1992.09.27 - Los Angeles Coliseum, Los Angeles, USA

POP MUSIC REVIEW : For Guns . . . No Night of Dreams
September 29, 1992|ROBERT HILBURN | TIMES POP MUSIC CRITIC

The "Axl watch" began in the audience even before the first band took the stage Sunday evening for the marathon Guns N' Roses/Metallica concert at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

"I'm betting that we don't see his ass until midnight," a Long Beach teen-ager said to his buddy as they checked out the T-shirts at a souvenir stand shortly before the show began at 6 p.m.

"Naw," the friend wisecracked. "I betcha he's mad because they didn't let Ice-T play. He might not show up until dawn. "

As it turned out, Guns N' Roses' singer Axl Rose--whose reputation for late starts is based more on a few highly publicized incidents than on the facts--raced on stage, literally, at a surprisingly early 10:50 p.m.

And the rest of Guns N' Roses, which is arguably the closest thing America has ever had to the combination of hard-rock songwriting accessibility and renegade independence of the Rolling Stones, appeared ready for an impassioned homecoming show before a crowd estimated at 35,000.

Opening with "Welcome to the Jungle," the L.A. group's late-'80s reflection on Hollywood decadence, the musicians moved about with a confidence that suggested this was to be one of the band's great nights.

But it wasn't to be. Guns and Metallica both turned in creditable sets, but fell victim in the end to a surprisingly subdued audience.

More than almost any other group, Guns N' Roses seems to rise and fall on the mood of a single member.

If Rose is indifferent, the band can be indifferent. But if he's into the show, the performance can be magical. On Sunday, he seemed eager--and it's easy to see why.

When Guns N' Roses last played the Coliseum in 1989, it was as support band for the Rolling Stones--and there was so much tension in the band that it almost self-destructed.

In a dramatic moment of confrontation that night, Rose said he was tired of people in the group "dancing with 'Mr. Brownstone,' " a reference to a GNR song about drug dealers. The implication was that if it didn't stop, he was through.

So, there was a sense of both triumph and survival as Guns returned to the Coliseum on Sunday with the seven-hour package.

When Guns followed "Welcome to the Jungle" with "Mr. Brownstone," it seemed to be pointing to that earlier Coliseum stand.

While the audience responded enthusiastically at the start of the show, it was soon clear that the energy level was not keeping pace with the band's--and audience energy is an essential element in hard rock, especially in a large setting.

When things didn't improve, Rose literally called "timeout" on stage, then proceeded to declare that "a large number of you seem to be the most boring . . . crowd that we've played for so far on the face of the . . . Earth."

It wasn't so much one of Axl's infamous tirades as a frustrated musician trying to speak frankly with his audience.

"Now, we can work together here," he continued in even tones. "And we can continue to stay up here and try to kick some ass.

"But," now speaking sarcastically, "if you're t-i-r-e-d and it's been a long night and tomorrow is going to be a hard day and you're not really into it . . . well, we don't have to be either. . . . 'cause I'm gonna give what I receive."

The audience responded with an enormous roar, but not the kind of emotional commitment that contributes to a memorable concert.

Rose wasn't the first one Sunday to recognize the audience lethargy. Lemmy, the delightfully colorful lead singer of Motorhead, the day's opening act, grumbled about it, as did Metallica's James Hetfield.

Because Metallica's fans are among the most zealous in rock, the relatively subdued reaction seemed to especially distract Hetfield, who is a more aggressive frontman on this leg of the tour because a hand injury forced him to turn over his guitar duties to Metal Church's John Marshall.

The shift of duties has enabled Hetfield to show more character as a singer, but the adjustment cost the band some of the instrumental fury and unity that is the source of much of its power.

So why the laid-back crowd?

Much of the speculation backstage centered on the crowd's feeling lost in a stadium so large it easily could have accommodated 70,000 people--an answer that led to another question. Why such a small crowd for a concert featuring two of the most popular and acclaimed bands in hard rock?

The guessing this time ranged from the economic hard times to the reluctance of some rock fans to attend a late-night event at the Coliseum in the aftermath of the L.A. riots.

Whatever the reason, it's too bad, because Guns was electrifying in spots, though its set--mostly a "greatest hits" show that ended around 1 a.m.--would have benefited from a few surprise selections.

Hard rock's "dream team" bill of Guns N' Roses and Metallica tries it again Wednesday at San Diego's Jack Murphy Stadium (where Ice-T, the controversial rapper who was "vetoed" by the promoter from Sunday's show, will replace Motorhead) and Saturday at the Rose Bowl. More than 50,000 fans are expected at both shows.

Ice-T Is 'Vetoed' From 2 Guns Shows

September 24, 1992|STEVE HOCHMAN | SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

Controversial rapper Ice-T has been "vetoed" from appearing on the Guns N' Roses/Metallica concert bills Sunday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Oct. 3 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

The rapper, whose song "Cop Killer" was the focus this summer of a national debate over lyric content in music, is doing at least five dates with the two rock bands--including Oakland tonight and San Diego on Wednesday. Ice-T and his rock group Body Count also had been asked by Guns N' Roses to do the two Los Angeles-area shows.

But concert promoter Brian Murphy said he believed that an appearance by Body Count was inappropriate because of negative "perceptions."

"I thought it was an inappropriate act, given the circumstances of where our show was taking place," Murphy said Wednesday.

He said that he had no fear of violence, but was concerned that the controversy surrounding the band could hurt sales by compounding fears of some rock fans about attending a concert at the Coliseum so soon after the Los Angeles riots.

"I want to keep the perception of our show credible with our audience and reduce any concerns anyone might have about going downtown to the Coliseum," he added. The Rose Bowl date was dropped at the same time.

Ticket sales for the Coliseum show are reportedly well below expectations. Predictions now call for only about 35,000 to 40,000 fans out of a potential 70,000. The Rose Bowl has sold out, with sales of more than 70,000 tickets. The English hard-rock band Motorhead will appear on the two Los Angeles area shows instead of Body Count.

Body Count manager Jorge Hinojosa didn't criticize Murphy for his actions. "We're glad to be doing the dates we are on the tour," he said.

Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose branded the elimination of Body Count from the shows as "shallow-minded." He added, "Both Ice and myself are tired of all the racial crap. This was our chance to play together and show people that we're about artistic expression, not violence or prejudice. It comes down to this--freedom of speech is OK, as long as it doesn't piss off some public official."

Ice-T withdrew the song "Cop Killer" from Body Count's debut Sire album in July after various police organizations complained to Time Warner, which distributes Sire Records, that it encouraged violence against police officers.

Julie Gallegos wrote:GUNS N' ROSES HIGHLIGHT MEMORIES OF CLASSIC ROCK

When the band Motorhead opened Sunday night for Metallica and Guns N' Roses at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the lead singer cried "We are rock 'n' roll.'' They weren't, but the evening was - especially with a solid performance by Guns N' Roses.

In fact, the whole night seemed to be a sort of homage to rock, with both Metallica and Guns N' Roses using guitar solos from other great bands to segue into their own songs.

Minutes before Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, bassist Duff McKagan, rhythm guitarist Gilby Clarke, drummer Matt Sorum, and keyboardist Dizzy Reed took the stage, a weird, rockish version of the pop song "Hooked on a Feelin''' blared out of the speakers. The Gunners, introduced as the "feel good' band of (the) '90s,'' took the stage and the audience with a blistering rendition of "Welcome to the Jungle.''

Although plagued by cancellations, run-ins with the law (Rose is out on bail for charges stemming from a riot last year in St. Louis), and slower-than-expected ticket sales, Sunday's star seemed to be a kinder, gentler, less angry Axl Rose.

He was by turn charming, charismatic, abusive and touching - but always fascinating - as he ran around the stage swinging and undulating.

But the Gunners played too many well-done solos between its hits. Some were odd, such as a guitar solo of Alice Cooper's "Only Women Bleed'' that moved into "Knockin' on Heaven's Door.''

Others were witty, as when Rose sang Elton John's "You're the One'' to lead into the aching "Sweet Child O' Mine.'' Often the solos seemed like killing time while Axl Rose changed shorts and bandannas.

Still, Guns N' Roses is a great band of rockers, whether pounding out older hits like the cynical "It's So Easy'' or bittersweet ballads like "Patience'' or "November Rain'' - which actually contained one of the better solos of the two-hour set when Rose played piano.

The band played to a less-than-half-full 92,000-seat Coliseum. At times, there seemed to be more yellow-jacketed security staff members and police officers than audience members.

Metallica, known for plowing on despite hardships like the ones that have beset this current tour, played loud and long, if a little fuzzily. The band played a lot of its older, less-subtle bangers early in its 2 1/2-hour set. Songs like "Promise of Sorrow'' and "Seek and Destroy'' had Metallica-heads screaming, but it was the tunes of the 1991 release "Metallica'' that got G N' R fans to their feet.

But before the crowd got to hear Metallica's lead guitarist, Kirk Hammett, and guest guitarist John Marshall, of the group Metal Church, do the lead-in to Led Zeppelin's "Dazed and Confused,'' or G N' R's Slash whine out the theme to "The Godfather,'' they had to endure 45 minutes of boring metal by Motorhead.

By the time Metallica hit the stage at 7:20 p.m., the black-and-leather crowd was more than ready to rock. With the opening chords of the first songs, they were on their feet and swinging their ample heads of hair. As a spotlight swept across the Coliseum floor, thousands of heads thrust forward and down, like hammers in time with the music, eyes glazed and fists punching the air.

But even that crowd response didn't seem to be enough for lead singer James Hetfield. The mustachioed Hetfield, who was not playing guitar because of an August accident in which his arm was burned by one of the show's special effects, cursed the crowd and called them "bores.''

This brings to mind the most annoying thing about the evening besides Motorhead. Both Hetfield and Axl Rose got angry at the crowd for not being responsive enough. And while Axl Rose stomping offstage in a huff is part of any Guns N' Roses show, it got old fast.

From here, the tour hits Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego on Wednesday with Ice T's Body Count (which was dropped from the Coliseum bill). Then it's on to a sold-out Rose Bowl show in Pasadena Saturday.

Metal giants falter in stadium slugfest

By Fred Shuster
Los Angeles Daily News

LOS ANGELES — It was not hard to imagine a team of doctors in white coats taking notes among the crowd Sunday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. On the surface, the seven-hour event appeared to be a rock concert featuring metal monsters Guns Ν’ Roses, Metallica and Motorhead, but it could just easily have been a fiendish psychological endurance test.

A battle of the bands? Hardly. An ordeal? Most definitely.

There’s nothing quite like experiencing music in a football stadium. No matter how good the seating, the people on stage still looked like toothpicks, with an equal amount of charisma. Every few minutes, a vendor strolled through the crowd, hawking peanuts, cotton candy and ice-cream cones. Security guards and police nearly outnumbered the fans.

Even with the aid of explosions, fireworks, teeth-rattling volume and massive video screens on both sides of the stage, Metallica and Guns N’ Roses failed to generate much excitement. Singers in both bands, in fact, berated the crowd for its lack of enthusiasm. Don’t these guys realize they’re second billing to hot dogs and beer?

Metallica made the most of it. In an incredibly overlong two-hour-plus set, the band slowly won over the crowd with furious, fist-pumping speed-metal anthems and ballads.

The group delivered its message straight to the heart of teen-age wasteland with military precision. Drummer Lars Ulrich was the force, powering the guitar grind with an imagination rare for the genre. Manic fans who played along on air-drums could barely keep up.

The crowd chanted along with thrash favorites like "Master of Puppets” and ‘‘Seek and Destroy.” The biggest response came for Metallica’s' recent radio and MTV hits, ‘‘Enter Sandman” and “Wherever I May Roam.”

After a surprisingly short wait, Guns N’ Roses hit the stage to a cheeky tape of the old B.J. Thomas hit, “Hooked on a Feeling.” It was the best part of the next two hours.

Guns N’ Roses, complete with the requisite Axl Rose tantrum, have become the pampered, bloated thing they originally rebelled against. There’s a cartoonish quality to the once-influential group these days.

During their plodding version of “Live and Let Die,” for example, flashpots ostensibly timed to explode with the beat, missed their mark each time. The unintentionally hilarious result would have made the members of “Spinal Tap” proud.

In the expected moan segment, Rose belly-ached about not seeing his very best friends at an exclusive party thrown for him backstage. Those who were admitted, Rose said, “scammed their way in like everybody else. I guess that’s how L A. is.”

As usual, a situation everyone can relate to.