Like a rock concert. Nobody told Frank what to do. Nobody tells Axl what to do. Bravo, aging waster.

       Fortunately, town fathers in Baltimore were not on some sanctimonious crusade like their provincial downeast counterparts in Maine. As expected, Axl and the new boys were fashionably late taking the stage. They didn’t start ripping and tearing  until 11:15PM ,  but it was worth the wait.

      The first song? Take a guess. It was ‘Welcome to the Jungle” at 110 decibels, with Axl coming out of the smoke and flames like a cross between Jim Morrison and Eddie from “Eddie and the Cruisers.” I thought to myself, “Axl has lost at least 30 pounds, his voice sounds good and he actually appears…happy! Gosh, his meds, legal or illegal, must be working just fine tonight.”

     To be honest, the on again, off again career of Axl Rose over the past decade has inspired more contempt than endearment  from this fan and I was ready to walk away from the show thinking, “ This prick needs to pack it in and get a job selling flat screens
At Best Buy.”

    Instead, Axl’s inspired performance sent this clear message to fans at the 1st Mariner Arena and beyond: “I perform when I am good and ready and when I do you’ll be glad you came or wish you did. Either way, I don’t really give a damn”.

    The new Guns N’ Roses has a three guitar lineup which added extra fullness to “Sweet Child o’ Mine”, “November Rain”, “ Live and let Die” and  the killer encore finale, “Paradise City.” I loved the fact all of Slash’s lead guitar runs were played note for note. Every song sounded like they did on record going back to “Appetite for Destruction.” Perhaps even better. This band was not gacked to the 9’s on smack and played with discipline and focus. Would you want to be onstage with Axl Rose and miss a note or a cue? I wouldn’t.

    Fear can be a good thing and the guys on guitars did their job as if beefy roadies were waiting to pummel them offstage if they let psycho boy down. Fortunately, I would guess they were allowed to die another day.

   Late in the show Axl told the audience , “Its great to be playing Baltimore, the setting of my favorite show ‘The Wire”. Big applause from the crowd. It figures “The Wire” is an Axl favorite. Its all about drug dealing, corrupt cops and murder. Welcome to the Jungle, indeed.

  At the end of the show the crowd was covered in little paper rose petals fired from wind cannons as “Paradise City” came to a screeching end. The band locked arms and took a collective bow like rock gods from the mid-70’s. I saw Aerosmith 15 times before 1980 and this concert had the same feel as those shows when it was over. My ears were ringing. I looked at my watch. It  was 1:45AM. Axl and his friends drank onstage all night and held nothing back. I never thought Axl or the reconstituted Gunners band would be this good. I’m sure Axl was smirking to himself as he walked offstage, like a heavyweight boxer who had just pummeled a loudmouth challenger into jelly. And good for him. Long live rock n’ roll.