1991.05.25 - Alpine Valley Music Theatre, East Troy, USA

666 wrote:these shows must have been rough on the crowd since almost the whole set is made up of uyi songs and the albums weren't out yet...

First shows on "Use Your Illusion" tour

Tribune critic Greg Kot caught the opening night of the band's two concert stop in southern Wisconsin, which attracted some 40,000 fans. The band's original drummer, Stephen Adler, was replaced with Matt Sorum and Dizzy Reed was added on keyboards. Also, lead singer Axl Rose's left leg was in a cast due to a torn ligament suffered during a show in New York. Here's an excerpt of Kot's review from the May 26, 1991, Tribune:

Throughout the show, the Gunners evoked a host of '60s and '70s rockers —(Paul) McCartney, (Bob) Dylan, Rod Stewart, Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith.

This is the "classic rock" foundation on which Guns N' Roses constructs its music. Melodies build until they're ready to burst from tension, which is invariably released by Slash's long, "guitar hero" solos. Then, as in "Patience," "Dust and Bones" and "Sweet Child O' Mine," the band joins in for a big, anthemic finish.

There's nothing particularly innovative about this approach. In fact, the bands that Rose advertised on his cap and T-shirt-rappers N.W.A. and industrial rockers Nine Inch Nails are, stylistically at least, far more daring.

But even if the Gunners are "old-school," they're also a rock 'n' roll juggernaut. They invest proven formulas with fresh passion and sensuality.

When Rose sways from the hips and rocks his shoulders, he embodies those emotions. And his voice, a develish rasp prone to startling leaps into falsetto, is this band's wickedest instrument.

At show's end, his injured foot throbbing, Rose was grimacing but triumphant.

"It has blisters and it hurts like hell," he said backstage, "but we're still rockin'."

Edna Gundersen wrote:East Troy, Wis. - Guns N' Roses, pop music's cagey but uncageable savage beasts, have returned to rescue the endangered species of rock heroes.

Packing lethal new ammo, the Guns launched their mammoth two-year world tour with spectacularly fierce concerts Friday and Saturday at the packed Alpine Valley Music Theatre.

The 15-song, two-hour show easily establishes the band as the most potent and unstoppable force in hard rock. Its approach is hardly novel - a blues-based primal assault influenced by icons Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith. But nobody matched GN'R's armed-and-dangerous delivery, undiminished by scattered opening-night wobbles.

Guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan and new drummer Matt Sorum (formerly of the Cult) form the volcanic rhythm section. Guest keyboardist Dizzy Reed softens the blows, especially on the muscular cover of Paul McCartney's Live And Let Die.

The band's strongest assets are the twin screeches of Axl Rose's vocals and Slash's guitar. Rose, the visual axis, evokes A Clockwork Orange when he bounds on stage in green velour shorts, a catcher's chest protector, bulky boots and a self-designed cast to treat torn ligaments in his left ankle. Unhampered by the injury, he storms through trademark sways, gyrations and stomps.

His steely voice, best when whining such full throttle anthems as Civil War and Estranged , is a facile if scabrous instrument, leaping from a rumbling growl in Mr. Brownstone to a soaring yowl in Sweet Child O' Mine.

Whether plucking killer bars from Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Child or serving up The Godfather theme, Slash's solos are coherent, elastic and spellbinding. A surprisingly gentle Spanish guitar coda on Double Talkin' Jive demonstrates a range beyond lucid slide and hell-bent speed runs.

Familiar fare (Patience, Welcome To The Jungle) draws the loudest roars, but blustery newcomers like Dust N' Bones, neighbor trashing Right Next Door To Hell and the kinky-sex anthem are sure-fire hits from a band that has yet to miss its target.