2012.11.14 - The Joint, Las Vegas, USA

Hey everyone, this douchebag threw ice at the band tonight. twitpic.com/bdcj9eWhoever kicks his ass gets backstage passes, my treat:)

— Bumblefoot (@[url=https://www.a-4-d.com/profile.forum?mode=viewprofile&u=bumblefoot) November 15, 2012

Guns N' Roses gets The Joint rocking in Las Vegas
Marco R. della Cava, USA Today

For three hours Wednesday night, Axl Rose wailed and the party raged like it was 1989 as Guns N' Roses stormed The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

3:19PM EST November 15. 2012 - LAS VEGAS -- For three hours Wednesday night, the red-headed banshee wailed and the party raged like it was 1989.

The Axl Rose-fronted incarnation of Guns N' Roses stormed The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino with a rock reveille for night owls. Tickets indicated a 9 p.m. start, Rose and his seven accomplices turned up around 10:30, and they finally capped the show with a thundering Paradise City complete with pole dancers and confetti at 1:30 a.m. The later it got, the more animated Rose became.

The general-admission set was a gumbo of three ingredients: tracks from Rose's quixotic labor of love, Chinese Democracy, which the packed house seemed cool to; an onslaught of GNR greatest hits, which unfailingly sent waggled pinkies and forefingers into the air; and an impressive mix of covers ranging from Neil Young to The Who.

Say this much about Rose's bandmates, who included three nimble guitarists: They effortlessly summoned the power of the classic lineup, sometimes lick-for-lick and at others with improvisational abandon, whether pounding through Welcome to the Jungle or soaring through the epic November Rain. There were even cheeky nods to the past, as evidenced by guitarist DJ Ashba's crumpled Slash-style top hat.

Rose took wise advantage of his band's instrumental prowess, often running to the side of the stage for a break or a drink while the band played on. Considering the vocal gymnastics the singer was forced to perform on songs such as the glass-shattering Sweet Child O' Mine, one can hardly blame Rose for seeking brief respite. While he might have been the defacto star, the band more than held its own on pure instrumentals, such as a piano-based rendition of Led Zeppelin's No Quarter.

When he was on stage, Rose strutted much like the bat-out-of-hell who upended the early-'80s hair band era (before Nirvana and grunge in turn took the stuffing out of the Gunners). Dressed in torn jeans, black T-shirt and an ever-changing array of jackets (black leather, tan suede) and hats (cowboy, panama), the frontman revived his trademark shimmy on Don't Cry and You Could Be Mine. As the evening wore on, Rose revved up, running from one end of the stage to the other, dodging scantily clad dancers in the process.

The stage was a fairly simple affair backed by screens that displayed everything from abstract images to short films of a risque nature. Flash pots occasionally exploded. And so did tempers. A few bars into Live and Let Die, Rose halted the band and ordered a security guard to stop harassing a front-row fan.

"Let me see that," said Rose, bending down to grab a homemade banner, which he unfurled with a big grin. "Axl's the sexiest, let us blow on your dice," it read. A few songs later, guitarist Ron Thal berated a man who had thrown a piece of ice at him. That element of momentary danger only heightened the rock 'n' roll atmosphere.

Long past when most Vegas shows call it a night (usually the 90-minute mark), the band was gaining momentum. After November Rain, which saw Rose playing a piano while suspended over the crowd, he quipped, "You gotta admit, that was some (expletive) Vegas-osity."

A few songs later, he was vamping through an inspired Knockin' on Heaven's Door. If Bob Dylan has said that Jimi Hendrix's version of All Along the Watchtower was how that song should truly sound, GNR's Heaven could well merit such praise, as Rose's hoarse lament seemed to conjure up a dying Western gunman in this Vegas showroom.

And with that, GNR raced to the station, ripping through a searing Nightrain, followed by a long encore that included Rose doing his best early Young on a cover of Don't Let It Bring You Down and a reverent Roger Daltrey for The Who's The Preacher. Finally, he reminded fans why they'd come in the first place with Patience and Paradise City. For GNR diehards, it truly was.

GNR is midway through a 12-date residency that ends Nov. 24.