[Updates] July 23rd, 2016 East Rutherford, NJ @ Metlife Stadium (SOLD OUT)

[johnreed3344]

cant even explain how awesome last night was, it was magic

[pilferk]

So....i think the shorter show may have been train related. Someone said last train from metlife was 1:30, sharp. So that might have been why. Also heard someone say they were predicting tstorms after 1, but we never saw anything.

Also....could they have been filming for live dvd, tonight?

Shorter show? They played for nearly 2 hours and 45 minutes!!

They cut a song from the set list. I clocked it at about 2:30, not counting the curtain call/bows.

And keep in mind, i'm not complaining at all! The show was fucking amazing, and one song or 10 more min, wasn't going to have a whit if effect on that opinion. But folks were wondering why that song spot got cut and the show was a tiny bit shorter than the ones recently.  I'm just relaying what i heard "on the ground".

[pilferk]

Hey. I just woke up. What an AMAZING show they put on!  You have to go see them live. The Youtube video does not do them any justice.  Axl was on fire. From the beginning of "It So Easy", the band came to kick some ass.  Axl's scream in Jungle was phenomenal! It was the best version of the song. Rocket Queen sounded awesome. I never seen so many people sing in unison with Axl when Sweet Child was played. This was also the best version of You Could Be Mine. Paradise City was awesome as usual!

The two negatives were that Seeker needs to be replaced. Not that good of a song. Also, I would suggest that if your bladder can't hold down drinks, drink less. There was a guy and a woman in my row who couldn't hold it in and kept going to the bathroom  every 15 minutes. It actually started to get annoying a bit.

Ugh..we had the same thng with "row runners". Was really starting to piss me off!

[pilferk]

I have seen various versions of GNR since Axl came to MSG with Bucket and Robin and rocked the house before that tour blew up ... Pretty much every tri state GNR show minus that Randall's Isand festival and a few times in Vegas...including T Mobile.

This was by far the most amazing performance by any of them. This was also my first time seeing them in an outside venue... In my head that was a negative. I could not be more wrong. Axl sang his fucking ass off... and the top hat steals the show in every way...he got such a pop from the crowd for every solo.

Highlights for me were Richard and Slash during RQ, DTJ, Jungle, This I Love and Axl absolutely crushed my favorite GNR recording ... You Could Be Mine... which lets be fair he has struggled with at times over the years. Not last night ....

Also the fireworks at the end of PC are a great sight.

MetLife did an amazing job ... There was not an empty seat in the house...so damn loud. My party and I hung out from 4 o clock in the lot ... Had some drinks, some food and lots of laughs. Walked right in as Lenny started ... I was very impressed with his band. Only a half hour wait in between sets. We parked right next to the exit and FLEW right out of the lot after the show ( which was great) then caught some late night Chinese food at Wo Hop downtown ( best spot in NYC for Cantonese) perfect end to an amazing day I'll never forget.

Hey man,msorry we never got to meet up. The gw robbed us us f 45 min, which put us behind the mob at Redds, which kiloed another 45. It was 7:15 before we managed the venue, and we had to hit the bud lght gate, totally opposite verizon. Just couldn't get out to you.

But holy fucking shit. That show, that crowd.....i've seen hundreds of shows in my life. That.....that was otherworldy.

[Boromir]

The two negatives were that Seeker needs to be replaced. Not that good of a song.

Nooo i love The Seeker 

"People tend to hate me, cause i never smile" Thats Axl 

[matty29]

Hey. I just woke up. What an AMAZING show they put on!  You have to go see them live. The Youtube video does not do them any justice.  Axl was on fire. From the beginning of "It So Easy", the band came to kick some ass.  Axl's scream in Jungle was phenomenal! It was the best version of the song. Rocket Queen sounded awesome. I never seen so many people sing in unison with Axl when Sweet Child was played. This was also the best version of You Could Be Mine. Paradise City was awesome as usual!

The two negatives were that Seeker needs to be replaced. Not that good of a song. Also, I would suggest that if your bladder can't hold down drinks, drink less. There was a guy and a woman in my row who couldn't hold it in and kept going to the bathroom  every 15 minutes. It actually started to get annoying a bit.

Ugh..we had the same thng with "row runners". Was really starting to piss me off!

Good chance they were using the bathroom for other purposes.  Like pringles says, once you pop, you cant stop.  Ny nj area snows 12 months a year.

[draguns]

Hey. I just woke up. What an AMAZING show they put on!  You have to go see them live. The Youtube video does not do them any justice.  Axl was on fire. From the beginning of "It So Easy", the band came to kick some ass.  Axl's scream in Jungle was phenomenal! It was the best version of the song. Rocket Queen sounded awesome. I never seen so many people sing in unison with Axl when Sweet Child was played. This was also the best version of You Could Be Mine. Paradise City was awesome as usual!

The two negatives were that Seeker needs to be replaced. Not that good of a song. Also, I would suggest that if your bladder can't hold down drinks, drink less. There was a guy and a woman in my row who couldn't hold it in and kept going to the bathroom  every 15 minutes. It actually started to get annoying a bit.

Ugh..we had the same thng with "row runners". Was really starting to piss me off!

Good chance they were using the bathroom for other purposes.  Like pringles says, once you pop, you cant stop.  Ny nj area snows 12 months a year.

Ha. Not what you think. They were going at separate times and came with separate people.

[JAEBALL]

I have seen various versions of GNR since Axl came to MSG with Bucket and Robin and rocked the house before that tour blew up ... Pretty much every tri state GNR show minus that Randall's Isand festival and a few times in Vegas...including T Mobile.

This was by far the most amazing performance by any of them. This was also my first time seeing them in an outside venue... In my head that was a negative. I could not be more wrong. Axl sang his fucking ass off... and the top hat steals the show in every way...he got such a pop from the crowd for every solo.

Highlights for me were Richard and Slash during RQ, DTJ, Jungle, This I Love and Axl absolutely crushed my favorite GNR recording ... You Could Be Mine... which lets be fair he has struggled with at times over the years. Not last night ....

Also the fireworks at the end of PC are a great sight.

MetLife did an amazing job ... There was not an empty seat in the house...so damn loud. My party and I hung out from 4 o clock in the lot ... Had some drinks, some food and lots of laughs. Walked right in as Lenny started ... I was very impressed with his band. Only a half hour wait in between sets. We parked right next to the exit and FLEW right out of the lot after the show ( which was great) then caught some late night Chinese food at Wo Hop downtown ( best spot in NYC for Cantonese) perfect end to an amazing day I'll never forget.

Hey man,msorry we never got to meet up. The gw robbed us us f 45 min, which put us behind the mob at Redds, which kiloed another 45. It was 7:15 before we managed the venue, and we had to hit the bud lght gate, totally opposite verizon. Just couldn't get out to you.

But holy fucking shit. That show, that crowd.....i've seen hundreds of shows in my life. That.....that was otherworldy.

No worries glad you and the wife had a great time.

I was with a group of 10 ... Half only know the big Apetite songs and November Rain . They all loved it and for me to look around and see "my" band rocking "my" sold out football teams stadium was a real sight for sore eyes. I loved watching the crowd when the lights would shine.

The GW bridge is a nightmare ... At all hours of the day ...

I really wish I could make it out tonight... Damn family obligations !

[NickNasty]

Last night was one of the most surreal experiences of my life. I've watched nearly every periscope but as everyone who has been to a show has said, you HAVE to witness it yourself, and even then you won't really believe it. The sheer amount of energy that band is putting out right now is amazing---they looked and sounded like they could go on for at least another half hour if they wanted---even in what was the most miserably hot night of the year. Axl was smiling throughout the entire show, everything I could hear was spot on.

Notes: The crowd was hot--literally too hot...more than a few people stretchered out from what I saw and I was in the 100s, not the floor.

             As others have said, CD songs aren't well known, but TIL def. gets applause as a performance re: vocals/solo

             Personal highlights for me were Estranged, Coma, and November Rain, the latter of which has to be the hottest performance I've ever seen of that song    ever  on video or live.

            I didn't realize just how important Fortus and Reese are to the arrangements now. Richard is a talented man and I'm glad he got to keep the first RQ solo.

            I have never seen so many bullet logos in one place.


All in all, everything I wanted and more than I expected. After two decades apart and with just 3 months of rehearsals, this band is putting people who have been doing this on the regular for the last 20 years to shame. For those going back tonight, stay cool and enjoy 

[patcooper]

that was my 20th gnr show and could have been the best maybe a close to 2nd to the msg december 91. metlife was on fire literally lol. great crowd seemed really diverse saw people of all ages even some families with small children.  i am tired as shit and will be doing it again tonight.
one thing metlife needs to fix is entering the lots and exiting one lane going south at 16w on the turnpike wtf that was a nightmare

[GNR4LIFEJD]

I was there last night as well and I am also going to sound like a few other posters on here. It's been great all the periscopes and youtube videos people have used for us to see other shows but until you see it live the way this band sounds is nothing less than EPIC. I don't want to hear one complaint about song lists or anything they nailed every song. Axl sounds tremendous the band. This was for me the best concert iv ever been to. Anyone who is going to see them on this tour is in for a real treat.

[pilferk]

that was my 20th gnr show and could have been the best maybe a close to 2nd to the msg december 91. metlife was on fire literally lol. great crowd seemed really diverse saw people of all ages even some families with small children.  i am tired as shit and will be doing it again tonight.
one thing metlife needs to fix is entering the lots and exiting one lane going south at 16w on the turnpike wtf that was a nightmare

Funny you shoukd mention it...they ARE fixing it. thats part of the issue...they are doing some construction to widen things out which,mright now, makes it all worse!

METLIFE STADIUM TRAFFIC ADVISORY: NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE CONSTRUCTION / 16W SOUTHBOUND RAMP

In order to improve the overall condition of the New Jersey Turnpike 16W interchange, construction has begun to widen and lengthen the southbound Turnpike access lane and shoulder.  The construction will create POST EVENT  delays for those guests who normally use this route to access the Turnpike.

To avoid this construction, guests are advised to use either the 18W interchange to the New Jersey Turnpike or Eastern Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike via Route 3 East (Lincoln Tunnel / New York City / Secaucus).

[gunsbetterthanever]

Here is my long long long review:

Shame on YouTube....
Here is my review:

Shame on YouTube....

I just was listening to civil war on YouTube from last night and it is awesome, however, the moments where one might criticize Axl for not sounding perfect (who is perfect?) one would never remotely notice this when sitting in the 10th row of section four at the show last night.

GNR Montreal and I flew from Montreal and Miami and as excited as we were, we rested most of Saturday, kind of excited, and kind of stoic and confused...
Was it really happening??

We head over at 5:30 on uber from the city, and an easy trip.  As we walk towards the gate at the stadium, 100 degrees outside, we begin to have flashbacks.  It is like a super bowl party atmosphere.  My memory of the 91 New Years show in Miami was a different crowd.  We were younger, rowdier, angrier, not as appreciative of what we had in front of us. 

This atmosphere was the happiest place on earth!!!!  Again, was it really happening?
Everyone decked in their new and old GNR shirts....one guy in our row, with one of the most fun wild but appropriate group of guy friends, snuck a banner in his jock that said "I have been waiting 20+ years to hear Coma." 

MetLife stadium has to be as nice as any place.  It was MASSIVE and beautiful.  Almost no clouds in the sky, the 0 percent chance of rain was a good sign.  We walk around the 2016 Colossuem and pick up our floor seats at Will Call.  We spent 390$ inclusive on the "Premium Seating" which only means you have great seats.  The gates open and we head in with no issues.  It was quick.  Immediately we grab drinks and are told they pour all drinks... No bottles...hmmm. GNR Montreal looks at and at the same time, we both say....no throwing bottles = safe show. 

We head to see how close we are.  Our seats were incredible...  The guy sitting to us is the typical 30's GNR fan who has never seen em, never heard about our favorite website here today, and never heard one Chinese song.  He is sitting with a woman who must have been his mom.   He was so enthusiastic he talked GNR montreal's ear off all night.  Lol

But he was a great example of how far this reunion or semi reunion has com already. 

We get enough drinks and get ourselves ready without overdoing it....

One thing the fans in our seats were discussing with me was that being in the field level and looking up at a packed house gave us an idea of what it would be like to drop a bomb in an nfl game in front of that crowd...
We also pretended to come out of the tunnel to the crowd before an nfl game.  Beckham making that catch etc etc.  easily the coolest part of being in a football field last night.

Ok:..
Concert....
Lenny comes on and as amazing as he is, he couldn't fully get everyone to sing even tho he tried was because the crowd was so focused on the dream come true that was happening at 10.
Lenny is as good as anyone and sounded and looked incredible.  I was into it, and trying to fully appreciate him.  In the end, I still found myself pondering the hands to see GNR!

As Lenny finished, we notice there is a packed house!!!!

GNR comes on a little after 10, on time, and the joy in the crowd was like I have never seen at any show.  When Axl screamed fuck off, it was like he struck is with a bolt of lightning!  The stage was very UYI looking and beautiful.

The sound acoustics were as good as any place I have ever been to, and duff dizzy, slash, frank, Melissa, fortis, could be heard distinctively from our seats. It's so loud in comparison to my daily addictive YouTube visits, that I will now spend he next 6 months trying to find a YouTube clip that justified the live experience.

Axl closes its so easy with howling screams "so fuckn easy....yeah". My entire section looking at each other as if we all have been friends for years waiting.... No one could believe it.  Brownstone begins, and moves into CD and then jungle.
Chinese live with slash was basically a sequel song to appetite songs in my eyes.  Slash on solo was way more enjoyable than any prior guitarists on my bias view alone, let alone that he really nails his own version but stays true to the album sound too.

Jungle scream was another strike of lightning by a voice that one person only has ever been able to do.  Most of what Axl sings, he does with control and then finished with the old school menace and he still holds notes like 92 Paris video.

So first four songs are done.  So intense.  They tear your head off and continue into DOubke talkin with a fierce shredding at the beginning.
Now everyone is bouncing in my section.... We are all looking again at each other like wtf wtf wtf is happening.  It's happening!  We r seein this???
Holy shit.
Slash still ripping the extended beginning.  Speaking of extended, every slash moment is extended, and when you are there, you realize why.  Because he is the most iconic guitarist I've ever heard of... His fingers remind me of Bill Joel with a piano.
Slash is the "Guitar Man."

"You dig what I'm saying home fuck?"

Guitar solo by slash insane live for DTJ!  In my mind I heard him dedicate the song to Warren Beatty.

When Estranged started; immediately the crowd roared and recognized the classic.  The guys behind me again who had brought the coma banner were all in and knew every word of the classics.  I keep stating this, but the crowd being so packed and loud and standing was so surreal.....it is quite amazing to me that the new GNR with bumble and ashba and buckethead and all the other hired guns were so good, but without the names and presence of slash and duff could not get the crowds.  It shows it is not only about the music. 

Slash solos and ending of estranged was flawless.  Still overwhelmed, they go into Live and Let Die to make sure you don't sit down!!  Here is an example of how you know Axl can do what he wants with his voice...he howls so loud when u r there, raspy, power, and his trademark mean eyes as he screams yeah!!!!

So we get no breaks as Rocket begins.. Slash's guitar is so clear....Axl rasps it up again as he shouts "ya better turn me on tonight" in 88 ritz form...
Fortis and Slash mid rocket jam is mind blowing "school of cock, legend of the rent" type of rock n roll.  Rock and roll should be renamed Guns N roses! 

YCBM was next and truly perfect.  I saw New GNR in 2011 and 2012 and as amazing as Axl sounded, he was way closer to the 2010 form last night, and I find it that as Ycbm goes on, Axl seems to put more power and screech until he finishes the song in 93 form!!!
It's powerful fucking shit here!!!  Again...I look up from the field seats to crowd and realize it is happening!

Duff blows us away with his voice and sound and attitude rocks!

This I love next....ok, so my mother went to show with my dad in Foxborough and told me she didn't know her new favorite song.
She was talking about This I love.

The album doesn't do it justice.
YouTube neither! 

Axl walks around stage singing a song that sounds like I'm in a painful dark but romantic Broadway show.
Slash solo is now the norm for me as he is GNR and therefore his solo has replaced a solo by ashba that I thought of as one of the best.  (Used to love the cig being put out on the guitar)

So nothing can follow this I love, but Civil war.

When civil begins I feel like I'm hearing a song written for the movie.... "Glory."  (Oh my lord lord lord..mmm)

Every time I hear civil I think it is the greatest song ever written.

After civil I feel like he show could end and it would actually still be amazing, but of course, this actually is only the early part of the second half and more tranquil and self thinking melodic portion that was initiated by the opener of the second half "this I love."

Gunner Montreal is stoic at this point. He can't sing, he can't move."  He is doing what many began to do more as the exhausting exhilarating epic adjective worthy show continued.....watching with eyes wide opened and stunned.

I know u all know he set list, but I wanted to share my thoughts as the show progressed so forgive me for the jubilation!  I am 35000 miles high on JetBlue...lol

Ok... Godfather live... Solo amazing but also beautiful and tranquil.
SCOM - I kept saying to GNR Montreal that his voice sounded different live than on YouTube here.

It was crazy loud...I can't imagine how far away you could hear us.

The rest was the same... It seemed like it wouldn't end.. (Didn't want it to either) We kept hoping for a set list change but didn't get it, but that's GNR.  I can't fault them for playing seeker.  Sometimes u sing something and do it for reasons that are your own.
Maybe they sing it just so we can say why do they sing it?  Kidding
Lol
Ok. ...
Notes on rest of show:
1. All appetite songs Axl seems to sing as raspy as he wants...as my mom just said and she is 70..."he sings now..not all screaming.  He sounds great"
Thanks mom.

2. Patience live very raspy.  Not sure on good old You(can't hear)tube... But end sounded very raspy...  "Good fuckin milkshake" (pulp fiction)

3. No don't cry bums me out only cause ...u know why

4.  By November rain, I was beginning to feel a tiny bit of the reality of it). Finally kicking in.

5. Coma gets its own report, but I'll leave it to this quote by the guy behind me.  He said, "Coma is the best song ever written.  It's as good as the crab cakes in Wedding Crashers.. " and then his entire crew yelled, "coma is phenomenal"
"No ones gonna bother me anymore" live leading into he greatest solo ever was mind blowing again.

6. We left as paradise started which we never thought we would do, but we are so tired at this point, and looked for a limo just to get out. (Still heard ending of paradise leaving stadium.)

[gunsbetterthanever]

CONCLUSION....

Best band ever.  Period.  
How they sweat for 3 hours in 100 degrees and go back tonight is beyond me.  How Axl can still sing that many songs that well is just an "anomaly" as Axl likes to say that word.

Axl is God
Slash is Jesus
Duff is David Bowie

Nightrain is 1988 still...

Thanks to Jarmo and all of u for keeping this afloat for 20 years. I'm 40 and GNR has inspired me.
And I can never complain about anything again.....

"Good.  Fuckin..night!!!"

[gunsbetterthanever]

Also better was amazing live.  Slash intro gets me for s new song every time.

[bensonr2]

Was in the pit and had an amazing time. The band was on fire.

I almost didn't get in. My pit 1 tickets came from stub hub.

I paid to park at Redd's. Got there about 4pm and just as we were sitting down by the bar to order some late lunch early dinner Stubhub called and left me a VM saying my tickets were "invalid" and wouldn't be accepted.

Their customer service leaves something to be desired. The VM they left me was barely audible. And they just have you call back a general customer service number. They tried to offer me section 4 instead and claimed they had no pit 1 or pit 2 tickets. After about a half hour my wife managed to get on their site and see they had at least 5 pit tickets currently listed.

I had to yell and scream for an hour before a "supervisor" agreed to give me pit tickets. And when I got them from their office which is in the Hilton hotel not at will call they were marked 1750 each.

But all that effort was worth it for the best show I ever seen. Even my wife who is not a big fan seemed to have a good time. Just wish I had enough free time to go back for night 2

[patcooper]

that was my 20th gnr show and could have been the best maybe a close to 2nd to the msg december 91. metlife was on fire literally lol. great crowd seemed really diverse saw people of all ages even some families with small children.  i am tired as shit and will be doing it again tonight.
one thing metlife needs to fix is entering the lots and exiting one lane going south at 16w on the turnpike wtf that was a nightmare

Funny you shoukd mention it...they ARE fixing it. thats part of the issue...they are doing some construction to widen things out which,mright now, makes it all worse!

METLIFE STADIUM TRAFFIC ADVISORY: NEW JERSEY TURNPIKE CONSTRUCTION / 16W SOUTHBOUND RAMP

In order to improve the overall condition of the New Jersey Turnpike 16W interchange, construction has begun to widen and lengthen the southbound Turnpike access lane and shoulder.  The construction will create POST EVENT  delays for those guests who normally use this route to access the Turnpike.

To avoid this construction, guests are advised to use either the 18W interchange to the New Jersey Turnpike or Eastern Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike via Route 3 East (Lincoln Tunnel / New York City / Secaucus).

yeah i read that earlier on their twitter wish i did 24 hours ago lol thankfully i am not driving tonight

[Voodoochild]

Amazing show. Worth every penny we paid.  Plus I took home the best souvenir in the stadium...AXL'S MIC!

wow, awesome! show us some pics!

Also....could they have been filming for live dvd, tonight?

why would you say that? what was different?

The shorter show length woukd fit a typical blu-ray run time, the sound and acoustics were the best i've ever heard, axl seemed on a mission, the pro shot live streamng of some of the songs, etc. I'm not saying they were, just wondering out loud.

Proshot live streaming? I missed that.. Did anyone record it?

[Boromir]

Amazing show. Worth every penny we paid.  Plus I took home the best souvenir in the stadium...AXL'S MIC!

wow, awesome! show us some pics!

Also....could they have been filming for live dvd, tonight?

why would you say that? what was different?

The shorter show length woukd fit a typical blu-ray run time, the sound and acoustics were the best i've ever heard, axl seemed on a mission, the pro shot live streamng of some of the songs, etc. I'm not saying they were, just wondering out loud.

Proshot live streaming? I missed that.. Did anyone record it?

Ι think he means the live video on the screens.

[pilferk]

Mission accomplished.

by The pilfery one

FUCK YOU. FUCK THEM. FUCK 'EM ALL. FUCK THE WORLD.

OK, Ok, ok....sorry. Let me calm down a second. You'll have to excuse me, as I'm just starting to come back down to earth, a bit, after having my ass kicked, properly, from one end of MetLife Stadium to the other, by a lineup of a band I never, ever, ever thought I'd see again.  To call this show amazing would be to do it an injustice of understatement.

This was my 13th GnR show.  It holds up, neck and neck, with the best I've ever seen from them.  Ever.  I don't care which line up we're talking about. AFD, UYI, CD....doesn't matter.  Last night, they sounded as good as the best of any of them.  Ever.  

As soon as the strains of "It's so Easy" hit the air, you could see this band was on a mission.  They stalked the stage like predators, every one of them, giving every ounce of sweat, every heartbeat, every bit of energy and enthusiasm and effort they could muster.  They were determined to slay the fuck out of this show, to whip the crowd into a frenzy, to beat back any potential uncertainty, and to prove, to everyone in that stadium that, yes, they were back. They were back with a vengeance. And woe be to any who might harbor any misgivings.

Axl, during song after song after song, sounded album perfect.  From the end of "It's so Easy" (where our row, who had now become best friends in the course of half a song), when we all looked at each other as Axl SCREAMED into the night, as we said HOLY SHIT!, and right through Paradise City, Axl tore into those songs like a carnivore who had been deprived of flesh for 6 months.  His rendition of YCBM might rival the albums for perfection, for me.  Coma, the deepest cut of the night off their albums, was delivered with aggression, and passion, and all the rasp and screams and vocal acrobatics one could want from the hardest fucking song, vocally, they've ever written.  Axl put on a fucking master class of how to sing that material, of how to be a front man, and of how to just fucking bring down the house. There is no way a man in his 50's should be able to match the live performances he put on in his 20's...and yet, last night, he did.  I don't know what more anyone else on this planet could want from him than that.  Just incredible.

Slash, for his part, kept pace.  The birthday boy ripped into Brownstone, and Civil war, and the solo for TIL (which is quickly becoming on par with his work on November rain as some of my favorite Slash moments of the show) with reckless abandon.  He makes playing the solo on coma look fucking effortless.  You stare at this man, who just celebrated his 51st birthday, and wonder how the fuck he has the stamina to go out, in 90 degree heat and blistering humidity, and play so fucking well that you can't figure out how the god damn strings aren't melting off his guitars.  Every single moment of the show he touches, he leaves an indelible, unmistakable, unique mark on.  It is amazing how, even though others have played the same notes (and, honestly, done an admirable job of it!!) in recent memory, nobody seems to exactly replicate the feel...the EMOTION...that Slash puts into those same notes.  It was like coming home again.  

Duff laid down the funkiest, most amazing bass I have ever heard live.  And I don't just mean at a GnR show.  I've seen 100+ shows in my life, worked at a venue for shows for 4 or 5 years in my youth.  I've heard bands, live, across every single genre.  Last night, Duff killed every single one of them.  Every. Fucking. One.  Bass is vastly underappreciated in Rock, with potentially Duff being the exception, but what he did last night was "Put him on the Mount Rushmore of Rock" good.  Part of playing bass is creating a rhythmic space that the rest of the band can create in, and excel in.  His work in It's So Easy, and Double Talkin Jive and Coma and Nightrain, and Out to Get me, and...well, you get what I'm saying.  His bass FILLED THE STADIUM.  It was not the second (or third) fiddle to lead (and rhythm).  It was every bit as prominent, every bit as obvious, and every bit as important.  Fucking A.

The more I see Richard working with "The Big 3", the more he seems to fit, and find his space.  It seems like he gets more and more comfortable every show, and he plays with such passion and such technique, that he's quickly gaining more and more of my attention.  He gets overshadowed by the presence of Axl, Slash, and Duff now..and maybe, for this run, that's as it should be.  But I would be remiss if I did not mention his efforts last night.  Watching him play rhythm, and the moments he takes lead...just stupendous.  His contributions to last night's sonic perfection were, to me, gigantic.

Frank, likewise, does an amazing job behind the kit. He gets way too much shit for it, too.  The way he drove the band last night was exactly what they needed.  It kept them tight, it kept them moving, and it made the whole show fill with frenetic energy.  I really think his beats, especially with the crowd last night, are PERFECT for this show, for these settings.  For all you people playing armchair drummer at home..fuck off.  Go sit at a show and experience what's going on.  It really does fit.  It whips everyone into a frenzy and leaves them fucking breathless, wondering what the fuck just smacked them in the mouth, as they get up off the canvas and beg for more.  Frank.....to all those fuckers slacking on you...know that there are some folks out there who actually know what's going down.  You keep beating that beat, man. It rocks!