Commentary – Axl’s vocals need to be turned up. The music is drowning him out.
5. Axl mini talk with audience, apologizes for “late stage time.” In my opinion, they should pulled Papa Roach a lot earlier. The arena was NOT Full.
6. Better – new song from Chinese Democracy.
Commentary: Right now Axl’s remote mic is terrible. It’s obvious the sound check has gone bad. I’m in a private suite/box and the first several tunes he’s been fading in & out. Don’t get me wrong, Axl’s ripping it, but the damn stage manager should’ve put Axl on a corded mic. Yes, that may have prevented some running around, but we could have heard him better. This diminishes what’s happening onstage as Robin Finck & the boys look and sound great. Nice red & black Pipi Longstocking leggings by the way Robin.
7. Robin Finck guitar solo – Axl introduces him.
8. Sweet Child of Mine – Again, the vocals suck due to the remote mic problem. When Axl uses falsetto voice you can barely hear him. You can tell he’s getting a bit frustrated. At this point, I’m scared he’s going to throw mic down and bail. He doesn’t
9. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door – My friend Jenna & I agree these are the best vocals so far…Axl’s deep voice rocks this song.
10. You Could Be Mine
11. Dizzy Reed piano solo – Axl introduces him.
12. The Blues…new song from Chinese Democracy. Again, the damn mic is fading out. I’m yelling at the sound board guy and the stage manager to get him on a corded mic. It’s a shame because people were singing along & knew the words, and this was new material with cool music, but Axl’s mic is fading in & out. He’s not letting it bother him too much, but my rating of the show is dropping.
13. Band Intros – Axl introduces the whole band.
14. Richard Fortus guitar solo – Axl introduces him…Richard plays for a bit & then Robin joins him for a rendition of “You Look Beautiful”, not sure who that’s by.
15. Out Ta Get Me
16. Interlude…Dizzy on piano for a bit, then Axl.
17. Nvember Rain
18. Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal Guitar Solo – Ron plays for a bit some random stuff and then plays Don’t Cry with some fans singing along.
19. My Michelle – Axl & Sebastian Bach.
Arena has really began to empty out, it’s like 1:42 a.m.
20. Patience – 2nd best vocals of the night.
21. Night Train
Goodnight Everybody and band leaves stage, lights go black.
22. Encore – Paradise City , black & orange confetti at end. Axl throws mic into seats and several guys dive for it.
23. Axl thanks everyone for coming, thanks Jacksonville . He was really very appreciative of everyone coming.
24. Entire band comes back to stage to take a bow.
25. Axl thanks everyone again and wishes all a Happy Fing Hallo Fing Ween. It's 2:02 a.m, Wednesday, 11-1-06
Summary: Man, I waited like 15 years for this since I never got to see them live in their heyday. The show rocked, but was disappointing in that it started so late. I told my friends this would happen and most of them, professionals in their 30s, some with kids had to leave at various points during the night. Most of the 12 -14 people in my suite/box bailed before GnR ever came on. It was a “school” night for God’s sake, a Tuesday, and Halloween. The management needs to drop Sebastian & Papa opening up or severely curtail their acts. Secondly, I feel bad for the audience and GnR since the damn mic kept screwing up. The band and music rocked but Axl’s lyrics and voice were a bit drowned out. He did a great job of not freaking and showing his past temperament. They needed to up his volume and ace that damn remote mic. It was a shame really. I mean hey, tour/stage manager, resolve the situation quickly. Axl knew something was wrong and fiddled with his ear piece and the little remote transceiver he was wearing on his belt for most of the night. I give this concert an 82 out of 100, but what made my night was the guy that offered me a couple of hundred bucks for the “Kill Your Idols” (Jesus with crown of thorns) t-shirt I was wearing. I told him to find a replica on eBay as I’m keeping mine.
Chris Shea
