Axl Rose came to town last night with a band called Guns ‘n Roses. I bought the tickets with trepidation for a few reasons. First, it’s not really Guns ‘n Roses without Slash, but I saw Slash open for Ozzy Osbourne earlier in the year. Maybe seeing two separate halves makes a whole. Second, I bought tickets to see Guns ‘n Roses several years ago, and the concert got cancelled. Axl has been famous for his temperamental behavior when it comes to performing and buying tickets is like playing the lottery. With those things in mind, I bought the tickets anyway. I am a product of the 80s and an avid concert goer, so I concluded that it just had to be done.
My girlfriend and I met up with some friends for dinner and headed to the show that was listed to begin at 7:30. My friends were decked out in their Black Label Society gear and were fired up to see the opening act. Zakk Wylde is a helluva guitarist, and I was looking forward to see him as well. Just not as fired up as them. I have seen Black Label Society once at Ozzfest, and they have traveled throughout the nation as Society members. It was during dinner and the walk over that my girlfriend began to worry about the time she was going to have. She likes country, ugh, and any singer that wears a cowboy hat. But she was in it now.
It turns out that the musical style was not what she needed to worry about. We got to the venue at 7:25 and waited TWO HOURS for the concert to start. Apparently, Axl is still a flake when it comes to the fans. In his prime years, Axl would show up late or not at all. Now that he has reached his waning years of stardom, it seems that he continues with this behavior. Axl needs to realize that his fans from the 1980s are now in their 40s and have real jobs and responsibilities. They can’t hang out until 2am on a work night while he lounges backstage playing the role of a rock star. While the years since his greatest fame should have humbled him, Axl is still the diva he always was.
Before I go further, I need you to understand that I am no prude when it comes to concerts. I have lost count of the number I have attended in all genres possible. But, waiting TWO HOURS for a show to start is fucked up. I’ve never seen it happen before. Keeping it within Axl’s musical form, I have seen Metallica (multiple times), Aerosmith (multiple times), Godsmack, Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, Motley Crue, KISS, Velvet Revolver (which was Guns ‘n Roses without Axl), and a bunch of others that I can’t remember at the moment. None of them were two hours late because they value their fans and the money they spent to see them.
At 9:30, Black Label Society hopped on stage and put on a great show. Zakk Wylde threw down the gauntlet to any guitarists who want to challenge him. They turned the volume up to 11 and ripped the knob off. My girlfriend even liked it. If this had been strictly a Black Label Society concert, then it would have been great.
During the stage setup for Guns ‘n Roses, my friend texted to say that he heard before the show that Guns ‘n Roses was going to play from 11pm to 2am. Seriously? On a Sunday night, they are going to play that late? I knew then that there was no way that I was going to be able to see the entire show although I had bought an entire ticket. I fixed in my mind that we would leave at midnight.
Just as the text read, Axl hit the stage at 11pm and proceeded to sing a bunch of songs that nobody knows. They were rockin’ and, he still had his voice and moves. But, people came to hear the hits. I understand that performers like to produce new material because it makes them feel like artists. However, older performers who have seen their prime pass by should understand that people want to hear the good stuff. When I saw Elton John, he called it the jukebox. Before he played the new songs, he realized that people came to hear something else and promised that it would happen. I am sure it gets old playing the same things over and over, but that is what pays the bills and keeps the people coming. It certainly isn’t anything off Chinese Democracy. In the first hour (the only hour we saw), Axl sang three recognizable songs, “Welcome to the Jungle”, “Live and Let Die” and “Civil War”. The highlight of the hour came when Axl left the stage and his guitarists put a new spin on the James Bond theme. Naturally, “Live and Let Die” came after that.
Needless to say, I was not happy about how things went. I have no idea what happened after we left. Did they play until 2am? Did they play “Paradise City” or “November Rain”? If the show had started anywhere close to the announced time I would know. Instead, I have now seen Axl Rose and the fake Guns ‘n Roses. Without a doubt, Slash is a better and more appreciative entertainer.
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 
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