2002.11.25 - Nationwide Arena, Columbus, USA

ROSE'S FREAK SHOW COMING TO TOWN

Compiled by Aaron Beck, Jerry Dannemiller and Curtis Schieber

* Guns N' Roses, CKY, Mixmaster Mike -- 7:30 p.m. Monday in Nationwide Arena, 200 W. Nationwide Blvd. (1-800645-2657)

Guns N' Roses 2003 is another name for Felix Cavaliere and the Rascals or any other state fair act with one holdout and a different beat. Original member Axl Rose leads this freak show. Buckethead, a guitarist whose stage gear leaves nothing to the imagination, wears a KFC bucket on his head. The drummer is named Brain. The keyboard player is Dizzy Reed. Bassist Tommy Stinson was a Replacement, and guitarist Richard Fortus played sessions for 'N Sync.

The tour's scheduled debut show in Vancouver, British Columbia, was a bust. Rose was late, making the promoter and the arena folk nervous. The show was canceled. The de facto debut show -- Tacoma, Wash. -- drew 6,000 fans and mixed reaction from reviewers.

Philadelphia metal band CKY, whose music has been featured on the MTV low-art thrill-ride Jackass, will perform first, followed by a set by daredevil DJ Mixmaster Mike.

CKY drummer Jess Margera, phoning last week from Fargo, N.D., said the band received the call to open the tour during a two-day drive from a Tony Hawk skateboard/rock festival in Detroit to a club gig in San Diego.

"We were 400 miles from San Diego when they told us to drive to Vancouver," Margera said. "We got there that night at 6:30, loaded in, sound checked, and we were hanging out in the dressing room when we heard the message over the speaker system: 'The show has been canceled.'

"It would have been horrible, but we got some great footage of broken windows and crap."

CKY had played four shows before Margera called. He said Axl Rose "is a gentleman."

"We've been hanging out with (Guns N' Roses) at the after-parties," Margera said. "They're great guys. Everybody tells these horror stories about Axl, but he's as nice as can be to us."

Tickets cost $31 to $56 at Ticketmaster and the arena box office.

Guns N' Roses now just a cover band

By John Benson
News Journal correspondent

In case you haven’t heard, Guns N’ Roses is coming to Cleveland on Sunday at Gund Arena and Columbus on Monday at Nationwide Arena, but the November rain won’t be the same. The name of the band playing that night might as well be Hired Guns N’ Axl Rose, considering the estranged lead singer is the only original gunner from the band’s late ’80s to early ’90s heyday.

And a Guns ‘N Roses without the shirtless guitar solos of top-hat-wearing guitarist Slash (known to flawlessly jump off an 8-foot-tall wall of speakers mid solo), the thunderous beats of drummer Matt Sorum, the childish antics of bassist Duff McKagan and the stage indifference of guitarist Izzy Stradlin is a Guns N’ Roses waste of time.

While some bands continue on despite a change in personnel, this outfit bears little resemblance to the potent lineup that once redefined rock ’n’ roll debauchery with its hard rock strut and punk-like ethic. Sure, Axl’s sway and swagger remain — his winded MTV Awards Show performance last summer underwhelmed at best — but it’s like calling Mick Jagger’s solo transgressions the Rolling Stones.

It's a shame when considering what could have been. Unlike most of the other hair metal acts of the spandex age, Guns N’ Roses had the tunes and the credibility to back up their antics. Perhaps there is no better debut album ever than “Appetite For Destruction” or double album set than the “Use Your Illusion” series, but, more importantly, the band’s party image backed up their ego-fueled music and vice versa. Drugs, booze and women were currency, and the boys traded heavily. Stories and rumors swirled regarding their legendary escapades.

The best tale involves bassist McKagan, whom some say passed out in a hotel elevator for the entire evening. Now that’s rock ’n’ roll, where the future is uncertain and your floor is always near. Just imagine those lucky few who shared a ride up or down with the rock star (no room for luggage, please).

As for Rose, he could do no wrong despite his homophobic lyrics and legal problems. Today that role belongs to Eminem. Interestingly, nearly a decade apart, both Rose and Eminem used a duet with Elton John to quash talk of gay bashing (Rose sang with John at the 1992 Freddie Mercury tribute concert while Eminem joined John on stage at the 2001 Grammy Awards). At the very least, it’s nice to know Eminem has an older brother of sorts with whom to consult and compare notes. Although, Rose may not be answering the phone. Somehow along GNR’s skyrocket ride, the night train became derailed as Rose’s megalomania — a precondition of sorts for insanely financially successful frontman — came to the forefront with the lead singer firing the members of GNR. It makes you wonder whether Rose was living a little too close to the paranoid message of such GNR songs as “Out To Get Me” and “You’re Crazy.”

Today, Guns N’ Roses features a guy with a Kentucky Fried Chicken bucket on his head — aptly named Bucket-head — along with former Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson, former Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck and a few other nondescript players. Supposedly, Axl has written a new album titled “Chinese Democracy,” however, fans have been waiting nearly five years for the disc to see the light of day. As for the tour — the band’s first in a decade — fans can expect to hear a few new times, but the group relies heavily on the classic GNR material (which is good) to make up its set From what reviewers on this tour have said, the new guys can replicate the old-school GNR sound precisely. Maybe Mr. Rose saw David Lee Roth’s Van Halen cover band this past summer and decided he could do the same (sans hair plugs)?

What Rose doesn’t see is Slash is Keith Richards to his Mick Jagger and without each other, Guns N’ Roses doesn’t truly exist. So, if you decide to make your way down to Paradise City (ie. Gund or Nationwide arenas) this Sunday night, just be prepared to see the most overrated cover band in the world today and remember: The jungle never looked so scary.

WHETTING YOUR APPETITE

Guns ’N’ Roses brings new lineup, new material to Columbus

The great rock bands of the past 20 years are very much like villains in hit movie franchises. They just never die.

Hard rock powerhouse Guns ’N’ Roses is the latest band to rise from the ashes and embark on a new tour. Guns ’N’ Roses is coming to Columbus to appear at Nationwide Arena at 7:30 p.m. Monday. The tour celebrates the band’s highly anticipated, upcoming album “Chinese Democracy,” and continues through 2003.

The Chinese Democracy Tour began, appropriately enough, in Hong Kong earlier this fall - a city that, until recently, was free from communist China. (After decades of British control, Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997.) Guns ’N’ Roses appeared at six concert dates in China, Japan, Europe and the U.K., playing to sold-out audiences.

However, if was the first stop on the band’s North American leg of the Chinese Democracy Tour that really made headlines. The tour kicked off in Vancouver, British Columbia earlier this month (Nov. 8), but band frontman Axl Rose failed to show up due to airplane problems in California. When the lead singer did not appear, Vancouver fans rioted, throwing rocks at police and security guards as well as smashing windows in the venue arena. Due to the fans’ sudden appetite for destruction, promoters canceled the show.

Who says Canada is more passive than the U.S.?

Many of us remember Guns ’N’ Roses when it landed in the music scene in 1985 with an intense, hardcore brand of rock. Causing more controversy than most bands since the Sex Pistols, Guns ’N’ Roses’ lead singer Axl Rose and guitarist Slash became the poster children for the bad boys of rock and roll.

Before even cutting a full album, Guns ’N’ Roses was making a name for itself with LA. club performances and a four-song EP, “Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide." This quickly lead to the band signing with Geffen Records and releasing its debut album, “Appetite for Destruction” in 1987, featuring the hit singles “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Paradise City.”

For the next six years, Guns ’N’ Roses released three more albums and toured nationally until unrest within put the band on indefinite hiatus. Now the band is back with a new album coming out soon and its first tour in nine years.

This new world tour brings the new band together (with a couple new faces) with Axl Rose still at the helm. Joining Guns ’N’ Roses on stage will be CKY and Mix Master Mike.

Guns ’N’ Roses will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Nationwide Arena. Tickets are $56, $41 and $31 and can be purchased at the Nationwide Arena Ticket Office, at all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at (614) 431-3600. Tickets are also available at the Blue Jackets Zones located at the Chillers in Dublin and Easton.

For more information on Guns ’N’ Roses, visit the band’s web page at www.gnronline.com.

By KEVIN CARR
For Let’s GO!

FANS FEW, BUT SHOW STILL ROCKS

Aaron Beck
Columbus Dispatch

Fewer than 6,000 people visited Nationwide Arena on Monday night to see the 2002 version of Guns N' Roses, which includes one original member: Axl Rose.

Once the lights went down, however, the underattended show could have been taking place in a filled Brazilian soccer stadium.

A production that probably made the Columbus power grid dim, a batch of oldies (the band played the bulk of Appetite for Destruction) and the anticipation by a crowd that had waited more than a decade -- and more than an hour between Mixmaster Mike and the time Guns N' Roses took the stage -- all fueled the buzzing mood.

Welcome to the Jungle, a natural opener, was flat. The volume was uncharacteristically low for an arena-rock show. Rose's voice sounded wrecked. The mix was muddy.

But starting with song two, It's So Easy, the six-man band didn't let up until two hours later (12:10 a.m.) with the encore, Paradise City.

When he wasn't playing Elton John at a black grand piano (November Rain), Rose ran the sprawling stage all night. His screeching voice was strong throughout.

Rose, a 40-year-old Hoosier, was dressed in baggy tracks pants, white athletic shoes -- as blinding as his severely bleached teeth -- and a series of oversize Buckeyes and Blue Jackets jerseys. His shoulder-length braids and un-rocklike gold rings on his fingers fit in perfectly with today's Guns N' Roses, a group of eccentrics.

Guitarist Slash used to be a fan favorite, but if mascots are what people crave, they don't have to look any further than one of the three guitarists.

The man with an upside-down KFC bucket on his head and a white, expressionless mask on his face, Buckethead, plays guitar a la the Eddie Van Halen school of inventive, classical metal. His solo consisted of demonstrating nunchakus and break dancing, playing pieces of the Star Wars theme and Old MacDonald and tossing action figures into the crowd. Basically, he screwed around for a few minutes.
His intricate picking suggested that soloing during Sweet Child o' Mine (a show highlight) does not worry him. Frank Zappa would have loved it.

Rose seemed to get a kick out of the guy and the rest of the band, which also includes occasional Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck, 'N Sync session guitarist Richard Fortus, former Primus drummer Brain, former Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson and keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Chris Pittman. The new lineup sounds tight, and watching them play made one realize: This ain't no state fair version throwing something together to pay the rent.

The band played three new songs. Two were sprawling power-ballad types on par with November Rain. There was no sign of the industrial rock route Rose took to record the one song the band has released in 10 years, Oh My God. Perhaps the tunes are from Chinese Democracy, the album Rose says will come out next year (uh-huh).

Rose and company knew the people came for the hits, and the group did a nice job of not bogging down the show with unfamiliar music. The evening was expertly paced and without lulls. Sure, the 2002 version isn't as drunk, sleazy and reckless as the Izzy-Slash-Duff-Axl-Adler combo that started this whole thing in '85, but, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back Guns N' Roses.

Axl's back, singing like he never left, but Gunners, 'tude are new

David Lindquist

COLUMBUS, OHIO - When Axl Rose sang, “I wanna see how good it can be," during a show-closing rendition of “Paradise City” Monday night, it sounded like a vow and not a wish.

After years on the shelf, the mercurial rock rebel seems to have discovered manners as well as the benefits of positive behavior.

In terms of punctuality, Guns N’ Roses arrived onstage at Nationwide Arena 40 minutes late.

This leaves room for improvement, but it also beats the band’s old routine of 90-minute delays.

Sincere with a compliment, Rose saluted the hometown team by wearing an Ohio State football jersey. During the “Live and Let Die” line, “When you’ve got a job to do, you’ve got to do it well,” he tugged at the shirt for emphasis.

Self-mocking humor

The Lafayette, Ind., native even displayed a sense of humor. He teased the audience about the riots following Saturday’s OSU-Michigan game, implying a connection to a Vancouver crowd that revolted when Rose didn’t make it to a Nov. 7 show in time.

The singer recalled a TV report of the Columbus mayhem: “I said, ‘What day is it? Am I late already?’ ”

So, in contrast to a past in which Rose advertised Charles Manson on his chest and told audiences that his native state of Indiana was Auschwitz revisited, here was a cuddly mascot decked out in sportswear, a platinum cross around his neck and long braids on his head. And these non-menacing braids are more suggestive of Mogwai than Gremlins.

The old rough-and-tumble, metal-punk gang — namely Slash, Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagen — doesn’t roll with Rose anymore.

In their place are visual misfits such as Robin Finck (the ex-Nine Inch Nails guitarist who favors a future freak look), Tommy Stinson (the ex-Replacement bass player who stays true to his plaid slacks) and Buckethead (the bizarro guitarist who wears KFC head-gear and a white kabuki mask).

What the current Gunners lack in wardrobe consistency, they make up in sonic power. This is a full-throttle rock show mighty enough to erase Rose’s out-of-breath fumbling at this fall’s MTV Video Music Awards.

The program wisely included nine songs from 1987's “Appetite for Destruction,” the hostile masterpiece that changed the face of metal.

From the sprawling and unfocused “Use Your Illusion” project of 1991, Rose selected only “November Rain” and two covers — Paul McCartney’s “Live and Let Die” and Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”

As the 40-year-old aced every vocal challenge in the two-hour show, his hints of stability entrenched themselves as the real deal. But what good is Axl without a reckless rant and a chip on his shoulder?

Well, that guy might be right around the corner. For now, level-headed humility is a winning strategy for reintroduction.

Album preview

Guns N’ Roses previewed two songs from its long-awaited “Chinese Democracy” album, which may or may not be in stores next spring.

The title track unfurled as a multi-phase experiment in the mode of “November Rain” and “Live and Let Die.”

Fans and industry observers already are buzzing about “Madagascar,” an “It’s-my-life" statement offset by a civil-rights subtext. From spitting hate on 1988’s “One in a Million” to now sampling the words of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Rose has come a long way.

It’s unclear why he skipped Indianapolis on his return-from-exile tour.

The Columbus show attracted a modest audience of 6,000 or so. You’ve got to believe Rose’s fellow Hoosiers, if given the chance, would surpass that level of support.

RIOTOUS IRONY

Last month, lead singer Axl Rose arrived late for his first U.S. concert with Guns N' Roses in almost a decade. Fans vandalized the arena, ending another show before it began.

"So, OK, all right, you have some explaining to do," Rose said during a concert last week in Nationwide Arena -- after all the violence on N. High Street. "I need to know: A riot? I mean, come on -- a riot? I've never, ever, ever been involved in such behavior. Shame on you.

"I saw it on TV, and I said, 'Hey, am I late already?' "

-- Aaron Beck