1991.07.13 - Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, USA

Guns N' Roses set S.L. concert date

One of the most highly anticipated concert tours of the year will hit Salt Lake City when Guns n' Roses visits the Salt Palace July 13.

The group missed Utah on its last tour, but early accounts of the new stage show, which kicked off last month in Wisconsin, say it is the group's tightest, most hard-rocking set yet. Skid Row will open the show.

Tickets go on sale at 7 a.m. Monday at the Salt Palace and all Smith's Tix outlets.

Vince Horiuchi wrote:Safety Concerns Prompt County to Review Concert

Salt Lake County will "demand the right" to cancel the July 13 Guns N' Roses heavy-metal concert at the Salt Palace if safety measures aren't met, an official said Friday.

Brent Cameron, director of the county's administrative services, asked the managers of the Salt Palace to review the band after lead singer Axl Rose touched off a riot at one of its concerts Tuesday night.

"I told them that I wanted to make sure that we reviewed the security and made sure things were safe," said Mr. Cameron. "I do know that if there is a public-safety issue, we would demand the right to cancel it."

Spectacor Management Group, the firm that manages the Salt Palace, plans to meet with county officials Monday to determine if any additional safety measures will be taken for the concert.

The concern for safety began after Mr. Rose leaped into a crowd at a Maryland Heights, Mo., concert and started a riot that injured about 60 people.

Witnesses said the singer jumped into the crowd to stop a fan from taking pictures. An estimated 3,000 rioters began tearing out seats and rolling amplifiers up a grassy hill.

Spectacor has requested reports of the Missouri incident and will review if additional security measures are required, said public relations director Beth White.

"At this point, we are not considering canceling the concert. But with patron safety to consider, we can go that route if we have to," said Ms. White.

County officials are particularly concerned because they do not want a repeat of the Jan. 18 AC/DC concert at the Salt Palace when three teen-agers were crushed to death when the crowd rushed the stage.

Concert promoter Jim McNeil said he talked to the band's management Friday morning about the incident. "We were very specific with what we needed and they didn't have any problem complying. I need them to come and be responsible, and they're going to be," he said.

"You don't want someone in the arena who's going to incite to riot, but on the other hand, you hope that their management will make sure they don't do anything that will create an incident," said Mr. Cameron.

Lori Buttars wrote:Security strategy planned for Guns N' Roses concert

Salt Lake County authorities are taking precautions to ensure there is no repeat performance of the Guns N' Roses riot last week in Missouri when the band plays the Salt Palace Saturday.

"Guns N' Roses is one of the premier rock 'n' roll bands, and with any act like that you are going to have your hands full," said Salt Lake County Commission Chairman Jim Bradley. "We are aware of that and our people are prepared."

The commissioner said he is reserving the right to close the facility "as late as Saturday if for any reason I feel uncomfortable about the band coming here."

County administrative services asked the managers of the Salt Palace and United Concerts to monitor the actions of band members at performances this week in Dallas and Denver.

Mr. Bradley said concert promoters have been in close contact with the band's management and were "very specific about our concerns and how we expect them to act when they are here. They were happy to comply and thus far we haven't seen, nor do we expect, any problems," Mr. Bradley said.

Nearly 10,000 tickets had been sold by Thursday, according to Beth White, spokeswoman for the Salt Palace management firm, Spectacor. As a precautionary measure, an attendance cap of 12,500 has been set.

Company policy prevented Ms. White from giving details about concert security measures, but Mr. Bradley said there would be more than 200 security workers on duty Saturday. Salt Palace personnel will also install fixed seating on the Salt Palace arena floor, eliminating festival seating and the possibility of chair throwing.

"Our crowds are enthusiastic, not malicious," Mr. Bradley said.

Guns N' Roses Concert Passes Without Problems

A beefed up security force was on hand as the heavy-metal rock band Guns N' Roses took to the stage at the Salt Palace Saturday evening, but the concert passed without violence.

Outside Acord Arena, security guards searched through purses and checked concertgoers as they entered the building. Inside, a heavy stream of security guards and ushers patrolled aisles and watched the band.

Usually, there are about 40 ushers for concerts. But there were more than 75 on hand for the rock concert. An increased force of Salt Lake police officers also patrolled outside the Salt Palace.

Security was increased after a riot broke out at a recent Guns N' Roses concert in St. Louis. More than 60 people were injured after lead singer Axl Rose leaped into the audience when a fan began taking pictures.

Security guards passed out handbills warning concertgoers against taking cameras, lighters and alcohol into the arena. Handbills also advised fans to stay in their seats and not to stand in aisles.

Lori Buttars wrote:Guns N' Roses Goes Off Unexplosively

Saying he wanted to leave "before I put anyone else to sleep," singer W. Axl Rose put a rather odd and uneventful end to the ballyhooed Guns N' Roses concert Saturday night at the Salt Palace.

Fans cursed and booed as security personnel worked quickly to move the disappointed concertgoers out of the arena after the performance by the ill-reputed rock 'n' roll band.

After a two-hour show, the abrupt close came as a relief to anxious Salt Lake authorities who had kept a close watch on Guns N' Roses after a riot broke out during the group's performance two weeks ago in Missouri.

An enthusiastic crowd of nearly 12,000 filled the Salt Palace arena to see what had been billed as one of the summer's biggest concert acts. An increased security staff of over 200 patrolled the aisles of the arena doing everything from extinguishing cigarettes to making sure fans who tried to edge closer to the stage returned to their assigned seats.

The cautious setting, which included a cattle guard and fencing set up coincidentally in preparation for the Days of '47 Rodeo, and the raucous enthusiasm of the fans made for an interesting combination.

Expectations for the concert ran high because the band, whose members are as notorious for playing great rock 'n' roll as they are for their antics, had not performed in Salt Lake City since they opened for Iron Maiden three years ago.

Local groupies were out in full force Saturday night. Young women clad in form-fitting black attire clamored for the coveted backstage passes that the group's managers handed out during the break between Skid Row's opening act and Guns N' Roses' performance.

"They said we weren't dressed right," said one 25-year-old woman whose request to meet the band was declined. "I guess they wanted somebody sleazier."

At the center of all the attention was the heat-seeking Mr. Rose, whose stage manner, despite his reputation as a rabbel-rouser, proved to be tame. He screamed only a few expletives in his between-song chatter, and was mild in comparison to Skid Row's lead singer Sebastian Bach.

Mr. Bach may have been trying to push the limits of freedom of speech since he was cited for lewdness over comments he made during his last appearance in Utah.

Mr. Rose's traditionally questionable stage antics were also held in check. He made his social and political statements through a number of costume changes that included a coat made in the form of an American flag, a Scottish kilt and baseball catcher's chest protector.

Guns N’ Roses bang heads
Rock and frolic at the Salt Palace

By JANINE CHASE
Chronicle Assistant
Entertainment Editor

Not being a metal-head, or one inclined to listen to "modern” rock-n-roll, when a promotional agent for the smash band Guns N’ Roses called to see if there was a writer who would want to cover the concert, I accepted two “will call” tickets.

The word “smash” was carefully chosen. The fact that W. Axl Rose recently smashed into a “regular” guy for taking his picture, I was careful to conceal my 5” x 3” Stuart Hall “executive” notebook.

I coerced my friend, John B. Mason, to attend the Saturday night concert at the Salt Palace with me, telling him I needed a strong man to accompany me so I would feel safe at the big bad heavy metal concert. (John likes to be thought of as a knight, so this was the perfect persuasion.)

As we drove past Palace’s back doors, an ambulance pulled up—an omen? Finding a parking place was easy enough, and we were late. It was 10 minutes to nine by the time we reached the doors. I was prepared to be frisked—actually, I was looking forward to it—but no see-gar.

We had missed the first band, Skid Row, and David Francis, the guy to the left of me, said the show was “really good.” Darn, I hate missing a really good show. I also hate the thought of ear damage, so I asked Francis for some of the cotton he had on hand. Nice guy. Frankly I wasn’t expecting “nice guys” to be at a Guns N’ Roses concert—gee, you discover something new every day, or night, as the case may be.

John keeps sharing personal insights with me, but I can’t hear a damn thing he’s saying because of the cotton in my ears. I’m such a wimp I need cotton during the break. Dudes in bright yellow jackets, the Events staffers, are wandering around like confused bees in a field of wildflowers.

There are three teenage fellows behind me, Roger Plotz, Steven King and Kyle King. (I promised I’d get their names in print.) I can’t resist asking them why they came to see Guns. It’s one of the boys’ 16th birthday and the concert is a gift. Two of the lads play in a band and all of them are Guns fans. “We’re gonna be famous one day,” they said in unison. Good luck guys, just don’t jump any audience members.

I proceeded to converse with the guys whilst John took my “executive” notepad and wrote the following: "One fan held up a T-shirt from Guns N’ Roses and stared affixed to an ideal. A woman walked by and brought cheers from the crowd, and then a guy walked up to the microphone and said testing one, two, shit."

And now we wonder...will the band play? or will they go now? or will it turn into a riot?

Each time the preconcert music stopped the crowd became animated, but still the band didn’t play.

And then, out of the darkness and purple-orange lighting, the first song blared out at us like a demented parrot, “Welcome to the Jungle.” How appropriate. The audience was screeching and jumping as if possessed by ancient primates.

Highlights included Axl calling the press “pederasites.” (I guess that means bipedal parasites.) He called the press “fat fucks makin' money on you. All the press is into is payin’ the rent.” On behalf of the press everywhere, thanks Axl, I guess that makes you a "long-haired fuck makin’ money off of kids" so you can afford to buy your house with cash.

“Patience” was played beautifully, though I still prefer it as a campfire song. And Axl threw his mike stand rather than audience members.

Another highlight that I found joyous was an instrumental of “Live and Let Die.” All in all, Guns N’ Roses revived the spastic adolescent in me. If you haven’t been to a heavy metal concert in awhile, check one out—if only for amusement’s sake. I got my money’s worth; free—not bad for a pederasite.

Guns N’ Roses concert review ‘teenaged'

Editor:

It’s too bad the Daily Utah Chronicle's so-called “Assistant Entertainment Editor,” Janine Chase, was allowed two free tickets to the recent Guns N’ Roses concert. The tickets would have had better use in the hands of someone who liked heavy metal, knew how to write a fair and informative concert review and would at least show up to the concert on time.

Chase’s article (“Guns N’ Roses bang heads,” July 17) reads like a travelogue of a silly teenager’s night out. She’s constantly referring either to herself, the guy she is with, or some guys sitting behind her. She barely describes the important things like the stage, the lighting, the sound and the bands!

Guns N’ Roses is too talented a band to be reviewed by someone who calls herself a “writer” who writes “on behalf of the press everywhere.” Ms.. Chase, you do not represent the true press. The true press (since it exists in the real world) does not spend 80 percent of its space writing about silly little details which have nothing to do with the story. This concert was filled with variety and tons of good music both from Guns and Skid Row, whose show Chase missed entirely. The fact that Guns Ν’ Roses had an incident with a crowd at another time, in another place, really had nothing to do with the show in Salt Lake City. They lived up to their billing, and they will continue to do so in the future.

Of course, Chase mentions the band’s incident and tries to capitalize on it throughout the article. Her attitude toward Guns N’ Roses (and heavy metal in general) is sarcastic and condescending. She is also not knowledgeable about, and indifferent to, their music. This is clearly demonstrated by the fluffiness of the article and its inability to appreciate substance and sound! It sounds as though it was originally written for “Show N’ Tell,” or, “What I did this Summer.”

When it comes to matters of heavy metal, the Chronicle would do well to send someone who is worthy of it to the concert. Leave the lightweights back at the office.

Barry J. Cook
Secondary Education