Was Rock in Rio '91 the high point for the old band ?

[Irish gunner II]

I'm just listening to a bootleg of the second night in Rio and watching the footage on youtube of the gigs, and my question is was this time the high point of the whole thing ? I mean they had the success of appetite and the relative success of Lies behind them at this point and didn't have the chaos(at times) of the Illusions tour behind them yet. The band was just the band bar the changes of Matt and Dizzy to the band. The Illusion songs were for the most part being played for the first and were new and fresh material from guns to their fans. And also the band hadn't become divided and two group of guys singing from a different page in the book.

[Hudson]

I would say after this performance and throughout the Illusions tour/era the band peaked. They were the biggest band in the world selling out arenas all over the world at the time. When they finished the tour the grunge bands had already broken through  to the mainstream, but had not affected GNR. I remember when the tour wrapped up and GNR went on hiatus... there was a time after that it was not too cool to be a GNR fan because of the whole grunge thing.

I do not think they will achieve this status again with the current line up (not because they suck or anything... just my opinion), although I am sure they will play some stadiums and headline several festivals. They will still be considered a huge band.

Back then people were saying GNR were on their way to being bigger than the Stones, Zepplin, etc. I think a lot of the fans of the original line up have this chip on their shoulder because their favorite band was well on its way to being the undisputed biggest Rock band in the world of all time. The dismantaling of the band and the delays in releasing new material has pretty much destroyed that legacy.

[adman2374]

The first night in rio was one of the best shows they ever did.

[Olorin]

Axl actually said he thought the 2nd night was the best show they had ever done up to that point.

[kaasupoltin]

I think the UYI-tour overall was the high point of Guns N' Roses, there was a great amount of variety between every show or at least between every leg of the tour. Harshly put: 1991 was rocker and simple, 1992 massive act, 1993 renew and stripped. I can't pick the best part of the tour as I enjoy all the legs.

Rock In Rio shows are in my opinion cool because the band came out after a break, did new songs, introduced new styles, had problems onstage, but definitely they rocked. It was the start of the whole UYI-era and was a special moment for the band and for the fans. But as single shows, they're not my favourite. But special anyway.

[adman2374]

Axl actually said he thought the 2nd night was the best show they had ever done up to that point.

I didnt know that, but I thought the first night was better, but the second night was amazing as well....

[estebanf]

I would say after this performance and throughout the Illusions tour/era the band peaked. They were the biggest band in the world selling out arenas all over the world at the time. When they finished the tour the grunge bands had already broken through  to the mainstream, but had not affected GNR. I remember when the tour wrapped up and GNR went on hiatus... there was a time after that it was not too cool to be a GNR fan because of the whole grunge thing.

I do not think they will achieve this status again with the current line up (not because they suck or anything... just my opinion), although I am sure they will play some stadiums and headline several festivals. They will still be considered a huge band.

Back then people were saying GNR were on their way to being bigger than the Stones, Zepplin, etc. I think a lot of the fans of the original line up have this chip on their shoulder because their favorite band was well on its way to being the undisputed biggest Rock band in the world of all time. The dismantaling of the band and the delays in releasing new material has pretty much destroyed that legacy.

I dont think GNR was the biggest band in the world in january 1991... if GNR was the biggest band in the world at some point (I highly doubt it) then it was in mid 1992, at the FMTC or at the VMA's

[Gunner80]

I would say after this performance and throughout the Illusions tour/era the band peaked. They were the biggest band in the world selling out arenas all over the world at the time. When they finished the tour the grunge bands had already broken through  to the mainstream, but had not affected GNR. I remember when the tour wrapped up and GNR went on hiatus... there was a time after that it was not too cool to be a GNR fan because of the whole grunge thing.

I do not think they will achieve this status again with the current line up (not because they suck or anything... just my opinion), although I am sure they will play some stadiums and headline several festivals. They will still be considered a huge band.

Back then people were saying GNR were on their way to being bigger than the Stones, Zepplin, etc. I think a lot of the fans of the original line up have this chip on their shoulder because their favorite band was well on its way to being the undisputed biggest Rock band in the world of all time. The dismantaling of the band and the delays in releasing new material has pretty much destroyed that legacy.

I dont think GNR was the biggest band in the world in january 1991... if GNR was the biggest band in the world at some point (I highly doubt it) then it was in mid 1992, at the FMTC or at the VMA's

They WERE the biggest band in '91 '92. Their shows sold more than any other act in those years.

[overmatik]

I think the peak for GNR was the live performance at Freddie Mercury's concert. I mean, they stole the scene!

[adman2374]

I think the peak for GNR was the live performance at Freddie Mercury's concert. I mean, they stole the scene!

They played 2 songs and that was with the bloated line-up. Rio was by far the best shows they have ever done...

[emergency]

i really liked the  tours from 12,5,91 -2,6,93 bloated or not i liked longer songs

[Continental Drift]

My since of it has always been that the "peak" was Summer 1992 with the Paris PPV concert, FM Concert, November Rain video, Europe Tour, Metallica NA Tour. At least in terms of "achievement" and recognition. They were the CENTER of the music universe. I've always felt like the Montreal Riot in August '92 was the beginning of the end though. Whereas St. Louis in '91 was considered "dangerous" and "cool" by many fans- by '92 people were getting fed up with the antics and grunge/alternative was beginning to make their mark. To make matters worse Metallica was sort of positioned as the group of humble "blue collar" guys putting in an honest day work- and therefore deemed worthy of surviving in the "grunge" world- meanwhile GN'R took the fall for all their bloated ways. The Skin and Bones Tour and TSI? were somewhat successful in re-establishing some of their street cred- but it wasn't really the same. In that sense- I've always felt that Axl was correct in thinking that a long hiatus and some modernizing of their sound was in order following the UYI tour. Hard to believe- but GN'R had worn out its welcome with many.

Going back to January '91 and RIR though- it was an exciting time- no doubt. Kind of like a championship boxer making a big comeback or something. There was a good amount of energy and excitement. BUT the Gulf War was going on (lots of people distracted) and there was still no firm release date for UYI.... so it was just kind of a lower simmer- as opposed to the full boil of 1992 IMHO.

[Bridge]

It depends on what you mean by "high point".  If you mean the most tickets sold, the most fans in attendance, then maybe.  But if you judge "High point" strictly by performance quality, then all of GNR's best performances were in the late 1980s -- most notably Ritz 2/2/88 and Australia 12/15/88.  At that time, GNR were THE authentic, hungry L.A. street band wolves looking to storm the rock n roll mountain.  They could never top that in later years, even if their audiences increased by tens of thousands of people per show.