Guns N' Roses

With Sebastian Bach and Danko Jones

January 25, 2010

John Labatt Centre, London ON

by Brandon Rabideau

Photos by Sarah Schneider (Premier Productions)


With all the sound experiments and line-up changes that Guns N' Roses has gone through, one thing remains the same; Axl Rose refuses to take the stage on time. It's unbelievable. He is the most notoriously late man in rock. It makes me wonder if he's a showman leaving us in suspense, a guy who's genuinely never on time, or the asshole everyone makes him out to be.

When I last saw Guns in 2006, they were 2 or 3 hours late and the show in London at the JLC was no different.

People in the halls were already calling for Axl's head. "He's not gonna show up!", and "He's an asshole!" was the general consensus amongst impatient fans. He's the only guy that people will buy tickets for, knowing that it's very possible he just won't play.



The arena was only 1/3 full for Danko Jones and maybe 3/4 full for Sebastian Bach, but by the end of the ex-Skid Row singer's set, the place was packed and they wanted GN'R. They entertained themselves for about half an hour by getting close up shots of girls exposing themselves on the Jumbotron, but security put a stop to it, much to everyone's chagrin.
With less than an hour to go, Guns N' Roses finally hit the stage and ripped into their impressive stage show with "Chinese Democracy". Before the crowd could calm down, new axe man DJ Ashba began playing the distinct opening riff of "Welcome to the Jungle". It was incredible, their newest single right into their first single from 1987, and a seamless transition at that. "You know where you are?" shrieked Axl, "You're in the jungle baby, you're gonna die!" The stage exploded with pyrotechnics behind the group and the heat was intense enough that you felt it on your face from the seats.



Axl can still sing the way he always has and he still does it while running full tilt across the stage. His serpentine movements are still utilized and he hops around kicking his legs, stomping his feet and throwing his mic stand at the drum riser during almost every song. In fact, other than being older (obviously), using a fedora to cover his hair plugs, and sporting a handlebar moustache, he's still basically the same.
The band now consists of 8 members; 3 guitars, 2 keyboards, bass, drums and the infamous W. Axl Rose. The three guitarists each got an extended solo, and each was as distinct as the guitarists themselves. DJ Ashba looks like the love child of Mick Mars (of Motley Crue fame) and Synyster Gates (Avenged Sevenfold) whereas virtuoso Ron Thal looks like a hobo. Long-time session player Richard Fortus is the longest tenured, active Guns guitarist and plays some mean rhythms with Tommy Stinson (bass) and Frank Ferrer (drums).



There was fair balance between old and new. Axl may be a bit over-confident about Chinese Democracy as there were extended 4 or 5 song streaks with no old material thrown in to string us along. Not to say that the new songs aren't great, because they really are, but fans want to feel involved, and they weren't truly until the band kicked into the classics.

GN'R played hard rockers "Sweet Child O' Mine", "It's So Easy", and "You Could Be Mine" as well as going soft on "Patience" and epic rocker "November Rain" on which Axl played piano. They also played two covers from the "Use Your Illusion" era, dusting off Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die" which was accompanied by shooting flames and loud explosions, as well as Bob Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door". The latter of the two was a huge hit and everyone got caught up in sing-along mode.



The band hit the last couple of chords of Nightrain and Axl bid the crowd a false goodnight. Everyone cheered in the dark for a while before the group came out for their encore, where they played "This I Love", "Madagascar”, and "Paradise City".

“Paradise City” was the perfect end to the evening. The song is so frantic and frenzied that it's the ideal closer. Show goers rose from their seats and the fans on the floor jumped and sang at the top of their lungs. Axl ran so fast his fedora fell off and screamed so hard his face turned a deep crimson. Confetti flew everywhere, streamers shot from the ceiling, explosions boomed, and the pyro flared. Several things were thrown into the crowd, including a whistle that Axl blows at the beginning of the song, drumsticks, and the microphone which he lobbed towards the back of the floor, causing a mad scramble in the crowd as everyone dashed to pick it up.

The band again said goodnight, again left the stage, and again came back out to take their bow. Two women in skimpy cocktail dresses joined this time with silver trays of drinks and Axl handed them to security to distribute amongst some of the fans up front. We were wished a safe drive and thanked many times for coming out.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you... Did I say thank you?"

Openers:

Former Skid Row front man and recent reality show/ Trailer Park Boys guest star Sebastian Bach hit the stage before Guns, in full 80's attire, make-up, long blonde hair, and leather pants included. Where GN'R has abandoned their 80's/early 90's past as best as they can, Sebastian never left. He knows who he is, he knows what the fans are there to hear and see, and he gives it to them. With a formidable backing band, featuring some grizzled session musicians and one fresh face. Nineteen-year-old Nick Sterling handles the guitar duties for the group, and received a round of raucous applause when introduced. Sebastian played a few newer songs, but for the most part filled the set out with classics like "Big Guns", "I'll Remember You", and "Monkey Business".

He head-banged and strutted about the stage as if he hadn't aged a day past 25, then he chewed out security guards that were stopping people from taking pictures.

"If I say it's alright to make a video or take a picture then its okay!" he said. "It's my fucking show! Everybody take a picture right now! Get out your cell phones!" This was of course met by a barrage of flashes from around the arena.

"18 and Life" arguably received the best response; the group played the opening riff for a long time and let people cheer and raise their lighters and cell phones. They closed with “Youth Gone Wild” while fans sang along.

Danko Jones opened the evening playing to about 1/3 of the eventual audience. Their sound was a little questionable and they were relegated to about 1/4 of the stage. Not too many people seemed to be into their set. Danko himself should probably retire from speaking between songs and just stick to singing. Overall their set wasn't bad, but they couldn't measure up to the main attractions.