1991.06.13 - Philadelphia Spectrum, Philadelphia, USA

Sellout at Spectrum for Guns N' Roses

By Tom Moon
Inquirer Music Critic

So maybe the members of Guns N' Roses were worried they'd acquired the ''Biggest Band in Rock and Roll" title virtually by default.

Maybe they were just nervous.

But when the Los Angeles hard rock band returned to the Spectrum yesterday - about four years after its debut LP, Appetite for Destruction, sold 12 million copies - it hit the stage with something to prove.

Bolstered by a new drummer, Matt Sorum, and a keyboardist, Dizzy Reed, Guns N' Roses attacked its music with a bloodthirsty bite that erased any nagging doubts about staying power, or relevance in the notoriously fickle hard rock marketplace. If this band had an appetite for destruction before, it has now acquired the teeth to satiate it.

Playing before a pumped-up sellout crowd, Guns N' Roses delivered a set that mixed the throttling arena stomps of its first two albums with the decidedly bluesier material from the forthcoming Use Your Illusion I & II, two single albums to be released simultaneously in late July.

The new material showed substantial songwriting evolution. More important, it proved that the band has developed the musical confidence to back up every one of lead singer Axl Rose's athletic come-ons. Between verses, the band, led by Slash, played taut, explosive instrumental interludes that were compositions in themselves. On the new "Double-Talking Jive . . . ," for example, guitarist Slash uncorked a twisting, gloriously exploratory solo that ended in a quiet rumination rather than the expected thunderous flourish.

Elsewhere, Slash showed no shortage of firepower. His arching lead lines lifted "Welcome to the Jungle" - which Rose stopped in midstream when he spotted a fight on the floor - into the realm of the classic rock anthem. And his solo introduction to "Civil War," a song the group contributed to the Romanian children's relief project Nobody's Child, etched a desolate landscape that set the mood for the entire piece. Later, during another solo, he essayed the "Theme From 'The Godfather.' "

Slash and rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin teamed up for the kind of intricate two-guitar rhythm interplay often heard on record but rarely replicated live. The new material depends on that sound; though the crowd wasn't familiar with songs like "Double-Talking" and "Dust and Bone," the surgical-strike guitars made it easy to follow along.

Fans of vintage GnR material were not disappointed. Early songs like "Mr. Brownstone" and "It's So Easy" were rendered with tougher, more defiant strokes, and ballads like "Patience" were enhanced by keyboardist Reed. There was even a credible, if tenderfooted, cover: Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die," which proved that what Rose lacks in vocal range, he makes up for in spirit.

The show was opened by the utterly faceless Skid Row. Its wannabe-metal songs were marred by high-pitched feedback from Sebastian Bach's microphone. At times, the feedback sounded better than Bach's twerpy, overly histrionic vocals.

Scott D. Kerber wrote:GUNS N' ROSES FIRES UP SOLD-OUT SPECTRUM SHOW

There's a line in Guns N' Roses' "November Rain" that goes: "Nothing lasts forever, but we know hearts can change."

At the sold-out Spectrum Thursday night, during a show which had been announced only days before, it was a changed Guns N' Roses from the one that rocketed to fame from the mean streets of L.A. a few years ago. The retooled band performed a show that was tight and professional, but one that was loose enough to allow for the unexpected.

Take, for example, the unscripted encounter Guns N' Roses had with a skinny, shirtless, short-haired fan. During "Welcome to the Jungle," the man, who looked to be about 20, jumped on stage and began dancing. After he was tossed back from where he came by beefy security guards, he began taunting and shouting at singer Axl Rose. Rose, never one to back down from a confrontation, immediately had the band stop in mid-song.

"It's a shame a couple of major a------ have to f--- up everything," Rose shouted at the guy and his friends. After threatening to beat up the guy, Rose said, "You're one stupid m----------. You just got the s--- kicked out of you and you keep asking for more." The guy backed down and the crowd applauded lustily.

With things back under control, guitarist Slash asked Rose, "Should we pick it up from the first verse?"

"Let's start it over," Rose shouted, to the crowd's delight.

With its varied attack Guns N' Roses met the challenge of opener Skid Row, whose set was unexpectedly muscular. The band did not follow the sordid Warrant-Poison path of pop metal. Instead, Skid Row showed some guts with songs like "Monkey Business," the group's new single, "Sweet Little Sister" and the controversial "Get the F--- Out." Even a cover version of Aerosmith's "Train Kept A Rollin'" was credible. All this made the band's big hit ballad, "I Remember You," seem lame, although the crowd didn't notice.

During the encore, singer Sebastian Bach said, "You've all probably heard that we've had our ups-and-downs with Bon Jovi," as the crowd loudly booed the band's name. "On that tour we were told what to do, what to say and what to wear. But Guns N' Roses lets us do whatever we want!" Bach then dedicated the closer, "Youth Gone Wild," to Guns N' Roses.

From the beginning of its 2-1/2-hour-plus set, Guns N' Roses cranked out a series of songs that held back nothing.

There were hits like "Civil War," "Patience" and "Sweet Child O' Mine," which had the crowd singing along.

There were cover versions such as McCartney's "Live and Let Die" and Dylan's "Knocking on Heaven's Door."

And there was a liberal dose of new material from the upcoming "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II" discs, which are due out in late July. Those songs, including "Dust and Bones" and "14 Years," where rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin sang the lead vocal, and "Double Talkin' Jive," also were well-received.

The second and final encore was the much-anticipated "Paradise City." It was a perfect description of the Spectrum at the end of the night.

Guns N’ Roses: "True rock and rollers” they are not

Guns Ν’ Roses is no better in person

by Jonathan Tariff

Why go see a musical act perform live, even when you’ve never cared for them on record?

Sometimes the act turns into a different creature on stage. The Grateful Dead, for one, evolve from a pleasant little country rock band into a jamming, cosmic, whole-earth phenomenon, making true the claim:

“There is nothing like a Grateful Dead concert.”

Overcoming the bubblegum material forced on them by svengali Maurice Starr, the New Kids on the Block prove a surprisingly winning stage presentation, because they sing and move so well, look great and have a fresh attitude. Same for Whitney Houston, who wails the heck out of her hack material.

Live, Elvis Costello isn't nearly as strident or as venal as on discs. He jokes, embellishes his material with quotes from other songs (and songwriters), and — like early inspiration Bob Dylan — sometimes lays an entirely different arrangement and melody on a song. “I have to keep things interesting, entertaining for myself as well as the audience,” Costello explained cheerfully after Saturday’s Mann Music Center concert. “The truth is, that sometimes I can’t remember how I used to play a number.” Fearing the worst, but hoping for the best, I ventured out to see Guns N’ Roses at the Spectrum last week. Though their recordings leave me cold, and I’ve been appalled by cretinous comments made by lead singer Axl Rose, some people whose opinions I respect have sung the praises of these guys as “true rock and rollers.”

These fans couldn’t believe I’d missed the group’s last local appearance at the Trocadero, Oct. 20, 1987. And they’ve been gloating that journalists from the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly and USA Today all managed to call Guns N’ Roses the “top touring act of the summer” (or words to that effect), while commenting favorably about the band’s growth as players and composers. Cultural revisionism is a tricky business, though. Newsconscious editors often push reporters to tout that which is hot, believing it will hit readers’ (or potential readers’) buttons. And this summer, most of the other big-ticket music acts are off the road, finishing albums or sitting out the recession. So the Gunners win by default.

Peer pressure also can be intense on a scene chronicler, when the fine line between “good” and “bad” art often comes down to a perception of the artist’s sincerity. Barry Manilow is judged a “hack” because he uses old-fashioned songcraft techniques; Jackson Browne is “pedantic” because he pushes politics.; Yes is dismissed as a yawn because they’re grand and academic. Meanwhile, scores of rappers and three-chord thrash bands are judged “cool” because they’re rough hewn, anti-establishment and seemingly not in it for the money.

When we’re talking about a “much-improved” group like Guns Ν' Roses, it’s also relative. Yes, their new drummer Matt Sorum is sober enough to keep time, but his work with bassist Duff McKagan still constitutes one of the most leadened, plodding, cliche-ridden rhythm sections I’ve ever heard from a big name, hard-rock crew.

I can’t really comment on newly added keyboard player Dizzy because he couldn’t be heard in the superloud and distorted sound mix.

How ’bout those new and “better” tunes, like “Pretty Tied Up” and “Double Talking Jive"? Grant them a C-minus grade instead of an F, on the basis of Guns’ live performances. The forthcoming recorded versions (on “Use Your Illusion,” Volumes I and II, due August) will probably have more meat on its bones.

Truth is, G N’ R’s much vaunted guitar players Slash and Izzy Strad-lin also show terrible chops in concert. Smoking cigarettes (like that's still cool) as they play, they seem sloppy without redemptive purpose, without achieving the gritty bounce and burn of a legendary goof-off like Keith Richards. Slash’s pretentious flamenco turn was a bad joke. And neither guy proved capable of resolving a riff — forcing them to end solos on a wimper, not a bang.

Live, Axl Rose does come off as a commanding, hard-working presence, a trooper despite his well-disguised foot cast and painfully limited vocal abilities. He also showed a surprising talent to play piano, albeit with a gnarled hands technique that made him look arthritic. (Kids — do not try this at home!)

And while claiming to have grown as human beings. Guns N’ Roses are still the same chauvinist pigs they ever were. As a procession of girls jumped up on the stage, each was genteely peeled off Axl by a bodyguard and carried backstage like a sack of potatoes. But when some poor sap of a guy jumped on stage, he was summarily thrown back into the crowd, head first, then pummeled severely by crew toughies and then ridiculed by Rose, midsong. Some “show-stopper," eh?

Bottom line—Judas Priest, AC/DC, Anthrax and Metallica can rest easy. Guns N’ Roses may have a more fashionable rebel image, better tattoos and a studlier logo. But when it comes down to the music, to fighting in the trenches, they’re never gonna win any hard-rock wars.

And don’t say I didn't give them a chance.

Now we know what Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose does when he’s not rocking. He feasts his eyes on the Food Network. That’s where he first learned about Philadelphia’s Buddakan, or so he told restaurant owner Stephen Starr. Rose was dining at the upscale Asian eatery with two companions Wednesday before the Sixers-Lakers basketball game. When Starr approached to say hello, the hard rock hero recognized him. That’s because before becoming one of Philly’s restaurant mavens, Starr worked as a music promoter. “I promoted their show at the Trocadero about 10 years ago, and then another one at the Spectrum.” (Can somebody hum “Thanks for the Memories?”)