2012.07.03 - Hayarkon Park, Tel Aviv, Israel

Thought I would open a news thread since I have a lot to tell and a lot of pics, so I don't want it to be lost in the TLV thread.
It would be also nice if other people share their experience.

OK, first thing's first - AMAZING rock show.
Any rock fan should go see these guys play. This was a fucking academy of rock shows. If anyone has doubts about seeing GnR live. Don't miss it. It's a very very good show. I was actually shocked at how good it was. I wasn't expecting a nice show. But this was fucking academic. Kudos to everyone involved.

I missed the first opener, Hayehudim, because I was stuck at work. But I've seen them like 5k times so meh. Ugly Kid Joe were great, but suffered from poor sound IMO. The crowd really liked them. Little did I know, UKJ are touring with an Israeli chick drummer. And she's smokin. Was very cool to find that out.
I was standing on the front line and moving a little back and front again throughout the show.

There was much speculation about Axl's vocal shape etc. Rest assured, he fucking nailed it. He did have little fuck ups, though, during SCOM and others. But all in all the guy fucking nailed it. I thought This I Love was going to be a disaster, because it's so high and I thought maybe Axl can't hold it. Axl punched me in the fucking face and hammered that shit home. Better and Shackler's were quite hard for him, but he got through them well, too, I think. Street of Dreams was his worst moment vocally and should be dropped from the set. Replace it with fucking TWAT for god's sake.

Many people in the crowd didn't knew a lot of the 'new' songs, so I spent many moments explaining etc. :lol: But people REALLY liked Sorry and TIL. And that's cool to see. Also CD opener kicked a lot of ass.
All the guys really did great. Richard's solo was a fucking hit. Ashba's Mi Amor thing also was very well received. And Ron playing the Israeli national anthem was a HUGE crowd pleaser, with the whole crowd singing the lyrics. One of the most moving moments of the show. Second one being Civil War, which obviously receives a very special meaning in Israel. The crowd sang the lyrics and Axl was very cool about it in general.
Richard was hysterical. He got A LOT of love from the crowd (at least where I was standing). Every time he got close the crowd cheered for him and he seemed very amused and even slightly shy. He was smiling and laughing a lot. Seems like a cool guy.

Ashba was dressed like a douche again :lol: but he kept his fuckups to a surprising minimum, although he did thrash Nightrain. But the crowd loved him and cheered his name a couple of times.
Something cool that happened to me. I was probably the only one in my are of the crowd who knew the new songs and the lyrics etc. While Axl was singing Shackler's I was singing the lyrics and rocking out on the front row. He noticed that and after finishing a sentence, pointed at me and nodded making a "That's it!" look. Haha, was awesome. DJ also noticed me several times singing new songs and made a couple of gestures towards me (nodding, pointing his guitar).

Paradise City was crazy. When the confetti hit, all the girls in the three front rows got pregnant. It was fucking bananas.

In conclusion - The show was fucking amazing. First, as a rock show - It was great. The guys are doing a great job putting out an awesome show, keeping the energy going. Axl is a fucking beast on stage. It's like he lives right there on that stage. As a rock show - This was truly something to learn from. Also, Axl sounded good and way better than I expected. Vocal highlights - YCBM, TIL, CD, Don't Cry, Estranged, Sorry.

My only disappointment was that there was no rant. There was a curfew to the show (which explains the short encore), so maybe they didn't want to waste time. But Axl barely spoke to the audience other than introducing the band, and just regular rock concert shit. Was waiting for him to say SOMETHING. It's fucking Israel, we are no short of discussion topics :lol:

Oh, and the humidity in TLV this time of year is over the roof. Axl was wearing a jacket and a hat the whole time and was sweating like a motherfucker. :lol:

Axl Rose, still defiant, is sticking to his guns
By YONI DAYAN
07/04/2012 21:31

Less than three months ago, Guns N’ Roses was officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And rightfully so. The band was indisputably one of the genre’s greats, pioneering a unique blend of hard, gritty, at times ugly rock riffs and floating guitar melodies.

That was a very different Guns N’ Roses.

The lingering question, of course, is whether or not the current lineup, which features just one of the original five members plus some hired help, is worthy of the GNR name.

After an inspired and passionate performance that lasted more than three hours, I can confidently answer in the affirmative.

Overweight, sporting a ridiculous mustache, and occasionally wearing a flamboyant white suit jacket, frontman Axl Rose still managed to deliver a wildly impressive performance.

His shrill, high-pitched voice has not deserted him over the years (though he now needs more time between songs to catch his breath), and he remains a loyal practitioner of his unique side-toside dance technique.

The set-list was fair. The band of course played a number of songs from their Chinese Democracy album, some of which at times felt monotonous and droning, but they made up for it by playing almost all of the classic hits, including “November Rain,” “Estranged,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Don’t Cry,” “Paradise City” and “Civil War.”

Also impressive was the list of cover songs, as the band played Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd, and hinted at The Who and Elton John.

Nearing the end of their generous set, the band played a special tune for the delighted Tel Aviv crowd: “Hatikvah.” Of all the Guns and Roses classics, I must say that I enjoyed this piece most of all, and I can tell my sentiment was shared by many in the audience, who sang along faithfully and loudly.

Guns N’ Roses Arrives in Israel for Summer Rock 2012

Nineteen years after his last performance in the Holy Land, Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose is now back in Israel. Following his arrival at Ben Gurion airport this morning, Rose and the rest of Guns N’s Roses will perform in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night as part of the city’s Summer Rock 2012 music festival.

“I’m glad to be here again,” the 50 year old Rose told Mako, an Israeli news website. Rose’s last appearance in Israel was with Guns N’ Roses on their “Use Your Illusion Tour”, in May 1993. This time around, Guns N’ Roses’ Jewish guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal will be performing in place of Slash, the band’s former guitarist who left the group in 1996.

The members of Guns N’ Roses were escorted to the presidential suite in the hotel Dan Tel Aviv today, staying in the same suite that pop icon Madonna and her children stayed in earlier this year. According to Israeli media reports, Rose’s requests included a private gym to be built in his suite, nine rooms with scented soaps, the best masseuse and chiropractor in Israel, and a bouquet of six red roses and six white roses for every room.

The concert will take place tomorrow night in Ganey Yehoshua Yarkon Park. Guns N’ Roses will follow Ugly Kid Joe and the up and coming Israeli band Hayehudim.