2011.11.08 - Qwest Center Omaha, Omaha, USA

bumblefoot On the bus heading to Oklahoma watching this video over and over, haha... http://t.co/3IlP8LOn Thank you Omaha, had a great time tonight! 25 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

DjASHBA On the road again..... Pulling out from an amazing crowd here in Omaha!! Thx guys!!! http://t.co/gF2xJozG 23 minutes ago · reply · retweet · favorite

After Tuesday night's Guns N' Roses show, some might call in sick to work today.

Or maybe they'll just show up groggy and weary-eyed.

Why? The concert at CenturyLink Center Omaha was a late one. The band made its curtain call after 1:15 a.m.

The night started with an opening set from the Reverend Horton Heat and Guns N' Roses followed at 10:30 p.m.

Axl Rose and his cohorts delivered with a concert full of the band's hits and some old favorites such as "Sweet Child O Mine," "Welcome To The Jungle" and "Live And Let Die" as well as several songs from the band's latest album, "Chinese Democracy."

"Thank you," Rose said to the thousands cheering for him. "No really, thank you. What a really nice audience. Thank you for spending your night with us. God knows there's better things to do."

Though it was a late show, it could have been worse. Guns N' Roses is notoriously late to the stage and has begun recent performances as much as two hours late, according to reviews.

Rose - in a bandana, jeans, chains and at least eight different hats he switched out through the show - also looked and sounded better than recent reports had led me to believe. Some said he was off-key and out of rhythm and the victim of some major weight gain.

In Omaha, he was svelte and incredibly active. Throughout the show, he did his trademark jerky, twirling dance moves and his voice - one of the most recognizable in rock - was like a smack in the face: sharp, strong and surprising.

The thousands in attendance - some in leather and faded GNR shirts and others in Rose-style red bandanas - were mesmerized by the band and cheered until their lungs were sore. During solos, the crowd threw fists in the air and jumped around, too.

At least, those were the people that stuck around.

As the night wore on, many people began to leave even though the band hadn't yet played songs such as "November Rain" (they did get to the piano/guitar ballad eventually). By the end of the concert, about half of the original crowd remained in the arena.

The band acknowledged the late hour when, during hour two, roadies brought a tub to the stage and Rose began to pull out cans of Monster energy drink and throw them into the crowd.

Some fans probably needed it. Some were yawning and others (myself included) sat down after being on their feet for most of the concert.

While a Guns N' Roses set is full of blistering, face-melting hard rock, there were some lulls. The band could cut down the dull moments by dropping some of the lesser-known (and, frankly, not as good) songs from "Chinese Democracy" out of its set.

GNR also played random several covers, the highlight of which was bassist Tommy Stinson (formerly of the Replacements) singing lead vocals on The Who's "My Generation."

Not counting the guitar solos present in almost every song, there were nearly a dozen extra solos that were like entire songs. Some songs were filled with so many guitar solos and hair-metal-style jamming that they felt like they might not end ("Knockin' On Heaven's Door," especially).

Still, the band has more hits than it knows what to do with. After two hours, I couldn't think of more songs that the band could possibly play. They followed with "Night Train," "Don't Cry," "Patience" and several others.

The two hour and forty five-minute set ended on "Paradise City" while what was left of the crowd got the last of their energy out while fireworks, confetti cannons and spurts of flame burst into the air.

In the end, it was surprisingly good, but still somewhat disappointing.

Of course, it must be noted that the Guns N' Roses that played Tuesday wasn't what many call the "real" Guns N' Roses. Of the band's classic lineup, Rose is the only one still in the band.

As a music journalist, there's something in me that's against the whole idea of bands with only one original member. The original's always better, right?

Well, even though this Guns N' Roses doesn't contain anyone named Slash or Duff, they were surprisingly good. Though they're replacement players, D.J. Ashba, Stinson and others in the band are talented and have some impressive resumes. And they do nicely (at least until - I hope - a reunion tour happens).

As good as the show was, it could have been better. Cut the fluff: Several songs, most of the wardrobe changes, some of the band members (there's eight when they only really need six) and about an hour of the set could easily go and make it one of the tightest, most rocking shows ever.

It was still a good show, despite ending at 1:17 a.m. (the latest I've ever been at an arena show), and the fans loved it.

And Rose loved their admiration.

"Thank you for coming out tonight," he said before taking a bow. "Thank you again. You guys have been awesome."

Just got back from the show, I woulda gave updates by my darn phone died. I have about 75 pics and videos of 8 songs I will be uploading. The place pretty packed, no upper bowl. Setlist was mixed up abit. Riff raff was played early in the set, along with rocket queen.

It may seem cliche, but the show simply rocked. Third time seein GNT, probably my 50th concert and it was hands down the best. Being front row always helps. The crowd interaction was amazing, Axl threw me a Monster after November Rain, I missed it so he pointed at me and threw another one. Was pretty cool. Bumblefoot was awesome, shaking hands, let us strum his guitar. Dj was awesome, playing to crowd as I have always known him to, seen him play for almost 12 years now. richard was amazing, most impressed with his playing..WOW. Tommy and Frank were rolid on holding the fort. what amazed me the most, was Axl. There's been sooo much bad press about his voice, apparance, and energy. His voice was rock solid, no cracking, pitch was VERY good. His energy was awesome, shaking fans hands, running all around the stage, joking around with Tommy. The bs of him looking old and fat, oh blah. Definately some crappy reporter trying to get people to read thier pos articles. Just was very impressed with him, you could easily tell he's giving 110%.

Some people complained about not hearing Axl, but I have ran into this problem at the Qwest center with Metallica and Godsmack, some place in the arena just don't sound that great. If I want to picky, the whole band coulda been louder. Then again, I like it LOUD, VERY LOUD.

Very much looking forward to the KC show. Well, worth the wait outside and hour and 15min between sets. Definately suggest people to catch this.

It's easy nowadays to dismiss Guns N' Roses. Axl's always late. It's not the "real" Guns N' Roses without Slash or Izzy. There's no way they can sound as good as they used to.

But Tuesday night, Guns N' Roses proved everyone wrong. Sure, they were a little late taking the stage, but given the fact that they have a penchant for rolling in almost two hours late, the fans packed into the stadium were pretty lucky.

Reverend Horton Heat, a three-person country blues band from Texas, came on first at 9:20 p.m. and played about 10 songs.

After they left the stage, fans settled in for a long wait for Guns N' Roses, but at 10:30—which is early for the perpetually late band—the lights went down and the unsettling sounds of "Dexter" started as the band came out. They moved right into "Chinese Democracy," the title track of their new album.

For nearly three hours, they played a mix of newer songs like "This I Love" and "Street of Dreams," and covers like AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie," The Who's "My Generation," Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" and a piano version of The Who's "Baba O'Riley." But of course everyone came for the hits.

Is there a more rousing, famous hard rock opening riff than "Welcome to the Jungle?" The first three or four songs, which also included the early hit "Mr. Brownstone," were a little rough. At times the music was just too loud to hear Rose's famous voice. But by "Rocket Queen," they had hit their stride.

Fans had to wait for some of their most recognizable hits until the end of the show when they brought "Sweet Child O' Mine," "You Could Be Mine," a beautiful version of "November Rain," "Don't Cry" and "Nightrain." After a brief break, they came out for an encore of "Madagascar," "Patience," and closed out the night with a great version of "Paradise City" that left fans all riled up.

Say what you want about Guns N' Roses and Axl Rose, but most who saw this show would have a hard time disagreeing with the fact that when they're on, they're on. For a guy pushing 50, Rose is still one of the best front men in rock. Wearing jeans, a t-shirt and his trademark red bandana, Rose is still an exceptionally charismatic performer. For the entire set his energy never waned. Running back and forth, doing those famous jerky dance moves, Rose was hitting the notes he hit in 1987.

"What a really nice audience," Rose screeched during the middle of the show. "Thank you for spending your night with us. God knows there's better things to do."

Though a bit belated, Guns N' Roses proved they still know how to put on one heck of a show. For the audience at CenturyLink, there was truly no better way to spend the night.