1986.10.23 - Arlington Theatre, Los Angeles, USA

by **Soulmonster** Sat Sep 24, 2011 9:56 pm

Date:
October 23, 1986.

Venue:
Arlington Theatre.

Location:
Los Angeles, USA.

Setlist:
01. Shadow of Your Love
02. It's So Easy
03. Mr. Brownstone
04. Nightrain
05. Think About You
06. Whole Lotta Rosie

Line-up:
Izzy Stradlin (rhythm guitarist), Slash (lead guitarist), Duff McKagan (bass) and Steven Adler (drums).

Notes:
Opening for Alice Cooper. Axl arrived late and wasn't allowed in so Duff and Izzy had to trade vocals.

Quotes:

When we did that show, we were supposed to do the hour-long ride out there together, but Axl insisted on driving with his girlfriend Erin at the very last minute. We were all aginst it, as was Alan, but Axl convinced him that there was nothing to worry about. We got to the gig; Axl was nowhere to be found, but was apparently on his way. It came time to take the stage - no Axl - so Izzy and Duff and Stave and I got out there and started playing without him. Izzy and Duff sang "Whole Lotta Rosie" by AC/DC and a few other covers. We were opening for Alice Cooper but basically that set was a drunken jam fit for a bar - except we were in an arena. It got so bad that at one point we asked the audience to sing lead and then asked if there was a lead singer in the house. We were friends with the crowd for a minute, but that quickly changed; we ended up insulting them and throwing things at them. It was ridiculous. We stayed up there for the allotted amount of time and then retreated from a totally embarrassing disaster. We got out of there immediately and drove back to Hollywood, so pissed that we talked about kicking Axl out of the band that night and looking for a new singer [Slash's autobiography, p 216-217]

The night of the Alice Cooper gig, Axl showed up late again and then was unable to get into the venue. Izzy and I sang. At the time it was almost funny - though we were definitely pissed, too, and we absolutely trashed the dressing room. We traded some words with Axl when we found him in the parking lot afterward, but at the end of the day the situation lacked much in the way of consequences. We did the show, we got paid, and the crowd was there to see Alice anyway. That was that. For now [Duff's autobiography, "It's So Easy", 2011, p. 119-120]

In May [Steven's got the date wrong], we were given a great opportunity to do a single show with Alice Cooper in Santa Barbara. [...]On the day of the show, we all piled into our new white van (we got another one after Slash totaled the first), while Axl was just standing there, outside. We were yelling to him,"C'mon, Axl." He was all like, "Naw, I'll meet you there; some chick is gonna take me." [...] We were ready to go [on stage], but sure enough, someone was still missing. Next thing you know, we're supposed to be on in five minutes and everyone is screaming, "Where's Axl?" We stalled as long as we could, but we really had to get out there out of respect for Alice. At eight o'clock we hit the stage as scheduled. Without Axl, we just did our best and improvised. We did 'It's So Easy' and Duff sang. After that, we just performed blues jams. We would always include a blazing blues jam in our sets, so we still managed to rock out for the audience, and I don't think they felt incredibly cheated. Izzy and Duff screamed a few words here and there. Duff's tech, Mike "McBob" Mayhue, may have sung something, too. Bottom line was, without Axl present, we didn't deliver the true Guns N' Roses as promised. We just played, packed up our shit, and got out of there. Because of my worship for Alice, and my feeling about what Guns N' Roses was about, it was one of the most humiliating nights of my life [Steven's autobiography, "My Appetite for Destruction", 2010, p. 122-123]

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Next concert: 1986.10.31.
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Previous concert: 1986.09.20.

by **Soulmonster** Fri Apr 15, 2016 9:21 pm

1986.10.23 - Arlington Theatre, Los Angeles, USA 160406-guns-and-roses-1980s-08

Photo credit: Marc Canter

by **Soulmonster** Sun Sep 11, 2022 6:20 pm

The first show I ever did with them was opening for Alice Cooper in Santa Barbara, and Axl failed to show up. The band were in the dressing room saying: “We can’t go on.” I said: “You fucking get on that stage. I don’t care who sings what, but you will do a show.”

Classic Rock, July 2014

Izzy and Duff sang Whole Lotta Rosie and a few other covers. That set was a drunken jam fit for a bar – except we were in an arena.

Classic Rock, July 2014

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1986.10.23 - Arlington Theatre, Los Angeles, USA

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