available, that low bitrate mp3 that Jazjme recorded.
* The updates saying ''Axl's is singing like a motherfucker'', ''the rasp is back''

well, it was a very emotive night, one of the best setlists EVER, and one of the happiest moments of 2006 to me.