2001.01.15 - Rock in Rio III, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Acccording to A Folha de São Paulo (a newspaper), GN'R is coming to Brazil on the 11th of January and are asking the following to their dressing room:

24 white roses
24 red roses
chinese porcelain
silver spoons/knives/forks, linen towels and crystal glasses
2 Crystal champagnes
2 Godiva chocolate boxes

THE GAME OF THE ROSE

The band get set to play their first show outside the US in years - but some things never change...

GUNS N’ ROSES are among the first acts to arrive in BRAZIL for their ROCK IN RIO III headline show on Sunday (January 14), and already AXL ROSE is back on top rock star strop form!

NME.COM is out in Rio, and the band, who are expected to arrive at Galeao Airport soon, have already been creating waves, we can report.

Having decided that the accommodation already booked for him wasn’t up to scratch, Rose has rented an entire floor of the five-star Intercontinental Hotel for his entourage, and is paying for it out of his own pocket.

Axl himself will be staying in the #1,000-a-night Presidential Suite, which measures 185 square metres, faces the sea and has a huge Jacuzzi. He has requested it to be filled with roses, and champagne and Godiva chocolates have also been requested.

At the festival site, the band have demanded 24 white roses, plus 24 red roses in the dressing room, Cristal champagne in a silver bucket with crystal glasses, silver cutlery, and linen sheets and two boxes of Godiva chocolate in their dressing room.

The Rock In Rio organisers have been bombarded with extravagant demands from some of the bands, which would give Jennifer Lopez a run for her money:

REM asked for a hundred towels in their dressing room. The previous record had been Rod Stewart’s, who demanded 70 towels at the first Rock In Rio festival in 1985.

Neil Young demanded no less than 25 dressing rooms for him, his band, crew and friends. One of the dressing rooms is to be used as a gym court and another one is reserved for his dancers.

Newcomers Queens of The Stone Age bizarrely requested 30 black towels, and 30 pairs of black socks.

Oasis are planning an alcoholic feast and ordered red and white wine, vodka and draught beer.

Britney Spears’ requests are relatively modest – shrimp salad and grilled crawfish, five sports bottles filled with Gatorade and water, while her dancers ordered gum, chocolate and biscuits.

Meanwhile, rumours have been raging in the city that former GN’R axeman Slash will be in the city over the weekend. However, with no sign of him around town just yet, and no gigs having been announced, it seems that fans are likely to be disappointed.

GUNS N' ROSES KICK OUT THE JAMS AT ROCK IN RIO

MTV NEWS STAFF
01/15/2001

By Kurt Loder

RIO DE JANEIRO — The capstone of the third night of the big Rock in Rio festival — which is being held in a huge lot in the sun-baked suburbs of Rio de Janeiro, filled with state-of-the-art stages, grandstands, and all the usual festival midway attractions — was the world-stage debut of the newly resuscitated Guns N' Roses.

The already legendary L.A. band had been mysteriously missing-in-action since the release of its last album, an inconsequential compilation of punk-metal covers called The Spaghetti Incident?, way back in 1993, following which the group had noisily fallen apart amid a welter of interpersonal recriminations and endless lawsuits.

Mercurial frontman Axl Rose had emerged from these wranglings with legal rights to all further use of the GN'R name, and for years he'd been rumored to be working on a new album, with new musicians, in a Los Angeles studio that was said to have been booked around the clock for his personal use. No album ever appeared, however, and as the sediment of wasted years settled around him, Rose became a figure of rock and roll myth. It was asserted as fact within the industry that he'd become a complete recluse, keeping vampire hours in the studio to monitor the daytime labors of his newly hired players, but otherwise remaining hidden in his mansion, where he hosted endless dinner parties, grew fat and started losing his hair.

But now Guns N' Roses were back — or at least Rose and the previously under-heralded keyboard/conga player Dizzy Reed were — and had even played a well-received warm-up gig at the House of Blues in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve. The new group was scheduled to take the Rock in Rio stage in the early hours of Monday morning — 1:40 a.m., to be precise — but by 1:35, there was still no sight of them backstage (punctuality was never a GN'R hallmark), and out front, a sprawling crowd of 190,000 people, earlier primed by two powerful sets by Papa Roach and Oasis, but weary after an hour-long wait in darkness and silence, was beginning to grow restive. Then, in the backstage area — essentially a jerry-built clapboard dressing-room complex fronting a gravel parking lot still lightly puddled by an afternoon rain shower — a tribe of burly security guards began sweeping away un-credentialed idlers with a snarling insistence rarely seen since the heyday of such preshow prima donnas as Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones.

Down at the end of a long road leading from a nearby helicopter landing pad, a constellation of headlights suddenly blossomed in the tropical night. Three dark vans, attended by a swarm of motorcycle-mounted Brazilian cops, pulled into the parking lot, disgorging the unmistakable, lanky figure of Axl Rose (not fat, not bald), who marched straight up some steps and into a dressing room. He was followed by a very strange figure in a white, Jason-style hockey mask, wearing an inverted cardboard fried-chicken bucket on his head, and by an equally surreal Goth-type character who looked somewhat the way Marilyn Manson might, if Manson's lifeless corpse had been left overnight in a roomful of famished rats. The four other members of the band followed them into the dressing room and closed the door.

At 1:55, the dimmed lights on the airplane-hangar-size Rock in Rio stage died down completely, and a giant video screen on the back wall flickered to life, bearing the words "W. Axl Rose in 'A Sorta Kinda Wonderful Life.' " There followed an extremely weird animated film depicting a cartoon Axl — his toe- and fingernails grown to eccentric length, apparently on the model of the late, whacked-out billionaire Howard Hughes. He appeared to be confined to a sanitarium of some sort, and was seen to be peeing into a plastic urine-sample cup, calling for a bedpan, and then wiping his nether parts with a page ripped from a copy of Rolling Drone magazine. A cartoon night nurse appeared, straight out of an ancient porn scenario, complete with big breasts and black fishnet stockings, bearing a syringe the size of a bazooka, at which point the cartoon Axl (or "Uncle Axl," as he called himself, in a voice that could only have been Rose's own) advised the no-doubt-puzzled Brazilian crowd that "Things go better with Diet Coke."

The bizarre minifilm ended, and all across the stage, howling pyro fireballs suddenly erupted into the pitch-black night, accompanied by a soaring, air-raid-siren guitar note. The stage lights slammed on, and there they all were — the new Guns N' Roses — ripping into "Welcome to the Jungle" as if they'd just written it a little earlier in the day.

About 10 minutes into their set, it became clear that the new GN'R is a rock and roll event of the sort that a lot of people (well, me, anyway) have been waiting for for a long, long time. Where the reigning rap-metal acts of the moment — Korn and Limp Bizkit and their ilk — get over quite successfully on murk and muscle and pure sonic wallop, the new GN'R — with only one-month's worth of rehearsal (this was their second gig) — already played with a passion and precision that's unlikely to be matched in any other quarter anytime soon. The band's three lead guitarists were individually exhilarating, and perfectly balanced in their divergent styles. The underground avant-fusion virtuoso Buckethead (the guy in the disturbing Jason mask and the KFC container — he claims to have been raised by chickens), churned out everything from screaming blues leads to orchestrally echoplexed art-rock excursions to Chet Atkins-style chicken-picking forays (while film footage of doomed chickens flashed across the video screen behind him). Across the stage, Robin Finck (the Manson-gnawed-by-rats figure, late of Nine Inch Nails and — a subject that remains to be explored — Cirque du Soleil) more than held his own in the noise-and-curious-charisma department. Between the two of them, normal-guy Paul Tobias — a childhood friend of Rose's from back in Indiana — anchored the guitar onslaught with a complementary style that was generally modest and accommodating, but very much his own. Solos never slipped into hard-rock cliché, but were instead constructed and deployed with a taste and level of invention rarely heard in this sort of music anymore. Rock guitar has a long and well-mined tradition by now, of course; but this trio of players, to their considerable credit, were often able to make all the old thrills seem new again.

Most of the rampaging, 90-minute set, however, was filled with old GN'R material: "Sweet Child o' Mine," "Mr. Brownstone," the famous Axl-at-the-piano opus "November Rain," the still-lilting Dylan cover "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," and the sledgehammer set-ender, "Paradise City." This was no oldies show, though; as Rose himself proudly noted at one point: "This new band can play the f--- out of these songs." Indeed they could. Former Primus drummer Brian "Brain" Mantia and ex-Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson (adding possible teen appeal in red knee pants and suspenders) shoveled out truckloads of bottom, and two keyboardists — Dizzy Reed and Tool associate Chris Pittman — slathered the sound with rich layers of electronic detail.

The unmistakable center of the show, though, was Axl Rose. At 38, he remains one of the great can't-take-your-eyes-off-him rock stars, twirling back and forth across the stage (and, rather uncharacteristically, racing out into the audience, too), pausing only to lean back and emit a proverbial banshee wail of the sort that probably occurs to past masters such as Robert Plant these days only in their dreams. He was also extremely talkative, taking time out to berate his long-gone former Guns N' Roses colleagues (for trying to derail his dream or something, apparently), to gently chide local Latin American rock critics (by name!) for not knowing what the f--- they were talking about, and — totally out of the blue — to quietly urge a nonviolent resolution of the soccer violence that has long plagued relations between Brazil and its equally sports-mad neighbor, Argentina. Judging by some of the images flashing across the onstage screen, he also retains a knowing eye for vintage (and fairly hard-core) bondage and S&M footage.

So it was an exciting show — not only for the unusually high level of musicianship, but also for the unflagging spirit and intelligence of the music itself, and what that seems to promise for the future. There really is a new Guns N' Roses album in the pipeline. (Really.) It's called Chinese Democracy, and it should be out in the spring, summer, something like that. The band played four songs from it at Rio. One of them, a gorgeous piece called "Madagascar," recalled nothing so much as the mid-period Beatles, with all their quaint little horn ornamentations. It also sampled the voice of the great, slain civil rights hero Martin Luther King. (Rose, who definitely runs this show, further illustrated the song's intentions onstage with footage of King, and of the turbulent civil-rights protests of the 1960s.)

When the album comes out, pray for a tour. And definitely don't miss it.

BRAZIL NUT!

He's been away for eight years - but he still knows how to behave badly...

Over 200,000 people swelled the crowd at ROCK IN RIO to its biggest yet yesterday (January 14) for the third day of the Brazilian extravaganza, which was headlined by GUNS N’ ROSES.

Fans who had queued since Saturday (January 13) were kept waiting an extra hour because Axl Rose demanded that the VIP area, reserved backstage for performers, was emptied before his arrival. He also banned all photographers.

From the stage, Rose slammed the Internet, calling it “a load of crap”. He also said that he regretted not being able to patch up differences with his former band members, “unlike Oasis”, who were also performing yesterday. Rose is the only remaining member of the original Guns N’ Roses line-up.

The band’s set lasted over two hours and 20 minutes, and they played a Brazilian song, ‘Sossego’, by Tim Maia.

The festival now takes a break until Thursday (January 18), when Britney Spears, Five, *N Sync and Aaron Carter will perform. More artists are due to arrive in the city today.

Guns N’Roses/Oasis/Papa Roach: Rock In Rio

The third day of Rock In Rio sees Guns N'Roses easily outrock the Gallaghers...

The third night of the Rock In Rio festival was one of the most anticipated by the Brazilian audience – and, not surprisingly, it was also bound to disappoint. The first international band to get onstage is Papa Roach or, as the Brazilians might put it, “Papa who?” The band is hardly known in this country and, making conclusions from the name, many thought they were some kind of reggae act. Anyway, it’s not totally bad, and putting in a lot of effort Papa Roach manage to lift the audience with songs such as ‘Broken Home’ and ‘Last Resort’. It’s not enough, though.

And matters only get worse when Oasis follow with a completely workmanlike performance, showing clearly that the only bit of fun the band are going to have will be when getting the cheque from the Rock In Rio organizers. They play the usual, ‘Wonderwall’, ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’, ‘Live Forever’, ‘Champagne Supernova’ and ‘Cigarettes & Alcohol’ – but the Gallaghers are boringly well-behaved, and what good is there in Oasis without a bit of brotherly rivalry? ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Star’, the last song, is dedicated to “Mr. Rose”. With a note of sarcasm? Maybe, but it’s definitely not enough to cheer up an audience of 200,000 people with a bit of heat exhaustion.

The main attraction, of course, is the previously mentioned Mr. Rose. It’s almost 2 am, one hour later than scheduled, when the helicopter transporting Axl Rose and his band lands backstage at the City Of Rock. By then, the atmosphere of expectation is so dense you could cut it with a knife, and when Rose and his troupe finally make onstage, Rock In Rio holds its breath and comes to a standstill. Even the shops close to see the Guns’ performance.

But first we have to endure an animation and then a long pause (the first of many). When finally the frontman of the Guns comes onstage, he looks like, well, Ozzy Osbourne: shades, a few more pounds, Adidas trousers and open shirt. However, in all other aspects he remains, thankfully, pretty much himself: potent voice, energy, funny dances and arrogance. He starts with ‘Welcome To The Jungle’, followed by ‘Easy’, ‘Mr Brown Stone’ and ‘Live And Let Die’. During the set, other old-time classics such as ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ and ‘Paradise City’ are also included.

With the help of an interpreter, the singer talks many times to the audience about former members of the band, the internet (“a load of crap”), and his love for the fans: “I know many of you are disappointed that some of the members that you learned to love could not be here tonight. Regardless of what you have heard or read, me and my friends have worked very hard to be here tonight. I am as disappointed in this as you that, unlike Oasis, we could not find a way to get along”, he says.

It’s the lengthiest performance of Rock In Rio so far – two hours and twenty minutes. And that’s probably one of its faults. Everyone would have benefited from a shorter set, especially when local percussionist from Escola do Samba Viradouro comes onstage to pay homage, for the longest minutes of the night.

THE POP LIFE; They're Rocking in Rio, For Fun and a Better World

By NEIL STRAUSS

The third installment of Brazil's huge Rock in Rio festival began on Friday with the Orquestra Sinfonica Brasileira playing ''Also Sprach Zarathustra'' as drummers pounded out samba-style breakbeats and a D.J. scratched in rhythm. At the height of the pomp, three fighter planes, leaving a ceiling of smoke in their wake, dived over the heads of the audience of 85,000 (which grew to more than 200,000 by the end of the weekend).

Then the music abruptly stopped while the crowd (along with some Brazilian radio and television stations) fell silent for three minutes to meditate on the theme of the festival: a better world. As it did so, the throng lifted white handkerchiefs given out at the entrance gate, waving them silently from side to side above their heads. It was a beautiful moment marred only by the America Online logo emblazoned on every one of those handkerchiefs.

And so it went for the first weekend of the two-weekend festival, which ends on Sunday: the moments of beauty (and there were plenty of them) came blemished. If one were to sit down and make a list, for every item of praise for the festival, which in Week One featured a mix of American stars (R.E.M., Oasis, Sting, Guns 'n' Roses), Brazilian favorites (Gilberto Gil, Milton Nascimento, Daniela Mercury, Barao Vermelho) and international acts (from Finland's Varttina to Cameroon's Henri Dikongue), there would be a complaint. Rock in Rio III was at once impressively organized and a complete mess; a music-booking triumph and a musical insult; a social-improvement project and a giant corporate advertisement.

The contradictions of the festival were perhaps best epitomized by the many stations where representatives for America Online spritzed hair spray in the colors of the Brazilian flag on the heads of thousands of acquiescent audience members who became symbols of national patriotism and advertisements for American corporate imperialism. As Oasis overcame sound problems to blast its enjoyably derivative pop, even speaking a few words of Portuguese (an effort, for them, equivalent to that of Sting speaking almost entirely in Portuguese during his set), a different scene was unfolding nearby on a world-music stage. ''Can you hear me? Can you hear the band?'' the Zairian soukous innovator Ray Lema asked over and over as the British siblings, on a main stage set far too close to the festival's world-music and Brazilian-music stages, threatened to drown him out. Finally, unable to hear himself play, he groused: ''In Congo, when we invite someone, we let them speak. And the big stage is crowding me.''

As at most American festivals (the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival being a notable exception), audience members griped about difficult circumnavigation, expensive yet inedible food, oceans of litter and messy portable toilets. Ticket buyers who came in from all over the country also felt slighted that every night was headlined by three American or British acts while the Brazilian musicians, many of whom outsell the headliners, were stuck playing early in the day. Yet the Brazilian acts are familiar faces while many of the North American acts, including R.E.M., Beck, Oasis and even Neil Young, had never played in the country before.

The first Rock in Rio, in 1985, made waves as South America's largest rock festival, opening up pop promoters' eyes to a new continent on which to book international tours. The festival galvanized Brazil's metal scene with Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne and AC/DC, and then, in the midst of the noise, threw James Taylor into the mix with surprising success. This year was in some ways a rerun: Iron Maiden and Guns 'n' Roses (from Rock in Rio's 1991 sequel) were back, as was Mr. Taylor, who performed the song he wrote after his 1985 experience, ''Only a Dream in Rio.'' In 2001 the best way to replicate the cultural impact of the 1985 heavy-metal show would have been to bring leading rappers like Dr. Dre and DMX into the country for the first time. Yet outside a booty mix by original-school DJ Kool Herc in the dance tent, the rap and rhythm-and-blues that is fast becoming America's most passionately embraced musical export was not represented at the festival.

Nonetheless, there was still plenty to remember from Week One. Mr. Taylor was practically weeping tears of gratitude as the crowd sang along with ''You've Got a Friend.'' The audience members were not so friendly to the multitalented syncretist Carlinhos Brown, pelting him with garbage when he asked them to take it easy and then growing even more outraged when he added that a crowd in northeastern Brazil would not respond in this manner. Mr. Gil and Mr. Nascimento were greeted more warmly when, segueing between their sets, they shared the stage for subtle, powerful duets of their hits from their new soul-churning ''Gil e Milton'' album.

R.E.M., jubilantly speaking of beautiful Rio, the night sky and sugar cane-alcohol cocktails, previewed uptempo new songs from a record due this summer. Liminha, the former bassist in the seminal psychedelic band Os Mutantes, showed up in a faithful surf-rock band the Silvas, joined by the rapper Gabriel o Pensador (Gabriel the Thinker) and the rock singer Branco Mello. And Rio's breast-baring tomboy agitator Cassia Eller snarled versions of songs by everyone from the late Chico Science (whose backing band Nacao Zumbi also performed) to Nirvana, with a ''Smells Like Teen Spirit'' that sent the crowd into a frenzy that wasn't matched until Nirvana's former drummer, Dave Grohl, took the stage with his band the Foo Fighters later that night.

By far, the most anticipated act of last weekend was Guns 'n' Roses, which took the stage at 2 a.m. for a two-hour-plus set. With his Brazilian assistant Elizabeta Lebeis translating his speeches into Portuguese, Axl Rose tentatively and then confidently returned to controlling the beast that, outside a New Year's Eve warmup show in Las Vegas, he hasn't seen in more than seven years: an audience.

The band's recorded audio opening strayed slightly from the ''better world'' festival theme, praising hate and ugliness and infidelity, but the band's new guitarist, Robin Finck (formerly of Nine Inch Nails), put the message back on course by humoring the crowd with a metal version of the Brazilian soul standard ''Sossego'' (''Tranquillity'').

Mr. Rose had few kind words for his former band mates (whom he accused of having ''worked very hard to make sure that I could not be here tonight''); for the battling brothers of Oasis, which snidely dedicated its song ''Rock and Roll Star'' to him (''I am hurt and disappointed that unlike Oasis we could not all find a way to get along,'' Mr. Rose said of his former band); and for the review of his Las Vegas show in The New York Times, which he interpreted as criticizing him for playing his old songs.

The truth is that Guns 'n' Roses is now two bands in one. The first is a very effective Guns 'n' Roses cover band that happens to feature the original singer and keyboardist; the second is a very eclectic new band that if judged on its own merits would be one of rock's most interesting current acts.

Featuring the nimble, flawless leads of the science-fiction funk guitarist Buckethead, Guns 'n' Roses unveiled one of its best new songs, ''Madagascar,'' which with strains of classical, metal and sampling sounded like a Big Audio Dynamite remix of Iron Butterfly's ''Ball'' album. Coming on like rock's Odysseus, Mr. Rose sang, ''I can't find my way back anymore.''

Flush from the success of more than 200,000 fans' enthusiastically embracing versions of classic Guns 'n' Roses material like ''My Michelle'' and ''Sweet Child O' Mine,'' Mr. Rose even held court with fans and press at his hotel swimming pool after the show, where he took the opportunity to further disparage his old band mates. If Guns 'n' Roses' return to Rio seemed like a wild success, one can only imagine what the scene at Rock in Rio III will be like this weekend, when an even larger crowd is expected for a show that may be even more eagerly anticipated by cariocas: 'N Sync.

Correction: January 22, 2001, Monday A picture caption with the Pop Life column on Wednesday about the Rock in Rio festival in Brazil misidentified the act shown. It was the singer Daniel Mercury and backup singers; Nacao Zumbi was another band that performed. The column also misstated the nationality of the rock acts Sting and Oasis. They are English, not North American.

Guns N' Roses Play Rock In Rio To Ecstatic Reception; Audio Bootlegs Of Live Shows Surface On The Net

As live bootlegs of the Guns N' Roses' new line-up surface on the net, GN'R singer (and the only original member) Axl Rose took his new outfit to Rio De Janeiro for the Rock In Rio Festival last night and rocked the elated crowd of 200,000.

On Sunday, January 14th at 2am, the retooled GN'R blazed through a two-hour and fifteen-minute, 22-song set that leaned heavily on vintage Guns material but, like the Las Vegas set on January 1st, featured some choice selection from the upcoming Chinese Democracy album. Opening with "Welcome to the Jungle" Axl screamed, "Do you know where you are? You're in the jungle baby! You're gonna die!!!" as his band tore into the classic cut with precision and aplomb.

Dressed in trainer pants and an open shirt, Rose stormed the stage, the same one he stalked when GN'R played the festival in 1991, with an abundance of energy and bravado. Like the days of old, he controlled the show with iron fist, at one point toward the beginning of the set, yelling at a security guard, "Get that guy out of here. Are you listening to me Mr. Security guard? That guy. Out." Rose also used a translator for his between song speeches, of which there were many. At one point, Axl even mentioned his former bandmates, saying, "I know that many of you are disappointed that some of the people that you came to know and love could not be here with us here today. Regardless of what you have heard or read, people worked very hard -- meaning my former friends -- to do everything they could so I could not be here today. I say fuck that. I am as hurt and disappointed as you that unlike Oasis, we could not find a way to all just get along...so much for the past. This is 'Live and Let Die.'" The band then tore into the Paul McCartney classic made famous by the old line-up.

The new line-up - currently featuring Buckethead, Robin Finck, Tommy Stinson, Paul Tobias, Dizzy Reed, Chris Pittman, and Brain - ripped through the classics like they'd been playin' 'em since '87, but it was the new songs that many were curious to hear. Rose debuted two songs that were not in the Vegas set, "Madagascar," in addition to the five others that he debuted during the New Years Eve performance, "Oh My God" (the only one to have been released, on the End Of Days soundtrack), "The Blues," "Silkworms," "Chinese Democracy," and "Rhiad & The Bedouins." In addition to the obvious hits, the band played several GN'R tunes that had not been played since the very early days, including "Think About You" and "My Michele." Rose also addressed the old school Guns heavy set, saying, "We've done one show before this and already we have been criticized for playing old songs. But I have no intention and I never did of denying you all something you enjoyed. And I thought it was only fair for you to see that this new band can play the fuck out of these songs. It's very hard to ask a musician to learn to play the part or parts played by other musicians before that. These guys here have worked very hard."

He closed the set with, "I love you. I will be back here next summer with a whole bunch of new songs. Be good to each other and we'll see you later." For the hardcore Guns fans who can't wait that long, many of the songs from the New Years Eve show at House Of Blues and even songs from last night's show are already surfacing on the internet. Audio Galaxy, Napster, and gnrlive.net are among the sites that feature both new and old songs from the two concerts. All the versions appear to be bootlegs made by audience members and are rough quality (though the Rio ones could possibly be from the soundboard, but a rough mix for sure). A run through of the tunes reveals that "The Blues" is a "November Rain"-style piano ballad, "Silkworms" is an electronica influenced opus, "Rhiad & The Bedouins" is an upbeat rocker with cool Zepplin-esque verses but a so-so "Oh Oh Oh" chorus. The best tune is the title track from the new album, a balls out rocker in the tradition of Use Your Illusion. "Madagascar" has yet to surface. In general, the live versions are definitely much more rockin' than one might suspect, and less industrial sounding than many feared. We'll just have to wait and see what the studio efforts sound like.

Guns N' Roses stir restless fans at Rock in Rio

By Katherine Baldwin

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - More than 200,000 frenzied fans rocked into the early hours of Monday as reincarnated heavy metal favorites Guns N' Roses fired up the third night of a mega-music festival gripping Rio de Janeiro.

But earlier acts Oasis of Britain and Brazilian pop star Carlinhos Brown received a cooler welcome as restless onlookers launched plastic bottles and cups at bands that failed to live up to their heavy metal expectations.

A paunchy Axl Rose exploded onto the stage amid fireballs and big-screen images of naked women for a mammoth show that closed the first night of hard rock of this seven-day extravaganza, called "Rock in Rio for a Better World.''

Rose's shrieking rendition of old favorites "Welcome to the Jungle'' and "Sweet Child O' Mine'' stirred the exhausted crowd to life after Oasis left some unexcited onlookers dozing to all but the most popular songs, like "Champagne Super Nova.''

Guns N' Roses thrilled fans with a new lineup and new releases in its first big stage concert in seven years. The group played at a smaller gig in Las Vegas on New Year's Day.

But local act Brown suffered a similar fate to Oasis as his Afro-Brazilian percussion and reggae mix failed to stir up the adolescent crowd and his calls for "Peace in the world and vibrations for a better world!'' fell on deaf ears.

"This doesn't even seem like a rock festival,'' one disgruntled fan shouted. "Everybody is playing here, they've even got some Indian up there dancing,'' he said, referring to Brown, who wore a straw headdress.

Critics had warned that the mish mash of musical styles at the event that kicked off Friday could spark conflicts. The concert booked 159 bands including some of the world's top recording stars in a bid to draw 1.5 million fans from Brazil and abroad, which would make it the biggest music event
ever.

Acts range from Britney Spears to Iron Maiden and old-favorite Sting. Organizers pledged, however, to organize the line-up to avoid a teen pop idol back-to-back with heavy metal.

But the intended mix at the so-called "Brazilian Woodstock'' went awry on the third night. Tens of thousands of teens, many in black heavy metal T-shirts, booed and hissed as a traditional Rio samba school took the stage in the wake of Guns N' Roses' more than two-hour steamy show.

The Viradouro Samba School was forced to sidestep a shower of flying bottles.

Promoters have gone to great lengths to ensure that Rock in Rio 3 is not a repeat of Woodstock III, the 30th anniversary show in 1999 that ended in riots and looting. Despite fans' impatience, the event has gone relatively smoothly. Thus far transport chaos and sun stroke have been the major complaints.

But after a three-day respite, promoters could face their biggest challenge yet when the festival resumes Thursday with teen sensations Britney Spears and 'N Sync -- the most popular night of the event.

There are also two more nights of heavy rock headlined by Iron Maiden and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Guns N' Roses Use Classics, Commentary To Impress At Rock In Rio

The amassed crowd of 200,000 at the Rock in Rio on Sunday (Jan. 14), which waited until the late hour of 2 a.m. for confirmation that reclusive Guns N' Roses singer Axl Rose is indeed among the living, got more than it bargained for.

Not only did Rose appear, but throughout the two-hour and fifteen-minute, 22-song set, he quite possibly reclaimed the rock and roll crown he abandoned eight years ago as well as used the time to make several speeches. "Welcome to the Jungle" commenced the band's triumphant return to Rock in Rio, a festival they also played in 1991, sparking a crowd eruption rarely rivaled in rock and roll today. Clad in trainer pants and an open shirt, Rose didn't skip a beat from his control-freak Use Your Illusion days.

Midway through the song, Rose demanded of security, "Get that guy out of here. Are you listening to me Mr. Security guard? That guy. Out." It wasn't clear what sparked the outburst, but clearly one man's Guns N' Roses dream ended after a mere two minutes. For the rest of us, it went on until nearly sunrise. Rose's revolving-door band -- currently consisting of Buckethead, Robin Finck, Tommy Stinson, Paul Tobias, Dizzy Reed, Chris Pittman, and Brain -- was spot-on musically, proving that the band's triumphant Las Vegas show was not a fluke.

After "Mr. Brownstone," Rose enlisted the use of a translator for first of many speeches on the evening in which he addressed his former bandmates, the Internet, his new band, and his life in general for most of the '90s. "I know that many of you are disappointed that some of the people that you came to know and love could not be here with us here today," said Rose.

"Regardless of what you have heard or read," he continued, "people worked very hard -- meaning my former friends -- to do everything they could so I could not be here today. I say fuck that. I am as hurt and disappointed as you that unlike Oasis, we could not find a way to all just get along... so much for the past. This is "Live and Let Die."

Guns played five new tracks on the night, one of which was not included in their New Year's Eve warm-up show in Vegas ("Madagascar"). The first, "Oh My God," appeared five songs into the set. The live version scaled back the industrial feel of the recorded version and featured a heavy, crunching guitar line courtesy of Buckethead. After "Think About You" and "You Could Be Mine," Finck took center stage, addressing the crowd in Portuguese, and grinding through a take on Brazilian funk-soul legend Tim Maia's "Sossego." As Finck wreaked funky havoc on the guitar, his vocals on the song were overshadowed by the crowd's own singing. It was a gesture much appreciated by the band's Brazilian fans.

The highlight of the set came next, as "Sweet Child O' Mine" sounded as fantastic as it did the day it was recorded. "Madagascar" followed, the best of the new tracks. A subtle electronic backbeat and keyboard-produced horn section propelled the mid-tempo ballad, which featured Rose lamenting, "I can't find my way back anymore..." before succumbing to a flood of movie and speech samples. If the new tracks maintain this level of aptitude, he won't need to go back anywhere.

Before another new track, "Chinese Democracy," Rose explained the band's stance on the old material. "We've done one show before this and already we have been criticized for playing old songs," he said. "But I have no intention and I never did of denying you all something you enjoyed. And I thought it was only fair for you to see that this new band can play the fuck out of these songs. It's very hard to ask a musician to learn to play the part or parts played by other musicians before that. These guys here have worked very hard."

As the set winded down, "The Blues," another new track (the closest of the new efforts to the Use Your Illusion era), saw Rose hop on top of the piano where he sang the respectable rock ballad. Before "Nightrain," Rose lashed out at the Internet. "I used to go on the Internet but the Internet seems to be the big garbage can so I don't read the things that they say on the Internet anymore," he said. Rose's vocals faded in and out of the mix during the song, which ended the main set.

The band returned for "My Michelle" and another new track, "Silkworms." An unworthy electro-funk jam featuring a near-rap by Rose, the song fell flat and is probably a good example of the kind of electronic rock Rose has been working on for the past eight years. Altered from the version played in Vegas on New Year's, the song did not work in the context of an encore for a show of this magnitude.

As the band departed once more, fans were oddly treated with a Brazilian dance interlude courtesy of several traditionally dressed rump shakers. Now pushing past the 4 a.m. mark, Rose and Co. appeared for one last song, "Paradise City," which began with onstage pyrotechnic explosions and fireworks and followed suit sonically.

When it was over, Rose introduced his Brazilian assistant, who he credited with holding down the Axl Rose fort for the last seven years. In tears as his assistant translated the speech into Portuguese, the moment was a truly genuine streak of humbleness for the singer, as the weight on his shoulders throughout the '90s had surely, after his reception in Rio, been lifted.

"Peace," said Rose in closing. "I love you. I will be back here next summer with a whole bunch of new songs. Be good to each other and we'll see you later."

-- Kevin Raub

Believe it or not, there are already Buckethead wannabes prowling the streets. As a refresher, Buckethead is the strange, but talented guitarist from the Bay Area who is currently serving as one of Axl Rose's axemen. He wears a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket on his head -- thus his name -- and a white/black and almost-Phantom of the Opera-type mask on his mug. And, yes, he is apparently a God to guitar geeks out there. We saw one such fan wearing the Buckethead mask, the long curly hair, and black outfit (no bucket, though) at the Marilyn Manson show in L.A. on Saturday (Jan. 13). Who wudda thunk?!
---

Word on the street in Rio de Janeiro before Guns N' Roses hit the Rock in Rio stage on Sunday (Jan. 14) was reclusive singer Axl Rose went quite out of his way to ensure he would not be photographed during the band's set.

Not only were press photographers not allowed in the photo pit, any photography at all throughout the 200,000-plus crowd was subject to confiscation by festival security. As a result, O Globo, Brazil's biggest newspaper, hired its own team of security to fend off festival security in order to shoot from the crowd. Despite Rose's attempts at controlling the world, however, camera flashes were amok throughout the band's set.

As you can see it was HUGE. Lots of people. Lots of drunk people. Lots of naked dudes every now and then (most of whom were drunk as well). All in all, it was pretty sweet. You folks are lucky cause I decided to put together a list of interesting stuff I saw there , "the best" of everything if you will, here we go:

- BEST SHOW: GUNS N´ROSES. Fuckin´amazing set of oldies and a few new songs (which you can already download via Napster), played by the new guys in the band, who are truly talented and made everyone's jaws drop. Axl still has it, just in case you were wondering. The man is back and he's got a new bunch of cool freaks who are set to conquer the world. Don´t say I didn't warn you.

Axl Ignites Rio Festival

Guns n’ Roses triumphs, Britney stumbles at seven-day Rock in Rio Festival

By MARK BINELLI

BY THE END OF ROCK IN Rio III, which wrapped up on January 21st, there had been no deaths, no births, more than 1.2 million spectators and more than 150 performances – including sets by Sting, R.E.M., Beck, Neil Young, ‘N Sync, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Oasis. Memorable festival moments abounded: Britney Spears was booed, Papa Roach frontman Coby Dick puked onstage, Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl received a birthday cake from girlfriend Melissa Auf Der Maur, and Axl Rose rewarded the faithful and won over the skeptics with an incendiary Guns n’ Roses set.

Oh, and you could buy a beer outside festival grounds for fifty cents.

Calls to cede control of the next Woodstock to the Brazilian embassy are certainly understandable. In recent years, a cloud has hung over the entire concept of the massive outdoor music festival. Final-night rioting and sexual assaults marred Woodstock ’99, and nine fans were crushed to death during a Pearl Jam set at the Roskilde festival last summer in Denmark.

In that light, Rock in Rio –— the brainchild of Brazilian promoter Roberto Medina, who staged the first Rock in Rio in 1985 – was a resounding success. The festival, which raised approximately $1.5 million for educational charities, took place at the height of summer in Rio de Janeiro, with daily temperatures reaching 104 degrees. Though the site’s capacity was 350,000, daily ticket sales were capped at 250,000 to prevent overcrowding. Free bottled water was handed out near the stage, and concessions in general were much more affordable than at U.S. events.

Starship jokes be damned, Medina dubbed the concert site Rock City. It resembled a colony set up to attract UFOs. The bulk of the audience assembled in a central field, surrounded by strange shelters: chat-room tepees, concession stands that looked like giant pacifiers, mothership-shaped side stages, an entryway that led through an enormous globe. The main stage –— 131 feet high, 288 feet wide, built with 200 tons of steel –— might have been modeled after a spiny mollusk or a female-pleasuring device.

Despite typical festival unpleasantness —– overflowing Porta Potties, mud- and trash-covered lawns —– Rock in Rio’s vibe remained positive. Fans, mostly Brazilian teens, got their hair spray-painted, waved inflatable sharks and sported FUCK ME I’M FAMOUS T-shirts. The meathead contingent did not show up as at Woodstock, and kids moved easily from stage to stage, catching as many as twenty bands a day.

Backstage, and at the pool and bar of the swank Intercontinental Hotel, artists drank, soaked up the sun and expressed a spirit of camaraderie. “The Brazilian audience is the best in the world,” gushed Dave Matthews as he nodded along to Neil Young tearing up “Rockin’ in the Free World.” “My mind is blown.”

For fans and artists, the festival’s high point was getting to see a fired-up Axl Rose and his retooled Guns n’ Roses play their second live gig ever. Backstage, members of Papa Roach, Foo Fighters and Oasis gathered to watch as Rose and his new band tore through most of Appetite for Destruction, along with a handful of new tracks. The set culminated with a samba band marching into the audience and a teased-out rendition of –— what else, in Rio? –— “Paradise City.”

“It’s actually fucking genius,” raved Noel Gallagher. “It’s the most disgusting, brilliant, outrageous thing I’ve seen in my life.”

THE FIRST ROCK IN RIO WAS held on the same site, featuring headliners Queen, Ozzy Osbourne and the Scorpions. Rock in Rio II, held in 1991 at Rio’s Maracanã Stadium, lasted nine days and featured the original Guns n’ Roses, George Michael, New Kids on the Block, Prince and a-ha. Most people agreed that the stadium was not comfortable enough for such an endurance fest, so when Medina began planning the third installment of Rock in Rio, he decided to build a venue from the ground up. To pay the bill, he attracted $30 million worth of sponsorship; America Online kicked in the most, with $20 million. Five percent of the net profit from ticket sales, sponsorship and licensing was set aside to fund education programs for Brazilian kids.

Aside from construction of the site —– located on swampland and powered entirely by generators –— the main difficulty and expense came in booking such a marquee lineup. Though specific numbers were unavailable, insiders said bands were paid much more than their average fees, drawing out artists like Beck, who is not currently on tour. The exotic locale was also a pull. And then there was the massive audience. “I would tell people, ‘Put Woodstock, Big Day Out and Glastonbury together, and that’s the exposure you’ll get from this,’ ” says Phil Rodriguez, the Miami promoter who booked Rock in Rio’s main-stage acts.

Sting headlined the opening night, following Gilberto Gil, James Taylor and Brazilian pop star Daniela Mercury, whose show could be described in two words: costumes and percussion. (“For fuck’s sake!” Sting cried as the walls of his backstage dressing room literally vibrated during her set.)

The following night, Grohl celebrated his thirty-third birthday by playing between R.E.M. and Beck. “Best birthday I ever had,” noted a shirtless Grohl in his dressing room, post-show, as he shared a chair with Auf Der Maur. “My last birthday, they had a stripper come onstage. This year, it was my girlfriend. Twice as nice —– ’cause I know I can get some later!” Ignoring the look shot his way by Auf Der Maur, Grohl continued, “The only other time I played a show on my birthday, I was sixteen. It was our first time playing in D.C., and I was so nervous I spent the hour before the show with terrible diarrhea. And my mom was at the club. So there ya go.”

Unfortunately for Papa Roach’s Coby Dick, who performed the next night, his Rock in Rio experience was closer in spirit to Grohl’s first birthday gig. The singer –— spotted that afternoon in the Intercontinental Hotel bar, drinking vodka and eating McDonald’s —– began swooning under the Rio sun toward the end of the band’s set. Ducking to the side of the stage, he tried to vomit and failed. Then he stepped back out front and threw up. Still, he managed to finish the set with “Last Resort.” “When I saw him gagging, I knew something was wrong,” said bassist Dave Buckner after the show, as a half-undressed Dick lay face-down on the dressing room floor, occasionally spitting up in a nearby trash can.

Later that night, after a tight set by Oasis (the Gallaghers dedicated their closer, “Rock ‘n’ Roll Star,” to “Mr. Rose”), the Guns n’ Roses camp began clearing the entire backstage area, even forcing reps from the band’s own record label to leave. “Is this Guns n’ Roses or the Village People?” muttered Buckner as the band’s new lineup entered: ex-Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson in tartan shorts and a CLOCKWORK ORANGE cap, ex-Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck with his Twiggy Ramirez version of a mullet, keyboardist Dizzy Reed in a leather cap, guitarist Buckethead sporting his trademark KFC bucket and blank-faced Michael Myers mask.

Moments after the sound of an incoming helicopter announced his arrival, Rose strode backstage in striped sweat pants and an unbuttoned shirt, belying rumors of a late-period-Elvis bloat. The G n’ R pre-show began with a cartoon image of Rose on the Jumbotron —– sitting on a bedpan and wiping himself with a page from Rolling Drone magazine. Next, words flashed on the screen: “I believe in anger. I believe in pain. I believe in cruelty.”

“I believe in buckets!” shouted Noel Gallagher, referring to the guitarist.

The band finally took the stage at around 2 A.M., with pyrotechnics and the long-missed opening riffs of “Welcome to the Jungle.” Temperamentally, Rose did not disappoint. After the first song, he had security remove a kid in the front holding up a FUCK GUNS N’ ROSES T-shirt. (Hey, the First Amendment only applies on U.S. soil.) Later, he listed the names of Brazilian kids who had posted spurious G n’ R rumors in chat rooms and also threw some darts at his former band mates. “I know that many of you are disappointed that some of the people you came to know and love could not be here today,” Rose told the audience, speaking slowly as a translator communicated his message. “Regardless of what you may have heard, people were working very hard —– meaning my former friends —– to do everything they could so that I could not be here today. I say, fuck that! I am as hurt and disappointed as you that, unlike Oasis, we could not find a way to get along.”

As much as G n’ R’s performance was about spectacle, it also proved to be one of the most engaging musical moments of Rock in Rio. Highlights were the kicking “Chinese Democracy” and “Madagascar,” a ballad (not played at the Vegas show) that blended organ, a looped drum-machine backbeat and spoken-word samples before working itself up to Rock in Rio fest a “November Rain” crescendo. Rose’s vocals remain strong, and he commanded the entire stage, even occasionally running into the audience. The new band had enough chops and freak-show appeal to make the crowd forget about the beloved original model. Buckethead provided the most “Slash who?” moments, as he busted out a pair of nunchucks, made his eyes glow and soloed mercilessly.

The only arrival that made as much of an impact as Buckethead –— well, sure, and Rose —– was Spears. Her bodyguards were omnipresent at the Intercontinental, even jumping into the pool with her when she went for a swim. Unfortunately, her show, on a teen night that also featured ‘N Sync, Aaron Carter and Brazilian sibling act Sandy and Junior, didn’t go over well with the Brazilian crowd. While Spears performed “Lucky,” images of the American flag appeared on the Jumbotrons. The audience booed, flipped Spears off and finally began clapping and shouting “Bra-zil!” like a soccer chant, making the rest of the song completely inaudible.

HEADLINERS PROVIDED THE HIGHLIGHTS of the festival’s final weekend: Neil Young and Crazy Horse delivered snapped-string, feedback-drenched renditions of classics such as “Like a Hurricane,” while Sheryl Crow and Matthews watched from the side of the stage; the Red Hot Chili Peppers rounded out the closing night with crowd-pleasers such as “Give It Away” and “Suck My Kiss.”

Though the festival ran smoothly, there were some rumblings of discontent. Most Brazilian bands were relegated to a side stage, usually in the daytime. “The problem is a band like Papa Roach,” said Braulio Neto, who works at the Brazilian indie label UM. “Who is Papa Roach? The Brazilian bands see a band who sold 10,000 records here playing at night on the main stage, while a Brazilian group that sells 1 million plays during the day. It’s about respect.”

Indeed, one of the most exciting performances at the festival was the Brazilian act Afro Reggae, who incorporate rapping, singing, traditional Brazilian dancing, even some theater, all to a delirious effect. It’s hard to argue that these guys should have been given a short set on a side stage while bands like Silverchair nabbed choice spots.

Medina, who holds the lease on the Rock City site for the next five years, plans to mount another fest in two years and to use the site for other shows as well.

“When I was watching Beck,” said Grohl, “I actually got choked up. It’s a rock & roll fantasy to go from being a drummer to playing something like this. I was so horrified for three months before the show. Absolutely, dude! It’s a quarter of a million people. But once I walked onstage, I thought, ‘I could never get scared again.'”

“You know what’s so funny?” added Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins. “I was watching Dave strutting back and forth onstage, and I thought, ‘Watching those videos of Queen from the first Rock in Rio must have really rubbed off.'”

“I tell ya,” Grohl said, chuckling, “you wanna connect with 300,000 people? You watch the pope or Freddie Mercury. Can’t go wrong.”

Welcome Back To the Jungle

After almost a decade, Guns N' Roses is back, and although it has a new lineup, not much has changed. In its first major gig previewing the band's long-delayed album "Chinese Democracy," GNR played the Rock in Rio festival last week. Just like old times, Axl Rose, 38, insisted on all the rock-star trappings, from dozens of roses in his dressing room to a big stage entrance via helicopter. The band even played most of its old faves, like "Welcome to the Jungle." The biggest change: the formerly svelte frontman clearly has an appetite for more than just destruction these days.

Alisha Davis

Axl Is Back To Save Rock

by Mark Hughes

Guns n Roses, The Gunners, call it what you like, they've been THE talking point of this RIR festival. Asked what would make a better world, Noel Gallagher said world peace no more guns and roses. Dave Grohl claimed never to have heard of the band but after last night's blistering performance Guns n' Roses were back. Big time. A quarter of a million people are carmmed into the purpose built rock city for what must be THE best come back gig by any band ever. The 6 piece line up featuring legendary LA based guitarist Buckethead, and NIN's axeman Robin Finck, plus former Primus skinman Brain on drums - roar through one of the best two and a half hour set this music writer has ever seen.

As the lights go down a bizarre video plays to the crowd with the voice of an angst ridden Axl telling people what he believes in before a little cartoon comes on of Axl's asking if we have been good little boys and girls in their seven year absence.

The opening guitar strains of Welcome To The Jungle bleed out and the crowd erupts as the band literally run on stage. Axl takes advantage of the wings that extend 20 meters out of each side of the stage to get closer to the screaming crowd. It's So Easy follows next during which Axl spots a photographer (whom were banned from the show) and yells to security, "get that guy outta here." As the band breaks into Mr. Brownstone before Axl stops the show to let his feelings be known on a number of things. Just to make sure the crowd get it, he speaks with a translator telling the huge crowd his message word for word.

The first oration was to his former band mates and went something like "some people meaning my former friends have worked very hard to not allow Guns n' Roses to play here tonight, to them I only have two words, '@#%$ that.'" Axl then introduces his new band saying "how hard they have worked to bring you this show tonight," in particualarly third guitarist Paul Tobias, Axl credits him by saying if it weren't for him there would be no more Guns n' Roses. And the only man to stay loyal from the old band, Dizzy Reed. Axl makes it clear that nothing can stand in his way and tonight nothing can.

A full throttle Gunners play all the hits including the full version of November Rain, complete with grand piano and extended lead breaks plus all the biggies SCOM, Patience, and Paradise City. Mid-show, Finck looking post apocalyptic with his whited-out face, semi shaved head and black rags, and Buckethead, have their own little solo pieces. Finck becomes the new hero of the Brazilian crowd by singing a traditional Brazilian song, all in Portuguese, but re-styled with a rock beat and searing guitar work. Buckethead comes out for his solo with green lasers beeming out of where his eyes should be. He displays his nimble versatility first with a set of Nunchukas, and then on the guitar a pun on the KFC hat with a country fried picking tune and then entertains with a good old fashion noodly speed lick guitar solo.

Before long. it's back to Axl who seems to have mellowed out and found love after seven years in the wilderness to implore all the people of S. America that no matter if they are from Brazil, Argentina, or Chile, not to fight anymore and that Love is the only way. People aren't sure what to make of this new compassionate Axl but they sure as @#%$ love the show and really and really dug the four new songs the band played from their soon-to-be-release album. From the sound of the tunes one titled Chinese Democracy and another that embraces new technology (Silkworms) with an electronic drum beat, the Gunners could once again be on the threshold of becomming the biggest band in the World. The set closes after two encorers with axl introducing the woman that has been his saviour / friend / manager /a gent / everything for the past seven years who turns out to be the woman who has been translating for him all night. We don't quite catch her name as she gets all emotional and breaks down crying in Axl's arms in the middle of the stage. Its quite a surreal way to finish off a rock show, but it's been a damn long seven years and this wasn't an ordinary gig, it's the return of Guns n' Roses to the World stage. But there was no leather and no spandex, although the red bandana did make an appearance, reports that Axl is now a tubby bastard are untrue, he looked like he did seven years ago and is still choc full of attitude. FORGET TRENT, MARILYN, AND FRED, AXL IS BACK TO SAVE ROCK!!!!!

Flashback: Guns N’ Roses Rise From the Ashes at Rock in Rio 2001

By ANDY GREENE

A great deal of mystery surrounded Guns N’ Roses when they emerged from an eight-year hibernation in January 2001 to play Brazil’s Rock in Rio and a warmup gig at the House of Blues in Las Vegas. Axl Rose had been almost completely off the grid since the end of the Use Your Illusion Tour in 1993, popping up in the press only when he parted ways with members of the band and when he got arrested at the Phoenix airport in 1998 after threatening a security worker. There were reports he was working on a new album, but the only thing to emerge was the underwhelming “Oh My God” from the End of Days soundtrack in 1999.

GN’R fans were ecstatic when they learned the group was going to play Rock in Rio, and tickets for the Las Vegas show disappeared within seconds. Even with Slash, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler, Izzy Stradlin, Matt Sorum and Gilby Clarke out of the band, people were just happy that Axl Rose was going to play live again and they were curious to see this new lineup. It included Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson, drummer Bryan “Brain” Mantia and guitarists Robin Finck and Buckethead, who played with a mask over his face and a KFC bucket on top of his head.

Contrary to much speculation, the Axl Rose who emerged from the shadows for these shows wasn’t bald or fat. He stormed onstage at Rock in Rio at 2:00 a.m. in front of 190,000 screaming fans that had just sat through sets by Papa Roach and Oasis. “I know that many of you are disappointed that some of the people you came to know and love could not be with us here today,” Rose said. “Regardless of what you have heard or read, people worked very hard to do everything they could so that I could not be here today. I am as hurt and disappointed as you that unlike Oasis, we could not find a way to all get along.”

Their 25-song set opened up with “Welcome to the Jungle” (which you can watch right here) and focused largely on the groups hits, though they did preview three Chinese Democracy tracks that wouldn’t be officially released for eight years. While everybody missed the old lineup, critics were largely impressed by the show.

“About 10 minutes into their set, it became clear that the new GN’R is a rock & roll event of the sort that a lot of people (well, me, anyway) have been waiting for for a long, long time,” Kurt Loder wrote. “Where the reigning rap-metal acts of the moment — Korn and Limp Bizkit and their ilk — get over quite successfully on murk and muscle and pure sonic wallop, the new GN’R — with only one-month’s worth of rehearsal (this was their second gig) — already played with a passion and precision that’s unlikely to be matched in any other quarter anytime soon.”

They could have used this momentum to launch a world tour, but instead they disappeared until a pair of shows at the Joint in Las Vegas nearly a year later. There wouldn’t be an actual tour until the summer of 2002, and despite repeated assurances, Chinese Democracy was still a long ways away. By the time it came, the lineup of the group had already shifted around quite a bit. Like Axl says, it’s too bad they find a way to get along as well as those guys in Oasis.

GUNS N' ROSES JANUARY 14,2001
ROCK IN RIO FESTIVAL, RIO DE JANEIRO

Just as dying elephants find their secret burial grounds, aging rock stars act on instinct. Sooner or later, they go to Rio de Janeiro. So it was at the third incarnation of Brazil's Rock in Rio festival, held over two weekends in January. The enormous event featured everyone from rock superstars (Dave Matthews, R.E.M.) to Brazilian heroes (Gilberto Gil), to a crop of ancient metal legends (Rob Halford, Iron Maiden). It was officially dubbed “Rock in Rio for a Better World" because of the consciousness-raising now standard at rockfests, but, as usual, the festival's most high-profile charity work was giving famous musicians a tonic for their midlife crises. James Taylor was so moved by his Brazilian reception at the first Rock in Rio in '85 that he composed a thank-you note, “It's Only a Dream in Rio." That same year, Rod Stewart actually got to turn 40 in front of a crowd of screaming teens.

Although he’s now pushing 40 himself, reclusive legend Axl Rose didn't need a handout, but by the time Guns N' Roses touched down in Rio, he was definitely looking for some Brazilian bonhomie. Two weeks earlier, he'd played his first show in more than seven years, a New Year's Eve gig at a Las Vegas arena. By most accounts, Rose rose to the occasion, but now he had to face a teeming mass of 200,000 people, many of whom were still consorting with stuffed animals during Guns' late-'80s reign. With a completely new band in tow, including former Replacements wunderkind Tommy Stinson and L.A. avant-garde guitarist Buckethead (sporting a KFC bucket headpiece in lieu of Slash’s top hat), Rose also risked alienating anyone old enough to remember the original Guns-sters.

By 2 a.m. on the night of Guns' set, the crowd was growing restless. In the spirit of hawk'n’roll, reps from major underwriter America Online spray-painted eager heads with the Brazilian flag’s green, yellow, and blue, which also happen to be the colors of AOL Brazil's corporate insignia. (This was a canny tie-in: In 1984, when Brazilians took to the streets to protest the country's military dictatorship, many protesters painted their heads with the national colors.) Suddenly, a roar went up as a helicopter appeared from the matte-black night and descended near the stage. A few anxious moments passed, then came a drum roll, a fireball, and, finally, Rose himself, in tight pants and a shiny silver shirt ripped open at the chest, wailing along to that descending guitar intro to "Welcome to the Jungle." The song wasn't even halfway over before the first bikini top came off.

For the most part, the repertoire was as familiar as Christmas carols: "Mr. Brownstone,” "Sweet Child O' Mine," "November Rain," a "Paradise City" encore, all executed with soldierly precision. The audience seemed predictably underwhelmed by the sprinkling of new songs—which included the delicate “Madagascar" and a few electronica-drenched experiments—but lit up when guitarist Robin Finck (formerly of Nine Inch Nails) delivered a funky solo rendition of Tim Maia's "Sossego,” a Brazilian favorite. "We've done one show, and already we’ve been criticized for playing all the old songs," Rose announced at one point. “But I never intended to play you something you wouldn’t enjoy!” There were a few more windy disclaimers about his former bandmates ("fuck them!"), some jabs at local rock critics (by name!), and a discourse on the travails of reinventing Guns N' Roses.

The band may be different, but after all the great rumors about Rose’s appearance (obesity, gray hair, no hair), it was a little anticlimactic to discover that he looked basically the same, right down to the carrot-colored mane. He appeared a bit zaftig, but not flabby, and tore about the stage like he was still being chased by the same demons these many years later. His voice was in fine form, sometimes a caterwauling threat to the inner ear and FCC standards, sometimes a sweet, weightless falsetto. When he sat down at the piano to play "November Rain,” he was the gentlest of balladeers.

It's hard to say which Axl will appear most on Chinese Democracy, the new Guns album supposedly due this summer. (Its release has been postponed for almost as long as China has occupied Tibet.) For now, Rose was content to bask in the healing afterglow of Rio. Though he’s supposedly sworn off the illicit portion of the periodic table, he put a big dent in his hotel's tequila supply while holding court among fans in a postconcert bender. Not to worry, though. To paraphrase James Taylor (who, of course, also performed this year), it was only a drink in Rio.

MAC MARGOLIS

MAC MARGOLIS
Writer, Live, page 54

No appetite for exhaustion “I'm not a connoisseur of Guns N’ Roses music, but it was such an emotional show, and it was incredible to see the fans respond. It had been a long day, and the band didn't go on until 2 a.m., but the crowd picked up right away and just went wild. It surprised me a little, because most of them seemed too young to remember the last time Guns came around."

Tough job! Margolis is a Brazil correspondent for Newsweek and lives in Rio de Janeiro.

Blackstar wrote:Review in Rolling Stone, March 1, 2001:

Axl Ignites Rio Festival

Guns n’ Roses triumphs, Britney stumbles at seven-day Rock in Rio Festival

By MARK BINELLI

[...]

The band finally took the stage at around 2 A.M., with pyrotechnics and the long-missed opening riffs of “Welcome to the Jungle.” Temperamentally, Rose did not disappoint. After the first song, he had security remove a kid in the front holding up a FUCK GUNS N’ ROSES T-shirt. (Hey, the First Amendment only applies on U.S. soil.)

[...]

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-live-reviews/axl-ignites-rio-festival-193115/