Guns N' Roses
February 23rd, 1993
Austin, Texas
Frank Erwin Center
***TEXAS RED HEAD MASSACRE****
*Skin N' Bones Tour Opening Night*
G'N'F'N'R's Final Performance on Texas Soil!
B+ Audience Recording
The opening night of the Skin N' Bones tour in Austin, Texas on February 23rd 1993, holds a very special place in the authors heart, as it was the one of the greatest nights of my life.
Hands down the best concert that I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing.
Listening to this gig brings back so many fond memories....
I was 15 years old at the time of the 2.23.93 GN'R show in Austin, TX. Growing up in a 3rd world hell hole in South Texas, I never imagined that I would ever have the opportunity to see my favorite band of all time, the immortal Guns N' Fuckin' Roses. Thanks to my caring mom, I was able to see GN'R not once, but twice, on the Use Your Illusion World Tour. Mother knew how much the band meant to me and was kind enough to take me on road trips to see GN'R on at the Astrodome in Houston during the Metallica tour on September 4th, 1992, as well as on February 23rd, 1993 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin...
Out of the two shows, the stripped down Austin Skin N' Bones performance was in a league of its own. Seeing Guns without the dead weight circus act composed of background singers, horn section, and additional keyboard player, was something special that I will always remember...
The live debut of Garden of Eden, and The Garden, as well as the extremely loose feel of the Austin show, really make this particular performance shine. The 30 minute acoustic set, as well as rare live renditions' of classic GN'R make the Austin gig stand out from the later Skin N' Bones shows, especially the (boring) European, Summer of 1993 performances which were heavily bootlegged.
From the way that Axl, Slash, Duff, Matt, Gilby, and, Dizzy, blew Austin away on that winter night, I could sense that they enjoyed performing probably as much as I did absorbing their explosive exhibition of no holds barred rock and sensitive acoustic ballads.
Speaking of the mid show acoustic performance, I was quite surprised that the band brought out a couch, grand piano, and topless waitresses, to do a 30 minute 'unplugged' set. Did not expect an intimate acoustic set from GN'R after the 2 hour stadium rock spectacular that I had witnessed in Houston six months prior.
Even a Domino's Pizza man made his way onstage to present the band with a special delivery. I do remember that the pizza box was thrown into the first row of the audience. I was always curious as to what may have been in that box.
The Domino's pizza box wasn't the only thing that made its way from the stage into the audience. During Knockin' on Heaven's Door, Axl made an appearance in the back of the venue for some good ol' fashioned audience participation. How Axl managed to appear in the back of the venue, out of thin air, without being mobbed, I will never know. Perhaps, the Erwin Center has a secret entrance?
The only unusual personal experience that I had at the Austin show was the nose bleed that I got during Slash's blues jam right before Sweet Child O' Mine. I can remember blood trickling out of my left nostril and down my throat and thinking "OH SHIT, Not NOW!!" Thankfully I was given some tissue paper and was able to contain the mess until after the gig. I remember being pressured to go to the bathroom before the encores, but I refused to leave my seat and watched the rest of the show with blood soaked hands and a bloodied face. Sure, the nose bleed was an inconvenience, but it was also Rock N' Roll...
I should mention that this new upgrade of the Frank Erwin Center concert is superior to the horrible 10th generation bass heavy version of the Austin gig is floating around! This new upgrade is presented in full stereo, for your enjoyment. Please toss the old version in the trash, where it belongs!
Unfortunately, this new upgrade is of unknown generation, so If anyone out there has the master (or low gen) recording of the 2-23-93 source that I am sharing on Dime, please contact me ASAP, so that we can set up a trade!! I would love to have this gig in the best possible quality...
Also, if anyone has the Houston,TX September 4th 1992 Astrodome GN'R performance in any format, I am very interested...
BTW, in case you were wondering, My mother who once *HATED* Guns N' Roses in the late 80's, was won over at the Houston & Austin gigs that we experienced, and is now a huge GN'R fan! ;o)
Finally, a BIG thanks to Limulus for supplying us all with this nice upgrade!!
Info compiled by:
MilanAustin, Texas
August 20th, 2005
Torrented August 28th, 2005
http://listen.to/hardrockcdrs***DO NOT SELL***
***DO NOT ENCODE TO LOSSY***
***DO NOT SHARE WITHOUT THIS INFO***
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