The Suicide Girls started things off nicely Sunday night. How can you go wrong with strippers and classic rock? But I think they should perform in between the bands to keep the momentum going.

 

I skipped Helmet and opted to drink free beer backstage where we spotted Robin and the band's new drummer mingling about.

 

I'm not the biggest Sebastian Bach fan around but his set was a blast. I swear I felt like it was 1991 all over again and I was at the Use Your Illusion tour. He hasn't slowed down a bit. Afterwards it was time for GNF'nR and business really picked up.

 

Los Angeles is a strange place for Guns N' Roses, even though it's the band's hometown. When they were scheduled to play the Forum in 2002 I heard they barely sold half the arena before the show and tour were cancelled. The Gibson Amphitheatre is the smallest venue Guns N' Roses has played since Appetite for Destruction. It seems LA is a love 'em or hate 'em town when it comes to Axl but the soldout crowd of 6,000 didn't care about that. Some may have been skeptical but you wouldn't be able to tell once the show started. They were into it all the way until the very end at 2AM.

 

The show was pretty much like all the others reviewed so far but a special treat was having Izzy Stradlin come out and play on classics like “Think About You,” “Used to Love Her,” “Patience” and “Nightrain” before coming back out for “Paradise City.”

 

Axl seemed in good spirits but didn't talk much throughout the night. No outbursts or tantrums, just one hell of a solid show. Frankly, I can do without all the solos (gone is the Christina Aguilera solo replaced with a Jimi Hendrix medley) but I guess it gave people a chance to hit the john or go for most beer or just sit down and rest. They really seem to bog the show down. At least we were sparred Bumblefoot's "Don't Cry" solo on this night. I'm looking forward to catching the last two shows of the tour this week. It seems no matter how long he's been away there isn't a performer more relevant, dangerous or exciting as Axl Rose. Here's to Chinese Democracy in '07.

 

--Jose