Whether you called Guns N’ Roses latest sold-out concert in LA a dynamic spectacle or a steady collection of rock n’ roll clichés, the night indexed a healthy array of events that fans have come to expect from a Guns show. Burning drums aside, a fan got beaten to a bloody pulp during the first verse of “Sweet Child of Mine,” Axl tossed some knuckled head after the show was technically over, tits of all shapes and materials were let loose throughout the night, lighters…not just cell phones… were a blazin’, and girls who don’t wear clothing for a living were eye fucking the buhgeezis out of the band all night.
Beyond exterior distractions, the show was a stunner. Axl’s vocal concerns are dead. Next time someone tells you “his voice sucks now,” kindly respond with either the right or left middle finger and re-direct their delusions to this website. If someone remarks that “Axl’s all weird looking now,” simply remind them that Axl hasn’t dressed anywhere in the ballpark of normal since he was borrowing Stradlin’s threads back in ’86.
To the dismay of many, Axl will never be the guy who stumbled off the Greyhound bus with a suitcase and a stick of hay in his mouth. I’m willing to look past the braids and questionable wardrobe alterations because what Axl Rose does on stage both vocally and as a performer still works. Standing up and role-playing as a fan for two and a half hours a night is tiring in itself. But imagine being a forty plus year old man who still sings and moves like one of the greatest twenty-seven year old frontmen in rock’s history. Axl you’re doing just fine.
But what about the future? Guns’ back catalogue is so rich that they could continue to sell out five to ten thousand seaters for quite some time if they just played the hits. Hearing “Welcome To The Jungle” is worth the price of admission. But I’m sure that Axl and the boys don’t want their band to become anymore of a Vegas-style showcase than it already appears.
When the band shifted into new-ish material throughout the night, the packed house remained on their feet, but with the exception of “Better,” they didn’t necessarily go nuts. Nonetheless, what is apparent with Guns’ new material is that they have singles. And in a world where an album’s success is predicated on its ability to sell multiple singles and not just a single track, I’m optimistic for Guns’ future. I’ve heard the leaks and I’ve heard them live and I like what I hear. The new material still appears to be evolving, which proves that the recent the cancellations haven’t been days off for the band. But for Guns N’ Roses to woo the masses and validate this lengthy lame duck period between tangible albums, these song need to be properly inserted within the popular lexicon. William, there’s just no other way.
