My attempt at an objective review...

[AcameronUK]

Hey all,

Just thought i'd finally get around to making my first post on this forum (after a long time spent lurking) in the shape of my attempt at a review of the Hammersmith gig on Wednesday which i was lucky enough to attend.  

In short, i thought the gig was excellent - Axl's voice sounded in great shape and it really hit home to me how much the various bootlegs etc. don't do his performance justice, seeing it happen just a few feet in front of you is a different thing entirely, and as various other people have commented Knockin' on Heaven's Door was absolutely spectacular - i've seen many gigs with excellent singers but that was one performance that will stick in my head for a long time.

Also despite my initial reservations the band was also on fine form, and the mix was fairly good, with all the musicians being audible from my position (which was a relief because the support act Avenged Sevenfold had one of the worst mixes i'd ever heard for a gig of this scale with, for the most part, only drums and vocals being audible, i've seen this band during one of their own headline shows and the sound was much improved)

The set list, although predictable, was great fun - despite what people may say about being fed up of hearing the same AFD material turn up every night it's very difficult not to get excited when Robin breaks into the Sweet Child 'O Mine riff or the opening chords of Out To Get Me kick in.  The only problem i had was with the sheer number of solos that the various band members were given.  i understand that Axl probably wants the general public to get to know the new band and their various playing styles but, for the most part, they really did bring down the momentum of the show to a standstill (with the exception of Dizzy's piano solo which i thought was superb).  Richard, Ron and Robin (twice!) all took solos which for the most part just seemed as if they were making it up as they went along with little sense of melody or structure - don't get me wrong, these are all excellent musicians in their own way with incredible technique, but watching a guitarist run up and down the fret board isn't particularly entertaining for the general public - it's just kind of like watching very fast keyboard typing :-)

The only other thing i had an issue with was the start time of the band.  Much has been said already about Axl's tendency to take the stage much later than expected, and although it didn't particularly bother me (it actually helped to raise the anticipation to an almost fever pitch level) it really hit home for me the impact this has when i saw a really upset group of young teenagers heading for the door - apparently they had to be picked up at 11 (the time the show was scheduled to finish) and so they never got to see this great show and had effectively spent their money on nothing.  Like i said, late starts don't bother me, but if it's gonna become a regular occurrence people should be informed before hand - G'N'R fans might know that Axl has a tendency to did things in his own time but the newer young fans may not and it isn't fair on them.

Despite this sad fact i can't stress enough how much fun the show was, well worth the trip down to London to have the privilege of seeing what was effectively a stadium show (excellent pyro's and all :-) within the intimate setting of a smaller venue.  Hopefully Axl will make good on his promise and CD will indeed see the light of day this year allowing this new incarnation of Guns N Roses to be judged on their own merits and not constantly be compared to that which has gone before them.

[carolineharness]

AcameronUK

i have to totally agree with you. as a dedicated gnr fan im aware that if you go see them there is no guarantee that they will even show up until they're stood on the stage. so it was a relief when they did. despite the late start time i had the fucking time of my life and have nothing bad to say about the performance. axl's voice was as ace as ever and sounded nothing fucking like mariah carey, he looked fit and nothing like mick hucknall and as for criticism ive read that he was sweating profusely by the 2nd song, so was i and i wasn't performing in front of 5000 people. to those who went and thought they only saw axl rose and his backing singers, its called moving on and even tho i'd pay good money to see slash and the rest, i'd pay the same to see guns n roses over and over again as the new band. only shit thing was that i didnt catch his microphone!

[MrBrainuser]

Damn, I wish I were there How is generally Axl's voice live these days? I've seen a couple of clips like on youtube and such, Axl' singing "Better" live or something. It happens every now and then that he seems to lose or having troubles with the voice, like it dissapears and such. But hey, "Better" is a very powerful song so. But one thing I've noticed about him is that on midlevel notes he's good, but on high and very high tones he sings like fucking GOD himself, I've never heard anything like Axl's powerful and clear voice in that register.

How is he when performing 10-15 songs live?

I would love to see the man live.

//M

[Bach&Roses]

what the hell man...

[RickRoses]

 

[Faxl]

It's called thread resurrection, and is legal, however random.

[_Iamlewis]

 




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[MrBrainuser]

I'm sorry!!!!    didn't look at post-date. :/

[Sweersa]

LOL

I do that on the Star Wars forums all of the time...

[Tronx]

man we are really fucked up im this forum now....

[Faridbak]

LOL

I do that on the Star Wars forums all of the time...

you mean SWG?

[gunsnrosesaxlrockz]

NOTE TO AXL WE NEED FUCKING NEWS.  EVEN IF ITS JUST "WE WENT IN THE STUDIO AND FARTED."  GIVE US SOMETHING!

[sportsgeegi]

NOTE TO AXL WE NEED FUCKING NEWS.  EVEN IF ITS JUST "WE WENT IN THE STUDIO AND FARTED."  GIVE US SOMETHING!

[Sweersa]

you mean SWG?

Naww, I don't play role playing games.  I meant the SW forums on KMC. (Killer movies forums)