That’s until the new Guns N’ Roses line-up was about to end my day of complete boredom and turned it into extreme excitement. Of course Axl and his guys wanted to fuck with us and decided to hit the stage more then one hour late. Many people were shouting at the stage, I guess they were as bored as I was! No explanation was given by the band for being late (or what do you expect?).

I was about 5 or 6 meters away from the stage and had a good view of the stage and the videos. It was the best I could do since the first rows had been taken for hours.
The show started with the ‘I Believe…’ intro we all know from Rock In Rio III, then the band took the stage and Buckethead started Welcome To The Jungle. Axl came out wearing his ‘80’ jersey and a blue bandana. The sound was excellent, Axl laughed a lot and looked happy.

The second song on the set list was It’s So Easy. Axl took a t-shirt from the audience that (I think) read “thank you for Paris Hippodrome”. He showed it to the other band members and to the audience, laughed and continued the set.
Mr. Brownstone was next, followed by a great version of Live And Let Die. You know the song starts real soft and then… Bang! Fireworks in the back of the stage accented the music. Next in line were Think About You and You Could Be Mine. The crowd really loved this song!

When Robin Finck started the Sweet Child O’ Mine riff, people were jumping up and down and enjoyed themselves. I must say the people around me were very nice, no-one pushed or tried to take advantage to get closer to the stage.
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door was then played in the new - closer to the original - version. Personally I prefer the Use Your Illusion version of the song, it’s just more dynamic and energetic. Still, it would have been a good way to calm down the crowd a bit before they got into Out Ta Get Me. Would have been because the crowd was calm, but I guess when they made their set list they made sure they were prepared for any circumstances.

The first new song Axl sang was Madagascar. For me this was the highlight of the evening (if I had to pick one). The song sounded even stronger then the versions I already heard. Axl looked very emotional when he sang it.

An other new song followed: Rhiad and the Bedouins. Buckethead wasn’t expecting this one and had nun chucks in his hands in stead of a guitar. Rhiad and the Bedouins isn’t my personal favourite but now it at least sounded like a completed song. I guess they worked some more on it since the House Of Blues gig.

Buckethead tried to impress the crowd with one of his bizarre solos featuring the Star Wars Theme. And he did! Some parts of his video ‘The Ballad of Buckethead’ were projected on the screens. He got a lot of applause for his solo. Unfortunately some stupid fuck pointed a freaking “laser” to Bucketheads’ hands and face, something he did again when Buckethead played his second solo and even on Axl. I didn’t see who this asshole was but I really wish someone took his little toy and kicked the shit out of him! We don’t need such immature fans do we?

Next in line was Chinese Democracy. Axl didn’t introduce the new songs and didn’t say it will be the title track of the new album and didn’t show the cover of the cd. Too bad, ‘cause I had my camera ready! The song was great but most people didn’t know it so there wasn’t much interaction. Again a lot of fireworks to emphasize some parts of the song.

The piano was rolled onstage from under Brain’s drums. This could only mean one thing: November Rain was about to start. Axl first played some fast piano chords, then stopped and waited for an answer from the audience. This went on for a little while. I could tell Axl really enjoyed it. November Rain kicked ass and got more applause then any other song Guns N’ Roses had played so far!

The piano stays on stage and Dizzy takes place behind it to start The Blues. Axl sings his song walks around on stage, sits next to Dizzy and even stands on the piano to sing a part of this song that is loved by many of you. This reminded me of Slash who’d stand on the piano for his solo of November Rain. Axl takes a dummy from the side of the stage and dances with it before he throws it back.

Between The Blues and the next song Axl whistles a part of a Christmas song. Another magical moment came; Patience was played in such a calm, slow way I’ve never heard it played before. Axl pretended to be crying for a second during the song so I think he was surprised by the way the song evolved. He also did his serpentine dance and the crowd followed his movement by waving their arms from side to side. Ok, this sounds corny but it was really nice!

Buckethead had remained very calm through the whole set and didn’t move that much until Rocket Queen was started. He actually swung his hair around but didn’t loose his mask or KFC bucket. There was also a lot of energy from the rest of the band that gave the song an extra dimension.

Now it was time for Buckethead to take his nun chucks. After this little act Buckethead threw them into the audience, took his guitar and played another solo that led to the next songs My Michelle and Nightrain. Both of these songs were played by the new band as convincing as the original band used to play them. It made me wonder if the new guys even ever met Michelle or drank Nightrain, not that it matters that much.

After Nightrain the band left the stage for a few minutes. Another GUNS N’ ROSES chant was started by the crowd. Robin Finck came out and did a short, strange solo that started Paradise City. Robin looked very cool by the way, in spite of his makeup. The crowd went wild! I knew this was the last song of the set and that made me a bit sad. But Axl promised he’d be back soon! Fireworks did their work and confetti was blown over the audience and stage.

After the amazing two-hour show I took my 3 new GN’R t-shirts and my train back home. At 6 o’clock in the morning I finally made it to bed. Exhausted but satisfied!

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