1993.02.01 - Calder Park Raceway, Melbourne, Australia

Tony Jones wrote:The Rundown: Notorious Guns N' Roses concert recalled 25 years on

"The area later became a saturated and smelling swamp due to the heavy rains and the urine."
Disturbing stuff.

It could easily be a line lifted from a TV news report covering a natural disaster in some far flung part of the world.

The damning assessment was part of a 100-page finding from the Victorian Ombudsman into what is arguably the worst concert ever staged in Australia.

The Guns N' Roses tour of 1993.

It wasn't what happened on stage at Melbourne's Calder Park that had authorities up in arms, but what happened off it.

In Episode Four of Nine's "The Rundown" the band's long time manager, Doug Goldstein, pulls no punches when he recalls the day.

"It's important to me, crowd safety... We pretty much knew," Goldstein said.

The concert never really stood a chance of succeeding.

Mother nature turned on a howler, temperatures above 40 degreees. Then came ferocious winds and driving rain.

Joining Goldstein on "The Rundown", famed radio rock jock Lee Simon who, at the last minute, was enlisted as the MC for the day.

Twenty five years on, he remembers the debacle all too well.

"It was just a dreadful way to endure a show", Simon tells "The Rundown" host Tony Jones.

Fans were left stranded.

There was simply no public transport available to get the drenched fans back to town.

"A stream of people actually walking along the Calder Freeway and Tullamarine Freeway... And It was like a scene out of the Living Dead," Lee Simon recalls.

Because of the excessive heat that day, dehydration became a huge problem.

Suddenly, a bottle of water cost in the range of $7. Quite excessive for that time.

In fact Mr Whippy was to feature in the ombudsman's report for selling water at an exorbitant price.

But the problems didn't end with the cost of water or the fury that the weather was unleashing on the unsuspecting fans.

While the band roared on stage, barely missing a beat, there was trouble in the Guns N' Roses camp.

In short: lead singer Axl Rose had disenfranchised himself from the rest of the band. In particular lead guitarist, Slash.

"I kept them, kind of, separate. Probably the best thing I ever did for that band was not let Axl know how the other band (members) couldn't stand him because the positions that he'd put them in," Goldstein said.

"He'd leave the stage and they'd have to stand on stage and continue to play."

Remarkably, Michael Jackson was partly responsible.

"He (Slash) came to my room and said: 'Hey I'm flying to Paris to do a pay-per-view with Michael Jackson'.

"I said: 'Okay, you know that your lead singer has just told the world about the molestation and you're talking about someone who's been accused of child molestation'," Goldstein warned.

"He said 'I don't care'."

So split was the band, Rose travelled to Calder Park on a separate helicopter to the rest, stayed in a different hotel and entered the stage from the opposite side.

On that infamous day, fans were screaming for refunds.

Fast forward 25 years, it's unlikely any of those fans would trade their experience.

Goldstein goes on to reveal in "The Rundown" the deal that convinced Slash to perform with Jackson.

Soulmonster wrote:
They refer to The Rundown, I don't know if this is the show where Goldstein first implied Slash playing with MJ hurt Axl, or if he is saying it again. I think I remember there was an interview about this not too long ago.

YO GUNNERS

We suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later: Guns N’ Roses will play the Calder Park Raceway on Monday 1 February. There, we’ve said it. The Axl’s out of the bag. See “the world’s biggest stage”, see the fans who got in early in their only specially sealed-off section of the crowd. See your booking agent from Monday.

POP GUNS

The most dangerous rock band in the world or just a bunch of naughty boys? PAUL POTTINGER looks beyond the hype and the haberdashery.

SAY WHAT you like about Guns n' Roses, they've sure got all the rocking credentials. Riots at their concerts. Arrests for offensive or often just plain silly behaviour. Swearing at award ceremonies. Lawsuits. Former band members with heroin habits. Emasculatingly tight trousers and lots of nasty tattoos...

Apart from this set of raps, their much-vilified lead singer. Axl Rose (real name William Bailey, but don't call him that), has been accused of homophobia, racism and misogyny. And all in the course of the same song, One in a Million, from their first album, with its references to "faggots and their AIDS”.

Of course, this is, as they're still given to saying in some quarters, rock 'n' roll. Or is it? For all their outlaw posturing, this fabulously wealthy group of American medium- to heavy-metallers comes over less as bad boys than as naughty little boys. Boys who need, as AC-DC's no-nonsense singer Brian Johnson says, a “bloody good slapping”.

A list of Guns n' Roses behaviour reads like a charge sheet:

• A former guitarist, Izzy Stradlin, was banned by a US domestic airline for relieving himself in the aircraft's kitchen.

•  A former drummer, Steven Adler, a heroin addict, is suing the band for $26 million. He says they turned him on to drugs and booted him out when he tried to get clean.

•  The lead guitarist Slash (he also hates being called by his real name, Saul) confirmed for a TV audience of millions his wild man status at the American Music Awards two years ago. Staggering to the dais clutching wine glass and cigarette (never mind the "no smoking” signs - Slash is one bad outlaw), he was soon dragged away when he uttered both the "s" word and the “f" word.

On Guns n' Roses first Australian tour in 1988, they came perilously close to feeling the wrath of then NSW Police Minister Ted Pickering. He was reported to be considering laying charges against Axl for his references to taking drugs and leading vulgar chants. Acting Premier Wal Murray was reportedly horrified.

At the same concert, the fearsome lead singer implored fans not to throw missiles lest one of them strike him in the eye and end his career. Not the sort of outlaw utterance one would expect from someone living on the edge of eternity.

And then there is the question of Rose’s sartorial style. It would appear his most malign influence on today’s youth may be through his outlandish fashion statements rather than his pronouncements on sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.

Laddish pranks and prancing aside, there is a less savoury aspect to the “Gunners”. Their concert path around the world has been dotted by a series of ugly riots.

Indeed violence and misogyny are part of the band’s allure, aspects of which Axl Rose, a diagnosed manic depressive, personifies. (Indeed, the singer’s name is an anagram of “oral sex”, although he maintains the sobriquet came about because he couldn’t spell Axel.)

In 1990, he was charged with bashing a female neighbour over the head with a bottle. The public brawls with his former wife Erin, daughter of Don Everly of the more restrained Everly Brothers, have been spectacularly ugly. He once chased her outside their Hollywood home yelling, “Psycho bitch!” and painted a headstone on their garage, “Erin Rose, RIP Slut. You were one of many nothing special.”

He eventually demanded an annulment on the grounds that Mrs Rose, for whom he wrote the uncharacteristically fragile song, Sweet Child O’ Mine, was unwilling to be a housewife and have his children.

But this domestic acrimony seems trivial beside the hostility the band can provoke in a packed stadium.

Two fans died during a Guns n' Roses gig at the 1988 Castle Donnington Festival in England. A concert in St Louis during their 1991 US tour saw Axl hurl himself at a biker who was taking photographs without permission (all photos and interviews have to be approved by the band before publication). End result? A crowd riot which caused US$200,000 damage.

And in August last year, Rose led the band offstage halfway through its Montreal appearance claiming he had a sore throat. The crowd, already incensed that the support act, Metallica, had been forced to curtail their set, rioted.

However tortured Axl’s psyche is rumoured to be, it is difficult to sympathise with a man who surrounds himself with a travelling staff of 50 (including a herbalist and various other medicos) and who for a time, refused to appear in cities beginning with the letter “M” on the advice of his personal astrologer.

Regularly, too, if the audience is not sufficiently effusive, the band is more than likely to down instruments in pique.

Despite (or, more likely, because of) the official ire they seem to knowingly provoke, sales of their records soar.

Their 1987 debut album, Appetite for Destruction, has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, released simultaneously last year, became the only albums in recording history to go in tandem, in their first week, straight to No. 1 on the US charts.

In contrast to their image, the immense popular appeal of their music is due to its essential safeness: guitar-driven, raunchy but predictable, big-stadium American rock which stands apart only because of the current commercial dominance of dance-pop. More difficult to accept is the way in which those who should know better have perpetuated the “most dangerous band in the world" hype.

The less reverential would say that it is more a reflection of the state of popular music that the future lies in album covers that show a woman being raped by a to robot and in songs with titles like Back Off Bitch and Pretty Tied Up.

Paul Pottinger is a writer for The Sydney Morning Herald. His last story for Good Weekend was on the comic character Tin Tin. Guns n' Roses play at Eastern Creek, Sydney, on January 30 and Calder Park, Melbourne, on February 1.

THE BIG GIGS

Three big acts are coming to town and that means headaches galore for their promoters. Muriel Reddy reports on the business of putting on the stars.

MICHAEL Gudlnski has started to chew his nails. It's an uncharacteristic habit but a telling one. The big man of Australian music is nervous — it's hardly surprising when you consider he is about to stage one of the blggest-grossing concerts in the Southern Hemisphere featuring the wild boys of rock, Guns N' Roses.

Meanwhile across town, Paul Dainty is busy but calm. The fine details for his Paul McCartney concert are still being worked out but the planning is moving smoothly. And at the offices of the International Management Group in Sydney and the Victoria State Opera la Melbourne, the weather is the hot topic. The organisers of ‘Summer Magic with Kiri' at Werribee Park dread a repeat of the disruptive conditions at her previous outdoor concert in Victoria.

With up to 100,000 fans expected to descend on the Calder Park Raceway on 1 February, Gudlnskl understands the risks. "This is a more nerve-racking show because of the type of act involved and because it's a tour risk,” says Gudinski, the managing director of Frontier Touring and owner of Mushroom Records.

"Guns N' Roses are surrounded by controversy. You haven't got that problem with Dame whatsemame. McCartney is pretty straight ahead, an older guy, different situation ... the fans are a lot older and they’re seated.”

Over the next few weeks, Melbourne will host three big acts — Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Guns N’ Roses and Paul McCartney. On a conservative estimate, about 200,000 people will see the concerts, which already have the promoters reaching for hyperbole. Remarkably diverse acts, the only risk they share is the weather.

But even the weather is more predictable than the shenanigans of Guns N’ Roses — at least as far as insurers are concerned. Gundinski had some difficulty in getting insurance cover on the band. “You can insure against most things,” he says. “Because they've had quite a few problems in different parts of the world, it’s a tough act to insure.”

Consider some of the problems. Last month, 20 people were injured In a riot following a concert by the band in Bogota. Four years earlier, two fans were crushed to death when Guns N' Roses played at a rock festival in Britain.

During a warm-up date In New York, Axl Rose, the lead singer, jumped off a speaker cabinet and landed in hospital. In July 1991 that year, a St Louis show ended in a riot that caused an estimated $200,000 damage and injuries to 60 fans and police. A warrant was issued for Axl Rose's arrest, on charges of assault and property damage.

The band has had a number of run-ins with the law. Rose was charged with smashing a wine bottle over a "loud” neighbor in LA. The band’s rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlln, was arrested for relieving himself in a kitchen sink on board a plane.

And yet Gudinski is challenged. His record as a promoter is impressive; he brought acts like the Police, Rod Stewart, Billy Joel and the Ultimate Concert — Frank Sinatra, Liza Minelli and the late Sammy Davis junior — here. But he believes a successful tour by this band will make Frontier Touring the No. 1 promoter in this country. It could be a double-edge sword and he concedes his credibility is on the line.

The return of Guns N’ Roses to Australia follows two years of tough negotiations. There was haggling over money — they're reportedly being paid $1 million a concert — and the band wanted to contain the number of shows they would play. Gudinski persisted and prevailed.

"They are the biggest rock 'n' roll band in the world,” he says. “What’s in it for us? Well, the bigger the crowd, the more money we’ll make. More than the money, though, the motivation for me is, well, you've been In this business for a long time and you're just trying to achieve higher things. And to have the two biggest-grossing concerts in the Southern Hemisphere is a good feeling.”

Paul McCartney’s return to Australia after 17 years is unlikely to provoke the hysteria it might once have during the heyday of the Beatles. And it shows on the face of Paul Dainty, the promoter. Today, McCartney is mainstream. "It will be a very safe crowd — sophisticated and smart,” says a relaxed Dainty, who has organised the Australian leg of his world tour. He, too, is a promoter of note having put on acts like Prince, the Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Abba and Fleetwood Mac.

McCartney will give two Melbourne concerts, 9 and 10 March, when 60,000 people a night are expected to gather in the Great Southern stand of the MCG. "Paul was obviously an artist they could relate to having at the MCG," says Dainty. "I think if I'd gone to them with Guns N’ Roses, they might have shown me the exit door but, you know, horses for courses.”

What distinguishes McCartney from the other two acts is the size of his entourage: at least 140 people, including seven chefs who will cook the strictly vegetarian food that is the staple of the McCartney family diet. There will be 95 technical people who will mount what Dainty promises will be a state-of-the-art, high-tech show. "It looks unbelievable, fabulous. It really is mega. You couldn't fit It into the Tennis Centre. It's too big.”

When McCartney comes to town, he will bring 50 tonnes of freight that will be jetted in on two jumbos and transported around Australia on 30 trucks. "When I had Pink Floyd here, which was one of the big, big shows, that was about 14 or 15 trucks. When I had Prince here, that was a 10 or 12-truck tour, so it just gives you a feel for how big McCartney's show will be."

In more spartan fashion, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa will fly into Melbourne with her husband, Desmond Park, and an assistant. However, a cast of a thousand will be involved in staging the concert at Werribee Park on 30 January. The one-night event will be the culmination of six months of work by a planning team of seven, made up of representatives of International Management Group and the Victorian State Opera. The team has been meeting monthly and more recently, every week, to work out the fine details of the concert.

"There will be 20 marquees and 14 site huts to accommodate everything from catering to merchandising to the orchestra and the dressing rooms,” says Mr Stephen Flint Wood, vice-president of IMG Australia. "We will have 29 toilet blocks. There will be 25 generators going in and five kilometres of power cable will be dotted all over the place. We will have a support staff of 1000 from stage crews to stage technicians to caterers to merchandising personnel as well as a 90-piece orchestra.”

It was IMG’s Victorian manager, Frank Williams, who conceived the idea of staging the concert at Werribee Park. "We started talking to Melbourne Water, who own Werribee Park, nine months ago," says Mr Flint Wood.

MELBOURNE’S erratic weather makes staging an outdoor concert a brave exercise. Remember the fiasco at Mitchelton three years ago when Dame Kiri had to cut short the program because a thunderstorm was imminent. Then 17,000 people had to make their slow and tedious way home. The experience has made organisers wiser this time.

Weather has been a strong factor in the planning. "There is a rain date which is the following night,” says Flint Wood. "If there is a torrential thunderstorm, the concert goes to 31 January. At the beginning of the week, we will get the long-range weather forecast but a decision to go ahead will not be made until the previous night or the morning of the concert."

There will be two major car parks, one catering for traffic from the Geelong direction and the other from Melbourne. "Police have been involved in arrangements since day one and have been involved In mapping out all the traffic routes," says Flint Wood.

Weather will be the least of Gudinski's problems. However, be is confident that the careful planning should-isolate many of the potential problems. Alcohol will not be allowed at the Calder Park gig and searches will be conducted at the gates to ensure the ban is enforced. "If they turn up from the local pub, they'll be in the car park sobering up before they can get in," says Gudinksi. "We are determined that we are going to have a trouble-free show here.” A force of 200 police and 300 security people will patrol the grounds.

Gudinski expects some fans to arrive at the raceway several days before the event but he Is keen to discourage it. It certainly won't be an Australian Woodstock.

Guns N' Roses attracts a curious following. "The key age group will be 14 to 30," says Gudinski. "I know of some parents who will be taking their kids." And bikies? "Definitely," he says. "They're rock 'n' roll boys."
The band will be flown by helicopters to Calder Park. Five Melbourne hotels have been booked provisionally and they will occupy three floors of the hotel of their choice. Each band member is supplied with a floor plan of the hotel. The fax lines between Gudinski's office and the band's managers have been running hot with arrangements.

"The whole thing is run like a military operation," says Gudinski, admiringly. "We are not involved In their special requirements. They have their own people to look after them. Last time they were here, a couple of the band members drove from Melbourne to Sydney, which surprised me. They wanted to see a bit of Australia."

Guns N' Roses will travel with an entourage of 80, including sound, lighting, management and publicity people. Each band member has his own bodyguard. “As much as the band might appear to be unorganised chaos, their set-up is highly organised," says Gudinski.

THE size of the McCartney stage — it will be 64 metres long and 24 metres high — has surprised even Dainty who has organised nearly 12,000 shows over the past 20 years “They are bringing out the newest generation of sound system," says John Thomson, production manager at the Dainty Corporation. "It is called a Prism system which has been developed by a company called Showco in Dallas, Texas. Because of the sensitive nature of outdoor shows, it is a more directional sound system. It means fewer speakers have to be used.” McCartney has few personal requirements. He has an aversion to staying In hotels and has indicated he would like a private house with some grounds and a pool. "He's one of those people who isn't going to Just sit in a hotel room and walk out and do the show,” says Dainty. "He’ll be out and about with the family.”

McCartney will give 10 concerts in Australia and New Zealand during his 35-day stay. “He could be doing four times the number of shows in terms of selling tickets,” says Dainty. “We sold 70,000 tickets here in Melbourne bn the first day and a half.”

While McCartney will probably arrive in Australia on a scheduled British Airways flight, he will travel around the country with his intimate entourage — bis family and band — in a chartered jet. The security arrangements have yet to be completed, although McCartney will travel with up to five of his own security staff.

The tour will be expensive because of the distances to be travelled and because of the number of days off. Dainty says McCartney will be lucky to make money because of his overheads and the number of people travelling with him.

"He'll hopefully make money in America but because of the limited number of people we can play to in Australia and the time frame we've got, the down time between cities and the many days off when so many people still have to be paid, the cost will be mega. He'll be struggling, to make money.”

To provide the band with some entertainment backstage, pinball machines, table tennis and billiard tables will be set up. And the star's choice of beverage? “He's not a heavy drinker,” says Dainty. "He'll drink a little bit of wine. Most of these guys will drink gallons of mineral wider. The irony of what went on in the '70s and '80s is that now they’re all health freaks; they don’t eat meat and they drink mineral water.”

Dame Kiri versus the Gunners

By Gary Tippet

DOWN in the Thunderdome at Calder Park Raceway yesterday the first of the diehard Guns N' Roses fans dribbled in, tattooed and T-shirted, shaven-headed and earringed. Not far south, on the neat, green lawns of Werribee Park, the crowd for Dame Kiri Te Kanawa was much more genteel, with sun hats and brollies and sensible shoes.

Melbourne's two big concerts of this holiday weekend are a study in stark contrasts. And perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in the security precautions.

The 70,000 Gunners fans expected at Calder tomorrow will be watched by a 400-strong, seasoned security force from New Breed Security, supported by more than 150 police.

They will be forbidden to bring anything that is on an encyclopaedic list of contraband: strictly no cameras, videos, tape-recorders, alcohol, bottles, cans or glass, Eskys, animals, chairs, umbrellas, weapons or children under three years old.

But at Werrlbee Park last night, 15 discreet staff from MSS Security watched over more than 10,000 music-lovers. Their task: mainly to keep people off the garden beds and out of the historic mansion.

And the forbidden items? Well, none really. People were hiking in with picnic baskets and drink coolers, blankets and banana lounges.

Ian Clark, MSS field supervisor at Werribee, sat in the shade with a sandwich as the first of the audience streamed in. This is a very mature audience," he said. "Give me one of these any day.

"I'd have a Guns N' Roses gig once in five years... and it would probably take me the next five years to get over it."

Unfair and untrue, said D'Arcey Kelleher, Calder site security officer for New Breed, one of Melbourne's biggest concert security firms.

"There's been a fair amount of media hype that's heightened expectations of problems, but I just don't think it will happen," he said.

A concern for New Breed is the growing trickle of fans already arriving despite ads warning against it. Some had been there since Thursday.

"It's the Gunners. You've just got to be here early," said Hayley Close, 18, of Morwell, who arrived on Friday with friends. "You’re waiting for it all to get set up and you get all hyped. You've just got to do it."

Host: The rain storms are sweeping across Calder Park, where more than 50,000 fans are waiting for the Guns N’ Roses concert. The Weather Bureau has issued a priority storm warning. (?) reports dust storms and sultry heat had already made it an ordeal for the Gunners’ followers.

Voice-over: (?) Guns N’ Roses army of devoted followers today, huge queues in the city as fans waited for public transport to the big event. Hours before the gates opened at Calder Park, the highway into the site was choked with cars, buses and taxis. Despite the best planning, police expect traffic chaos after the event. But delays were the last thing on the minds of fans, who were ready for a big night’s entertainment.

[Cut to pre-show footage from the venue – Interviews with concertgoers]

Reporter: Wouldn’t you rather be at the beach tonight?

Kid: No way.

Voice-over: Some music hopefuls tried their luck early with a captive audience.

[Footage of people playing music in the venue]

Voice-over: But the Gunners are who these people are here to see. They queue patiently in stifling heat. Heat, which quickly began to take its toll. Hundreds of people couldn’t cope, and friends of those affected and ambulance crews were kept busy. Water, even at four dollars a bottle, was snapped up, although some concertgoers were given a free dunking courtesy of this road crew. Thunderstorms predicted for this afternoon just made it to Calder. Rain and strong winds cool things down. Organisers have planned for just about every contingency. 450 private security guards inside and 200 police on the outside will take the pace.

Bill Greer (GN’R Director of security): We’ve got a barricade in front of the stage. We then have a secondary barricade which is about 20 meters from the front of that barricade.

Steve Carey (reporter): Everything about this show is huge. A 23 meter high stage, 150 tons of gear, 900 lights and 250,000 watts of power. Between 75,000 and 85,000 people are expected to see Guns N’ Roses in action. The warm-up acts have been on for the past three hours, and the American supergroup hits the stage in another couple of hours from now, in a concert promoters say will be unlike any Victoria has ever seen. But some people won’t be seeing the show. Police have said they made several arrests, mainly for drunk and disorderly conduct.

Host: And Steve Carey, a very brave Steve Carey, is among the Gunners fans at Calder. Now Steve, has the rain that has been falling down dampen their enthusiasm?

Steve Carey (reporter): Well, I don’t know about their enthusiasm. It’s been pouring down for about the last 20 minutes – 25 minutes. I really don’t think so; everyone’s so geared up for a big event. Some of the support bands are still going on, so that’s good news. The Gunners come on by 8:00, so there’s still a couple of hours for things to calm down or at least dry up a bit. But now I think everyone’s here for a pretty good night and, as you can hear, it’s going to be very big, very enjoyable. Back to you.

Host: The Calder Park has now nearing its capacity of 100,000 with nearly two hours before Guns N’ Roses takes the stage. Jason Cameron is now watching the build-up.

[Cut to report from the venue]

Jason Cameron (reporter): Hello, Brian. There’s a 100,000 people, as we speak, that are getting absolutely drenched. It’s bucketing down rain here in Calder and there’s not an umbrella inside. They’re (?), along with just about everything else that could be carried into the ground. Just as we’re speaking, the rain is coming down with a vengeance. But fogs were here at about 4:00. It came through with thunder and lightning but then there was hardly a drop of rain. But the wind was another story. It buffeted the ground and picked up the red dust, pulled it and sand-blasted the crowd. That was on top after being blasted by water cannons through water trucks a little earlier when the heat was becoming so much. Police had their hands full too, picking up people. You just saw some of that sort of pictures that the organisers will go to any lengths to stop us showing you. They want to portray this as a squeaky-clean event where parents could drop off their kids without a worry. They want to keep it very, very clean. Well, Guns N’ Roses, 8:00 tonight. The traffic afterwards is anyone’s guess. Thank you, Brian.

Host: Quite a night!

Host: ... is as hot as the music. 500 people have already been treated for heat exhaustion.

[Cut to report from the venue]

Voice-over: If the band are heavy metal, their fans today had to be as tough as old boots. Most arrived early in the morning, but so did the heat. As the queues began to stretch around Calder Park, Guns N’ Roses fans began to look for relief. Those at the head of the line found new friends in the security staff. The sun was still too much to bare. The delay in setting up equipment meant the gates were held closed for an extra hour. There were none of the expected traffic snarls. Inside it was a different story. Despite the sudden rush, organisers kept tempers cool and the crowd finally made its way into the arena. But there were casualties.

Ambulance officer: The biggest problem was heat exhaustion.

Voice-over: By 2:00 the ambulance officers had already treated more than 500 people.

Reporter: Less than an hour before the first band begins, all that can be seen from the stage is people. But organisers expect this crowd to grow even further before the feature artists come on, Guns N’ Roses, at 8:00.

Voice-over: So far there have been only a few arrests. Three rock bands, including Angry Anderson’s Rose Tattoo have been setting the scene for Melbourne’s latest mega concert experience.

Host: Tracey Spicer has this report.

Tracey Spicer (reporter): Police are calling it the (?) rock concert in Australia’s history, and the fans [cut]. [...] stage just before 9:00, delayed by an hour, because of a fire in a speaker tower.

Voice-over: This is what Guns N’ Roses fans came to see. Axl Rose and Co. strumming their stuff in a three-hour show of ears burning sound and pyrotechnics. A massive fireworks display ended the entertainment. By then many pumped up fans were streaming from the venue.

The Axl and the ecstasy

REVIEW
VIRGINIA TRIOLI

WHEN Axl stepped up to the piano and with a sweaty crash unleashed the first chords of 'November Rain', you could easily hear, amid 75,000 howling voices, the sound of 40,000 teen-girls' hearts breaking.

Here, under a cloudless night sky and a half moon, was the perfect context in which to understand the new young god of another generation of rock/metal fans. Alternately braying and droning Guns N' Roses' best-known songs (I still don't think the man can sing), hair whipping in the breeze, Axl Rose was the perfect man-child, the archetypal wild boy that each new wave of fans likes to think is their own. And he could play piano too?!

Axl and the boys had the soggy but satisfied Melbourne crowd in ectasies at their Calder Raceway show last night. They played all the hits, gave all the band’s stars their 15 minutes in the spotlight, and squeezed out out every drop of rock 'n' roll emotion possible from songs whose lyrics veer from the banal to the brutally offensive.

This meant we were treated to an old-style drum solo, several guitar solos, and Axl trying to hang on to a single note for as long as he could without his extra-tight bike shorts exploding.

It is Slash, the Gunners' enigmatic (or just plain out-there) guitarist who is the centre of the performance. Wandering any-old-how around the stage, the band's energy and eloquence emanates entirely from his work, from his playing, which is often quite extraordinary. Axl's running, jumping and standing still just blurs into strobe effect behind Slash’s taciturn precision.

However Slash did reveal to the adoring mob his blues roots by going down on his knees for an extended blues guitar solo that clearly will enable him to return to Australia during his fallow years as a blues legend. The fact that this solo later metamorphosed Into the theme from 'The Godfather’ only added to its charm.

The Gunners wound up the evening Just as they were expected to, with touches of Alice Cooper's 'Only Women Bleed' then a stadium-rock rendition of Bob Dylan’s 'Knocking on Heaven’s Door’ before the heavens opened with fireworks and floods of tears from the girls as Axl disappeared. It's hard sharing a hero with half the world.

No roses for PTC from Gunners’ lovers

By JIM SCHEMBRI and THOMAS TAYLOR

Getting there was the easy part. Leaving, as 75,000 Guns N' Roses fans discovered when they tried to get home from Calder park last night, was harder than the language on stage.

After a day in which 1000 people were treated for heat-related illness, many thousands more were stranded when public transport officials refused a police request to extend train times by half an hour.
As a result the Calder Highway was blocked in both directions, and police expressed concern about young people getting home.

A public transport worker, who did not want to be named, said at least four extra trains, with six carriages each, were available, and the crews were able to work late. But railway officials had ruled out additional services.

Despite punishing heat and drenching rain, the world’s most ballyhooed band seemed to hit the mark with the crowd.

A big part of the act was the swearing of Axl Rose and Skid Row's lead singer, Sebastian Bach. It was like dialogue from ‘Good-Fellas’. What did Rennee Thomas, 17, of Hopper’s Crossing think of it? "I love it!” she said.

But the fans seemed to have a good time, despite being able to see little.

Rod, 24, an unemployed mechanic, from East Keilor, was in an obscured position. Could he see anything? “No way, but it sounds great," he said.

Madeleine Sleeth, 21, a waitress from Shepparton, paid a scalper $90 for a $50 ticket, and was glad to see the rain clear before the support act, Skid Row, came on.

Some were not so lucky. Several people were crushed, including a six-months' pregnant woman, and a young woman was elbowed in the throat.

Police said the audience had been well behaved, with only a few people ejected for bad behavior.

The mayor of Keilor, Councillor Sam Cortisi, said local residents had raised no objections or complaints before the concert and said it had been “an extremely successful” event. When Guns N’ Roses emerged after an hour's delay because of the rain, one fan climbed the fence until security told him to get down — and he did. It was all in the spirit of rock ’n’ roll.

It wasn’t all wine and roses for Gunners

By JIM SCHEMBRI

Last year, Guns N' Roses released a warbling, portentous version of Bob Dylan's 'Knocking on Heaven's
Door'.

Last night, the heavens answered Guns N' Roses in a big way, dumping enough rain on the 75,000 fans at the

Calder Raceway to make it resemble the Somme battlefield.

Sales of disposable white-pointed plastic raincoats soared ($4 a pop) and far a few moments the gig look like a convention of the Ku Klux Klan.

In A reserve, Madeleine Sleeth, 21, a waitress from Shepparton who had paid a scalper $90 far a $50 ticket was glad the rain abated before the support act Skid Row had come on. She had came to see her hero Axl Rose and hoped the mud and the slush she was now in up to her ankles was worth it. At least, she said, the downpour was relief from the heat and the sweat.

As Skid Raw tore through its set, moving about became difficult as Anthony, 19, discovered, as he fell down a slippery slope to the great amusement to those nearby. He didn't seem to mind though, as he scraped what mud he could off his runners. “You couldn’t held something this big indoors," he chirped. "I don’t think you'd have the same atmosphere."

A big part of the atmosphere was the swearing, which spurted forth from Axl Rose and Skid Row lead singer Sebastian Bach like dialogue from 'GoodFellas'. What did Renee Thomas, 17 of Hoppers Crossing think of It? "I love it!" she said.

Testament to the dedication of Skid Row and Guns N' Roses fans was how many seemed to be having such a good time, despite being able to see hardly anything.

A line of head-banging young girls in B reserve seemed ta be having a great time behind a concrete buffer, even though a huge tower of speakers was in the way of the stage.

Rod, 24, an unemployed mechanic from East Keilor, was in a similarly obscured position. Could he see anything? “No way but it sounds great".

Behind the A reserve fence was a row of fans whose view of the gig consisted mainly of people's backs standing on the embankment In front of them. One particular fan has his nose pressed up against the
fence.

Could he see anything? "No."

So what was he going to do when Guns N' Roses came out? "Listen to some good music."

But If he can't see anything what will he do? "Sit up here (on the fence)."

What If security tells you to get down? "Then I'll get down."

Sure enough Guns N' Roses came out and he got up on the fence and sure enough security told him to get down and he did. Now, that's today's rock 'n' roller a well-behaved rebel.

Rock concert inquiry ordered

By MICHAEL MAGAZANIK

An official inquiry into aspects of the Guns N’ Roses concert this week was ordered yesterday by the Victorian ombudsman, Mr Norman Geschke.

Mr Geschke said he was disturbed at reports that up to 10,000 people had been stranded at Calder Park, where the concert was held, because of inadequate transport. He had also heard that security guards confiscated food and drink from concert-goers, that cans of cola cost $5 and glasses of water $2, and that there were only two drinking fountains and inadequate toilets for the 75,000 people at the concert.

Mr Geschke said he had ordered an inquiry into the transport arrangements and asked the Office of Fair Trading to investigate the reports of excessive charges for food and drink and their confiscation from patrons.

'"It's a matter of determining what went on. We cannot go on and blithely accept that there were 10,000 young people stranded at the park ... we cannot just accept that there was not enough water but everyone survived."

Mr Geschke said that audience members had complained to his office. He had had preliminary talks with the Public Transport Corporation and BASS, the concert booking agency.

Private buses had been used to ferry people between the concert and city after the corporation decided that providing a train service to the concert would not be economically viable. Mr Geschke wants to investigate whether private bus arrangements were adequate.

Thousands of concert-goers were stranded In the city after the concert after missing final trains. A corporation spokeswoman said that the last train services from the city, due at midnight, had been delayed for up to 15 minutes to let fans board. The corporation had also run three extra train services from Flinders Street Station.  -- with AAP

Nerd  herd

The failure of the “Gunners” audience (4/2) to take their own water and shade, does seem to place their mentality on the same, or rather a lower, level than the sheep and cattle who have no choice.

Maurice Stevenson, Wy Yung.

Loser pays

The Guns N' Roses fans had to pay $2 a glass for drinking water. This is what happens when your water supply gets privatised.

Ken Turnbull, North Carlton.

Frisked

Maurice Stevenson (5/2), maybe if you researched your facts a bit you would find that the "sheep and cattle" who went to the "Gunners" concert were not allowed to take shade umbrellas or water in. Perhaps you should be directing your concern towards the greed of the promoters and not the mentality of the patrons.

Fiona Redding, Hampton.

Neglected mob

If the Guns N' Roses shemozzle had been a Grand Final at Calder Park the middle-aged chaps in suits and ties would have worked out adequate transport and reasonable facilities at the venue. Maybe there's a tiny clue here to the $32 million school vandalism problem.

Joe Hill, Richmond.

Guns N' Roses 1993 concert: 'It was blast-furnace heat'...and then it got worse

By Martin Boulton
February 11, 2017

For a teenager attending their first big rock 'n' roll show, this was a doozy.

Sixteen-year-old Natalie Pestana was among 75,000 people at Calder Park for the notorious gig that sparked a Victorian Ombudsman report, but left Guns N' Roses fans like Natalie among those who can proudly say "I was there" in 1993.

In sweltering heat nudging 40 degrees on the last day of January, Guns N' Roses delayed their arrival on stage by several hours following a torrential downpour that left fans with nowhere to shelter and stage crews scrambling to mop up.

This week, ahead of the band's much-anticipated MCG performance, Ms Pestana told Fairfax Media she clearly recalls standing with her friend "near the sound desk, a huge construction with speakers" and the "stinking hot" weather until an afternoon thunderstorm lashed the crowd.

"There was no sun to dry us off so we were damp for the rest of the night," she said, adding "once the 'Gunners' finally came on we forgot our misery and had a brilliant time. It was my first big concert, so not a bad introduction to the world of live music."

Four years after touring Australia on the back of debut album Appetite For Destruction, which has since sold 30 million copies, the infamous LA rock band was at the height of its powers. Two new albums, Use Your Illusion I and II had been released in '91 and two years later fans like Ms Pestana paid $50 each for a general admission ticket to Calder Park.

How was Natalie to know, long before her mum "stood in line for hours to buy the tickets" that more than a thousand people would be treated for heat-related illness, fans would battle dehydration and hypothermia and public transport would fail to get thousands of tired and hungry fans home.

It was the inadequate public transport, over-priced food and drink, too few toilet facilities and overall failure of the site and event staff to adequately deal with conditions on the day that led to the Ombudsman's investigation, which in a positive note found "police dealt with only about half a dozen patrons, all of whom were outside the venue".

Bass player Duff McKagan would recall years later "seeing a f---ing sea of people" as he and longtime bandmates Axl Rose and Slash belted through hits including Welcome to the Jungle, November Rain and Sweet Child O' Mine. "It was a big, huge gig," McKagan said. "You don't really know how to take it all in."

Chris Richards was a day off starting his final year at high school and recalls "a pretty good vibe" among the huge crowd despite enormous queues (some taking more than an hour) for food and drink, for toilets and the outrageously steep prices for bottled water.

"It was blast-furnace heat and the heat got worse the closer you got to Calder Park," he said. "It was unbelievably hot and we knew the weather was going to change at some stage, so that was going to make life interesting.

"You could see the weather coming, lightning was going off in the distance and the temperature dropped about 15 degrees in a matter of minutes, it went from people baking in the sun to people shivering and then everything turned to mud ... it was a long day."

Support acts Pearls and Swine, Rose Tattoo and Skid Row all played, the latter "putting on a decent show" according to Ms Pestana, who admits everything was "really just backing music" until Guns N' Roses finally came on stage after a lengthy delay.

Matthew O'Loughlin, then 22, arrived at the venue around 5pm with two friends. He recalls it being "one of the hottest days in the world" and the seemingly constant sound of ambulances, sirens wailing, attending to those suffering from heat and minor injuries. He said Guns N' Roses were "pretty good" and looks back fondly on the day regardless of the tough weather conditions.

"Best on ground was Skid Row's drummer, who jumped over his drum kit when singer Sebastian Bach was saying 'Melbourne you rock, we'll be back again' and dacked him," Mr O'Loughlin said with a chuckle. "I'll take that one to my grave, which I thought I'd see sometime that afternoon."

As the final notes from Slash's guitar rang out and fireworks lit up the sky, Chris Richards and his friend darted to the carpark, where a few buses were quickly filling with fans eager to flee the scene for the relative comfort of a night train.

"Our bus driver had the radio on and a Guns N' Roses song came on, everyone was yelling "turn it up, turn it up" so the driver blasted it," he said. "Everyone was covered in mud and singing along to the song. Heading to that carpark was one of the smarter things we did."

As for starting year 12 the next day, Mr Richards admits "I can't remember any of it" and says he "wouldn't change a thing" about one of the world's greatest rock bands playing one of Victoria's most legendary outdoor shows.

"It was well worth it ... they're showmen with a massive, bloated stage show and they were very, very good."