Rock News
GN'R Thrill Faithful At Sydney Show Post by: Byron Cooke and Dave-O 5 December, 2010 - 1:49 AM
(Photo: Triple M)
Some rock stars will do anything for attention. The Who smash their guitars, Iggy drops his pants and Axl, well he turns up late and throws tantrums. But lucky for Sydney tonight there was no long wait. No riot.
The Sydney Telstra 500 V8 Supercars organisers would have been relieved to see GN'R start their set only 15-minutes behind schedule and for the next 2-and-a-half hours they thrilled the GN'R faithful with a great rock show.
DJ Ashba has assumed the role of Slash, top hat and all, and he definitely has the chops to carry off every solo, while Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, Richard Fortus, Tommy Stinson, Dizzy "F***in" Reed and Frank Ferrer are all excellent musicians that carry off their own vibe.
(Photo: Triple M)
Triple M's Byron Cooke admitted GN'R put on an entertaining show.
"They do their thing and hell, they played "Welcome To The Jungle", "It's So Easy" and "Mr Brownstone" back to back. I can't hate them for that!
"Any gig you see the night after a U2360 spectacular is going to lack intensity, so it was rough for me to be impartial tonight. But Axl is still a rockstar. He is entitled to perform and do what he loves doing."
Despite the ANZ Stadium being only half-full the GN'R faithful really got into it, especially for rousing versions of "November Rain" and the Acca Dacca classic "Whole Lotta Rosie", both of which set the crowd alight.
Indeed, Axl's band play all the classic tunes so well that if you closed your eyes you'd swear you were hearing the original Gunners. But as Byron summed up, it hardly rivals the same band that took the world by storm two decades ago.
"It blatantly lacks chemistry and authenticity. But fair play to the guys, they put on an entertaining show," he said.
Setlist
Chinese Democracy
Welcome To The Jungle
It's So Easy
Mr. Brownstone
Sorry
Better
Richard Fortus Guitar Solo
Live And Let Die
This I Love
Rocket Queen
Dizzy Reed piano solo
Street Of Dreams
You Could Be Mine
DJ Ashba guitar solo
Sweet Child O Mine
Another Brick In The Wall (instrumental version)
November Rain
Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal Guitar Solo
Knockin' On Heavens Door
Whole Lotta Rosie
Nightrain
Encore
Don't Cry
Madagascar
Paradise City
Leave your comment
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Debbie says
Went to the concert last night and it was the best. Axl still sounded the same and the crowd went wild. Would definitely pay to see them again. Axl and GnR rock!!!
Posted Sunday 5 December, 2010 10:18 AM -
Dave says
The sound last night was appalling. Stuck it out thru Spiderbait hoping that GnR would have a better speakers or better mix or whatever. They didn't. Walked out after Mr Brownstone in order to preserve the good memories of GnR I have.
I don't think it's GnR's fault, I think it's the stadium. I was up in the balcony seating (409) and the sound was all bass boom with massive time delays of 1.5-2 seconds - it looked like Axl was miming (badly) as a result - but the drummer was out of sync too so it was clearly sound delay and probably a lot of bass echo ruining the sound.
note to self - NEVER attend another concert at ANZ stadium! Heaps of people were leaving saying the same thing - very disappointing.
Posted Sunday 5 December, 2010 10:48 AM -
steve says
3rd time seeing Gunners and freakin' awsome again...
It may not be the original line up but give the boys some credit... very tight outfit and the sound was bloody fantastic.
A great song line up covering all the best from the Gunners catalogue. Keep rockin Axl!!!
Thank god there wasn't the wait for Axl like the last time they were in Syd. A GREAT Rock Show!
Posted Sunday 5 December, 2010 12:41 PM -
Misch says
Went to GnR gig last night... I completely disagree with Byron Cooke's blithering statement "It blatantly lacks chemistry and authenticity. But fair play to the guys, they put on an entertaining show," he said.
BLAH BLAh!!! Byron, were you even at the show... FFS... they absolutely SMASHED it, the crowd loved every minute of it and Axl still kicks ass massively!!! Highlight for me was "This I love" from Chinese Democracy... EPIC!!!
Yes, they played some awesome old songs, but the new ones were awesome too. Axl's voice is amazing :)
Posted Sunday 5 December, 2010 1:14 PM -
Kayla says
anyone who says that this version of Guns N' Roses is a cheap imitation of what was, really needs to get their head checked.
the show last night was the best night of my life! Axl definitely still has it, from his dancing to his signature vocal range. DJ Ashba can certainly hold his own on the riffs too!
they kept the crowd revved up and entertained. it was absolutely amazing.
Posted Sunday 5 December, 2010 3:42 PM -
Byron Cooke says
Misch I was at the gig & had lots of positive things to say about the night.
Part of what made the band insanely good was the energy of the collective. Izzy Stradlin, Slash... these guys were [of course along with Axl] the heart & soul of that band.
Rock posing, gesturing, double-necked guitars & pyro are highly entertaining... but CHEMISTRY was what took the band to the top dude.
Lets agree to diagree. But don't question whether I was at the show or not. Thanks. B
http://www,twitter.com/byroncooke
Posted Sunday 5 December, 2010 5:24 PM -
Pete McDermott says
GnR were fantastic, I don't know what Byron Cooke is on about.
Posted Sunday 5 December, 2010 5:25 PM
Anyway great night, done good played well. -
Paul White says
Misch... you have it right on... GnR and axel were totally awesome... I'm a big fan and it did not disappoint one bit and the concert just got better and better as it went on with axel totally enjoying himself and getting in to it... thankyou thankyou for axel rose and GnR..
Posted Sunday 5 December, 2010 6:48 PM -
john says
I was sitting up in the stands also in section 409. The sound quality was just AWFUL; too much bass, too much distortion, garbbled vocals, vision and sound out of synch. I reckon about half the people in my section simply left before the concert concluded. The rest just sat passively, quietly hoping the evening would improve - but it didn't. Perhaps the people standing at ground level and in front of the stage got a better sound quality, but ANZ stadium is acoustically just not up to it in my opinion.
Posted Sunday 5 December, 2010 7:45 PM -
Em says
I don't think i have ever seen a better concert in my life.
Guns are an amazing band both then and now, however i think everyone needs to let the idea of the "old" Guns n' Roses go, yes some could argue that they were at their peak 20 years ago but i think its time to move on, Axl obviously has and the band is moving to new heights.
If you go to a Guns n Roses show now and hope to see what they used to be dont bother unless you can appreciate what they are now.
Posted Sunday 5 December, 2010 10:25 PM
