Regina newspaper review

Evita

Rocker

Karma: 0

Offline

Posts: 277

Yes, it's me!

Regina newspaper review

« on: January 21, 2010, 01:09:29 PM »

http://www.leaderpost.com/REVIEW+Guns+Roses+gives+Regina+fans+more+than+expected/2468584/story.html

REGINA ? By the end of the Guns N' Roses show Wednesday night at the Brandt Centre it was apparent that Axl Rose was not a believer of the old Walt Disney adage "always leave them wanting more."

In fact, Rose, the 47-year-old frontman and leader of the Los Angeles rock group, took the alternative approach, giving fans a set that started at 10:16 p.m. and lasted two hours and 27 minutes, plus a very brief minute before the band came out for its encore.

Nobody in the crowd should have left the Brandt Centre feeling ripped off by the show, as the band put on an intense performance, though the notoriously late Rose had the group hit the stage 45 minutes later than scheduled.

Coming out to flashes of pyrotechnics and fire blasts, the eight-piece group launched into the title track of the 2008 release Chinese Democracy. Rose looked every bit the rock star, adorned in a sleeveless denim shirt, jeans, sunglasses, red bandana and black top hat.

The stage, brought along specifically for this tour, had a large lower tier that had a walkway on each side of it so the band could walk out and play to the seated gatherers, while a U-shaped staircase wrapped around the drum riser. Behind the drum kit, a platform on a hoist was stationed, utilized at various times for dramatic effect.

Visually, the large LCD screens were fairly uninteresting, with two smaller ones on the sides to give close-ups for those further back. What the show lacked in video footage was more than compensated for with numerous pyro effects and blasts that startled more than a few people multiple times.

While it wasn't the Guns N' Roses that people grew up knowing and loving, the current lineup was very entertaining and solid musically. With three guitarists, bass player, keyboardist, piano player, and drummer to accompany Rose, there was little chance the band's sound would be thin in the concrete confines of the arena.

If there were any concerns that the show would merely be a spectacle with little redeeming quality musically, they were quickly put to rest when the group played the opening chords of the second song, "Welcome to the Jungle." The crowd was whipped into a frenzy as the fire blasts lit up the stage, and fans dressed in leather, denim, and club clothes started to sing along.

Many of the group's hits were played, as were many selections from Chinese Democracy, though the biggest cheers were understandably for songs that made up the band's early catalogue. Most die-hard fans would have been quite pleased with the eclectic set list, however hits like "Live and Let Die," "November Rain," Sweet Child O' Mine," and an extended version of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" took many attendees back to earlier memories.

Interestingly, Rose frequently took advantage of extended guitar solos and instrumentals in the set to run backstage to maintain oxygen levels. Having depended on the use of oxygen tanks since the mid-2000s to get through shows, it's apparent that many vocalists half his age would need the same treatment to get through a typical GNR show, as the eccentric singer belts out certain parts in staccato-like fashion, and races around the vast stage like a track star.

Rose appeared to be in a great mood, smiling throughout, and sharing laughs at various points with his band. That's in stark contrast to his days with Izzy, Duff, and Slash, and while it would have been nice to get the "Hall of Fame" lineup, it was nice to see the moody star on one of his better nights. That said, Rose still played up his inner diva, with no less than six changes of outfit during the show.

His vocals were not great, though they were a lot better than expected. The screeching of the high notes is merely his style, and he surprisingly can sing the more mellow parts of the act with plenty of melody. While this was not something that was anticipated, it was definitely an agreeable surprise. The show started 30 minutes earlier than listed, as rockers Danko Jones took the stage before the start time on the tickets. While the arena was sparse, the hard-touring group gave a solid effort. Followed by hair-metal rocker Sebastian Bach, formerly of Skid Row, his self-named group played a lengthy hour-long set that seemed like a dud at times, making one wonder if this was the best of what glam-rocker Adam Lambert has in store for his future, but hit its apex for the last two songs when they played "I Remember You" and "Youth Gone Wild."

By midnight the crowd started to thin out as the reality of work the next morning won over the desire of a quarter of the audience's to make it through the whole show. At times, the numerous instrumentals and riffing became irritating as their only intention was to give Rose more time to suck back oxygen backstage before continuing.

All was forgiven and forgotten as Rose lit up the crowd once more and helped them find their second wind for the night's finale "Paradise City." Showers of pyrotechnic sparks rained down on the side of the stage as it shone intensely.

As the crowd walked out of the arena, visibly tired, yet still smiling, one couldn't help but feel that the show was well worth the wait after Rose's 17-year hiatus.

? Copyright (c) The Regina Leader-Post


	Logged

Guns N' Roses - W. Axl Rose
You can visit www.gnrwar.com

The Hinge

Headliner

Karma: 0

Offline

Gender: Male

Posts: 144

Here Today...and every bloody day