da HTGTH
Wow, tonight was a late one... just crawling into bed but figured I'd write a review.
First off, never have I heard Axl sing so well. The man is a legend possessed. I've seen this band play 10 times since 2002 and tonight was easily his best vocally. How he doesn't blow out his vocal chords is beyond me. And other than the silly technical difficulty at the very end of Paradise City I have to give hats off to the sound guys for mixing his vocals properly. There were times where I felt like he was pitch perfect to what we hear on the albums, especially the new ones. His vocals on 'Sorry' were spot on.
The highlight of the night for me was defintely TWAT. Thanks GNR for playing this amazing song; I finally got to hear it live and it didn't disappoint. I was somewhat surprised that Axl abridged the ending; starting singing just as Bumblefoot was playing the really sweet part of the solo. Not sure if this was done or purpose or Axl presumed it was his time to sing (this actually happened a few times tonight; either Axl or the rest of the band botched the beginning of Mr. Brownstone - no big deal however). But yeah, Axl's screaming vocals at the end of TWAT were fucking unreal. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. My buddy was blown away; he was expecting Axl a la 2002 MTV Music awards and was ecstatic about how great he sounded, especially in TWAT. And I had no idea how TIL would come off live; I was really nervous for this song. But thankfully the song is even better live than it is recorded. I haven't heard any of the bootlegs yet so I was pleasantly pleased with how well this song comes off live. Axl, again, sounded fantastic.
Rocket Queen was phenomenal; it just seemed like the band was firing on all cylinders at this point. Standout guitar solos were Bumblefoot's and DJ Ashba's. My seat was 10 rows up from stage left (Ashba's side) so there were a few moments where I got to rock out with Ashba; got my first pump/pointing reciprocated by DJ so that was pretty cool. One thing that made me laugh was when DJ noticed that a guy sitting in the front row had yet to get off his chair. He walked over, stared down at the dude, stopped playing and folded his arms. Basically saying, "I'm not playing until you get off you're ass." Sure enough the dude was up and fist pumping in no time.
As for the drawbacks; nothing major EXCEPT FOR SECURITY. Probably the worst case of security overkill I have ever seen. I get that you don't want people taking pictures, but when you're telling people to stop texting it gets a little ridiculous. I got a flashlight pointed in my face while I texted my friend where we were going to meet after the show. They then went after a 16 year old girl who sending a text behind me. I told the security to fuck off and to be reasonable. They said that since phones could be used as a camera that we weren't even allowed to open them. Absolute bullshit. If anyone in the GNR camp is reading this please have someone talk to security so this overkill stops 'cause it completely ruins the mood. If I'm holding my phone up to take pictures, say whatever the fuck you want, but if I've got down and I'm pushing fucking buttons, I'm pretty sure I'm NOT taking a damn photo. In terms of band drawbacks, guess a little disappointed no Patience, but not a huge deal. Also really think Dizzy should rethink his piano solo. Not necessarily saying that a piano solo is a bad thing, but have it something recognizable. I have no idea what he was playing and really didn't do much for me. Also thought of all the newer songs, 'Scraped' seemed the most flat and not received as well as some of the other newer songs.
All in all, a damn fine show. Axl definitely seemed in good spirits and the band looked like they were having a great time. Too bad the security seemed hell bent on not letting anyone else enjoy themselves. Super cool: Baz watched the whole show 10 rows in front of me. And he was rocking out like he was GNR's biggest fan. That guy is too awesome. I'm so glad Axl and co. brough Baz back to open.
Looking forward to London tomorrow. I'll post a review like this when I get back.
Cheers,
Andrew
Baz che guardava lo show tra le prime file come una fighetta...che uomo
