2002.11.21 - The Palace Of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, USA

Axl Rose fronts flamboyant comeback for Guns N' Roses

By Wendy Case

As far as career strategies go, Axl Rose, frontman for Los Angeles-based rock icons Guns N' Roses, has it nailed: Put out a huge debut album, make gigantic waves in the press, marry Hollywood desireables, get arrested, disappear for 10 years, become the most famous recluse in rock 'n' roll and then re-emerge with a new band that includes a guitar player who wears a KFC bucket on his head.

It may not be how the Beatles did it, but it works for Axl Rose.

More freak show than traditional rock tour, demand to see the new Guns N' Roses is so high that fans rioted in Vancouver when Rose failed to show for the kickoff date. Detroit needn't fret though everything looks like a go for the boys' show at the Palace of Auburn Hills Thursday.

Guns N' Roses
7:30 p.m. Thursday
Palace of Auburn Hills, 2 Championship Drive
Tickets $37.50-$62.50
Call (248) 645-6666

Guns N' Roses takes stage but not audience

Guns N’ Roses
★ ★ out of 4 stars
Thursday
Palace of Auburn Hills

Axl and friends sound nothing like the past

Bv BRIAN McCOLLUM
FREE PRESS POP MUSIC CRITIC

Ten years is a long time to disappear in rock ’n’ roll. Expectations mount, doubts start to simmer.

That’s the spot occupied by Axl Rose Thursday night as he headed into the Palace of Auburn Hills, where 10,000 fans gathered for the latest stop on the first Guns N’ Roses tour in a decade.

Of course, purists will tell you that wasn’t GNR who took the Palace stage in traditionally tardy fashion (the show started after 10:30. p.m.). The band that once stood behind the writhing Rose -Slash, Izzy Stradlin and the rest -have long parted ways with their mercurial front man.

On paper, the new Axl N’ Friends lineup is solid, with prominent players including former Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson and freako guitarist Buckethead. In a big way, the success of a GNR show in 2002 rests firmly on Axl Rose and his larynx.

Rose’s vocals showed glimpses of promise early, punctuating “Welcome to the Jungle” with familiar primal shrieks and summoning a throaty growl for “Mr. Brownstone.” But as the night moved on, his 40-year-old voice got away from him too often, and on songs like “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” and “Think About You” Rose was reduced to a slippery caterwaul.

Axl, sporting a Red Wings jersey, wasn’t short of energy, frequently dashing to the wings of the stage and taking full advantage of the tiered stage. He slowed down just once, to park at a center stage piano for the lighter-invoking ballad “November Rain.”

Buckethead led a three-guitar attack with effortlessly lithe licks that occasionally got lost amid the band’s ample wall of sound. Thursday night’s ensemble, in fact, was far more technically smooth than the original GNR cast could ever hope to be.

But that was part of the problem. For all the tight recreations offered up on a night fully stocked with greatest hits — “Sweet Child O’ Mine," “Paradise City,” “Rocket Queen” — it was easy to notice what was missing. The Guns N’ Roses name bears a rich legacy: scrappy, unpredictable, explosive, soulful. None of those adjectives applied to Thursday’s performance, which often felt like a proficient GNR tribute helmed by a guy who reminded everyone of Axl Rose.

Rose's early exit doesn't dampen show

By Christina Fuoco
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

AUBURN HILLS - As the mixture of November snow and rain fell outside The Palace of Auburn Hills Thursday night, tempermental Guns N' Roses' frontman Axl Rose did little to let down the small collection of fans gathered for his band's first area concert in nearly 10 years.

In true Rose-like fashion, the braided singer hit the stage nearly an hour late at 10:30 p.m. - and left early in apparent frustration over skipping part of a verse in "Patience." He showed little of that virtue by slamming down his mike and saying "good night" before playing "Paradise City" (the scheduled closer), "My Michelle" and "Night Train," among other songs listed on the set list provided by Palace officials.
The night, which featured openers CKY and Beastie Boys' DJ Mixmaster Mike, was hit and miss. Muddy sound and Rose's seeming unwillingness to accentuate properly led to a lackluster set aurally, but the energy on stage was irreplaceable.

Guitarists Robin Finck (of Nine Inch Nails) and Richard Fortus (of Love Spit Love and the Psychedelic Furs) as well as bassist Tommy Stinson, formerly of the Replacements, utilized the entire two-story stage. Teleprompters anchored each of the two ramps.

Third guitarist Buckethead, a white face-masked, cloaked mystery man who wears a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket as a hat, coolly strolled around the stage during the 80-minute show. His introduction by Rose yielded a chorus of boos and T-shirts in support of former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash. The negative reaction turned to laughs when Buckethead pulled out of his bag of tricks, a Colonel Sanders bobblehead.

Guns N' Roses' uber band was filled out by ex-Primus drummer Brian "Brain" Mantia and keyboardist Dizzy Reed, Rose's only longtime remaining bandmate. Rose spoke little to the audience, swapping a Detroit Red Wings Brett Hull jersey for Ben Wallace Detroit Pistons top.

The show, which opened with the Guns N' Roses' hit "Welcome to the Jungle," was heavy on material from "Use Your Illusion I" and "Use Your Illusion II," both released in 1991. "Matrix"-like video and loads of pyrotechnics accompanied the hits "You Could Be Mine" and "November Rain."

However, the band tossed in "Madagascar," a song from the forthcoming "Chinese Democracy" album performed on the recent MTV Video Music Awards show.

With Rose's lack of patience in check, it's good to see that Guns N' Roses hasn't changed much during its 10-year absence.