2006.11.02 - Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, USA

Eddie Huffman wrote:Guns N' Roses coming to Winston-Salem

Guns N’ Roses, the volatile hard rock band that exploded onto the American music scene 30 years ago this summer, returns next week to a region where they played one of their most legendary concerts.

The band that created the classic rock staples “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Paradise City” and “November Rain” performs at BB&T Field Aug. 11. It will be the first major concert there in years, and the only Guns N’ Roses show this summer between Pennsylvania and Florida.

“That’s a show where most people would be going, ‘Oh, I’ve gotta go to Atlanta to see that,’ or ‘I’ve gotta go to D.C. to see that,’” said Brian Meyer, a Greensboro singer and longtime Guns N’ Roses fan. “And here it is in Winston.”

Guns N’ Roses—also known as GNR—play a mix of blistering metal and melodic, yearning rock ballads. Front man Axl Rose has a voice once described as “a power tool with attachments” by rock critic Robert Christgau. But he also has a hard time keeping his band together, and the current “Not in This Lifetime Tour” has reunited original members Slash and Duff McKagan with Rose for the first time in two decades.

The group has always had a strong appeal with young men and adolescent boys, and many of the band’s current fans weren’t born when the group played its earliest shows in the Piedmont. All of GNR’s previous appearances in the Triad were at the Greensboro Coliseum, where they opened for Motley Crue in 1987 and headlined in 1991 and 2006.

Meyer saw that 1987 performance before he heard their debut album and was leery of the hype that had GNR pegged as the new Aerosmith. Meyer sings for several tribute bands: Deconstruction, Alexis Machine and AC/DCeased, which combines zombies and AC/DC songs.

“At the time I was a huge Aerosmith fan and thought, ‘No way. This guy with the sprayed-up tall hair is not Steven Tyler. No way,’” Meyer said. “I went to see them with Motley Crue and they were pretty good, then ‘Appetite for Destruction’ came out and I was like, ‘Wow, this album’s great. Maybe I was wrong about these guys.’”

Patrick Collins saw the 2006 show, in which Rose was the only original member left in the band. Collins, a former Greensboro resident, is now an outpatient therapist who lives in Asheville. He had been obsessed with GNR as a teenager growing up in Maryland.

“Axl was the like the Mick Jagger of our generation,” Collins said.

The 2006 concert in Greensboro was solid but not spectacular, he said.

“It didn’t have the edge, but I wouldn’t say it was like a shell of the band,” Collins said. “You expected them to play Guns N’ Roses songs without the characters of Slash and Duff, and that whole energy and cohesion that they had. As long as you didn’t have your expectations high, and realized it was really ‘Axl Rose and Company,’ I think they pulled it off as well as they could.”

The concert that entered GNR lore was the 1991 show, an epic performance before the group splintered. The band came to Greensboro ahead of “Use Your Illusion” I and II, albums that were delayed in what would become a pattern for the band. Clay Howard saw back-to-back GNR shows in Charlotte and Raleigh that summer.

“Greensboro was like twice as long,” said Howard, a Kernersville resident and veteran front man for several area bands who now performs under his own name. “They were good shows, both of them. In Greensboro they played forever.”

He’s only exaggerating slightly: The band played for nearly four hours that night, taking the stage long after the opening band, Skid Row, finished its set. The crowd was as volatile as the band that night, with multiple fistfights breaking out during the lull between acts.

“That was back in the days when you could drink and smoke in the coliseum,” Meyer said. “Beers didn’t cost $9, and you go load up in the parking lot, then come in and see a show.”

He wondered what was happening backstage. The band had a reputation for heroin abuse and other extreme behavior. Original drummer Steven Adler had just been replaced by Matt Sorum. Izzy Stradlin, a founding member and rhythm guitarist who co-wrote the band’s biggest hits, would leave before the end of 1991.

“You didn’t know if somebody had OD’d in the back, or if there was a fight,” Meyer said.

Parke Puterbaugh, a veteran music journalist and author, gave the show a glowing review for the Greensboro News and Record.

“They are as electrifying as any band that has ever taken a stage,” he wrote at the time. “Quite simply, they are the heirs apparent to the rebellious rock and roll tradition of the Rolling Stones and Aerosmith — and to be honest, neither of those band has ever exuded the raw power and outright danger the Gunners summon at will.”

Tim Beeman of Winston-Salem also attended that 1991 show. He is a singer and host of multiple podcasts on The Less Desirables network. He remembers Rose promising a memorable show.

“He said, ‘We’re gonna make it up to you because we’re so late,’” Beeman said.

The band proceeded to deliver, playing songs from “Appetite” as well as every song from the then-unreleased “Use Your Illusion” I and II.

“Some of the new songs chugged along in the bluesy, boozy vein of ‘Exile on Main Street’-era Stones,” Puterbaugh wrote. “‘Bad Obsession’ featured a sinuous slide-guitar intro from Slash, while ‘Dust ’n Bones’ was sung by rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin while Rose shook a tambourine. Another new one, ‘Perfect Crime,’ was taken at a manically fast tempo; Axl Rose sang it as throttlingly hard as I’ve ever heard anyone sing.”

Beeman noted the stark contrast between the onstage personae of Slash and Rose.

Slash was “just so laid back about it,” Beeman said. “To borrow a youngster’s term now, he’s just chill. He would play his bluesy, soulful solos and let Axl run around like a chihuahua.”

Rose went through several outfit changes over the course of the show, taking the stage wearing only cycling shorts and Doc Marten boots along with his trademark head bandanna. He donned a kilt during another segment of the show, and sang some songs wearing a baseball catcher’s mask and chest protector. During the encore he wore a stopwatch around his neck.

“After the last note of the last song, he looked at the stopwatch and said, ‘Yeah,’” Meyer said. “He announced to the crowd, ‘That’s the longest we’ve ever played.”

The show’s instantly legendary status was confirmed the following day on “MTV News.” Beeman woke up to the report after a very late night at the Greensboro Coliseum. The news anchor noted that it was the first time GNR had played every song from both “Use Your Illusion” albums.

“Kurt Loder said, ‘Guns N’ Roses played an epic show in Greensboro, North Carolina, last night, blah blah blah blah blah,’” Beeman said. “I’m like, ‘Whoa, that’s us!’”

Guns N' Roses performs tonight

Nov. 2 GREENSBORO Guns N' Roses will perform at 8 p.m. today at the Greensboro Coliseum, marking the band's first appearance at the venue since 1991. Singer Axl Rose and keyboardist Dizzy Reed remain in the band, but other than that, things are much different now. Gone are guitarists Izzy Stradlin and Slash, bassist Duff McKagan and drummer Matt Sorum (the latter three have gone on to find success in Velvet Revolver). The latest incarnation of Guns N' Roses features an eight-piece outfit including Rose, Reed, guitarists Robin Finck, Richard Fortus and Ron Thal, bassist Tommy Stinson, drummer Bryan Mantia and multi-instrumentalist Chris Pitman. Tonight's show is part of the "Chinese Democracy North American Tour," according to the band's Web site. Guns N' Roses plans to release its long-awaited "Chinese Democracy" album before the end of the year. In addition to Guns N' Roses, former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach will perform, followed by Papa Roach.

According to Andrew Brown, public relations manager for the Coliseum, tickets for the show remain, and prices are $39.50, $49.50 and $75. Patrons can choose from two types of tickets: general admission standing on the arena floor, or reserved seating around the arena. Brown said the coliseum parking lot will open at 4 p.m. General admission ticket holders can begin lining up at 4:30 p.m. on the ramp/bridge of the arena. These ticket holders will be admitted onto the floor on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at 6:50 p.m. and will be issued an identification marker to assist with movement to and from the arena floor. Reserved-seat ticket holders must enter through normal admission points in the North or Plaza entrances. Disabled patrons with special needs who hold general admission tickets can call (336) 373-7400 for special seating assistance. Tickets can be purchased at the Coliseum box office, by phone at (888) 397-3100, online at tickets.com or at select Lowes Foods stores.

Minus solos, Guns N' Roses excite

By PARKE PUTERBAUGH

GREENSBORO - "Nothing lasts forever," Axl Rose sang in the big ballad "November Rain," but the Thursday night performance by hard-rock heroes Guns N' Roses sometimes seemed as if it would never come to an end.

It was after 2 a.m. when the three guitars, two keyboards, bass, drums, Rose's raw, raucous voice and assorted pyrotechnic explosions finally stopped rattling the rafters of the Greensboro Coliseum.
Someone should point out to Rose that the 1980s are over and few people - even hardcore fans - want to hang out in a drafty arena till the wee hours, especially on a weeknight.

Guns N' Roses was preceded by Sebastian Bach, the former frontman for the inferior band Skid Row, and Papa Roach, an earnest, emo-style rap-metal band who worked admirably hard to light a fire under an audience of about 6,000.

These openings acts were followed by an hour-plus wait, which gave the increasingly impatient crowd more time to drain 24-ounce beers, hoot at the occasional fist fight, holler for women to bare their breasts and howl for Guns N' Roses to take the stage.

Rose and company finally appeared at 11:40 p.m., and the preceding hassles were forgotten as Guns N' Roses launched into a hard-hitting troika of songs - "Welcome to the Jungle," "It's Not Easy" and "Mr. Brownstone" - drawn from "Appetite for Destruction," their massively popular debut album from 1987.
All eyes were on Rose, who looked healthy and sounded great, jabbing the air with cobra-quick hands and doing his snake-hipped dervish dance.

Then came a pair of covers of songs by Paul McCartney ("Live and Let Die") and Bob Dylan ("Knockin' On Heaven's Door"), the latter eliciting a rabid crowd singalong and some of Rose's most impassioned vocals.

Tight band, taut arrangements - all well and good, so far.

But the concert thereupon succumbed to erratic pacing because of less familiar material (from the interminably delayed album "Chinese Democracy") and lengthy solos.

All three guitarists took agonizingly protracted solo spots filled with noisome excess from the Spinal Tap school of metal histrionics.

Pianist Dizzy Reed did a lengthy George Winston impersonation, and even Rose milked the clock with his piano prelude to "November Rain."

More is not always more, and the show would have been better had most of this been excised.

Whereas the original Guns N' Roses had an edgy punk-metal roar, the new ensemble tended to lumber self-indulgently by comparison, especially on the solo filler.

But these days you take your kicks where you can get them, and there just aren't that many guitar-based rock bands capable of generating real excitement on the arena circuit anymore.

Watching the notoriously unpredictable Rose put on a (dare I say it) professional show - sans tantrums and complete with amiable and appreciative comments between songs - was a trip in itself.

Guns N' Roses finished much as it had begun, with a strong run of songs - "My Michelle," "You're Crazy," a knockout version of "Patience" (complete with Rose's whistling) and "Nightrain" - that woke up what was left of the crowd for a late, late drive home.

Parke Puterbaugh is a freelance contributor.

Late, loud and lovin' it: Two decades on, a November reign in Greensboro for Guns N' Roses

By David Menconi
The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C.

The last time Guns N' Roses put out a real album, 1991's double-volume "Use Your Illusion," George Bush (the first one) was president. Kurt Cobain and Tupac Shakur were both still alive and obscure. MTV actually played videos. And a sizable chunk of the people who turned out for Thursday night's Guns N' Roses' concert at the Greensboro Coliseum were in diapers or even in utero.

Fifteen years later, Guns N' Roses resembles a rock 'n' roll version of a touring Shakespeare company, with understudies filling all the roles save one. But Hamlet is still large and in charge.

That would be Axl Rose, who put on a show that was intermittently incredible, in a wax-museum kind of way. There were marks to hit and guidelines to follow, and all the actors did well.

The show was also designed to tax the audience's patience, a grueling six-hour/three-band marathon that didn't conclude until closing time, 2 a.m. As Rose sang toward the end of the set, "All we need is just a little patience."

True enough. The show featured two opening acts, both dispensable. Ex-Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach's hourlong set was thoroughly lame, bottoming out when he lectured the crowd for not showing enough enthusiasm. Turn-of-the-century hitmakers Papa Roach were a bit better but still just aggressively mediocre.

The headline set featured plenty of padding, too, including extended solo spots for all three guitarists. Mostly, those just served to remind you that none of them were Slash (currently seen in a television commercial for Volkswagen). But when they just played the songs, it was like hearing the greatest Guns N' Roses tribute band on earth which the musicians themselves seemed to realize. In a curious gesture, drummer Frank Ferrer actually put down his sticks and clapped between songs.

When the lights finally went down 75 minutes after Papa Roach left the stage and that skittery guitar riff from "Welcome to the Jungle" kicked in, it felt like the hair-band era all over again. Then the flashpots exploded, Rose appeared onstage in full bellow, and the spectacle was on.

It's easy to find clips online of Rose ranting, raving and throwing people out of his concerts. But Thursday night, he was disconcertingly polite (and wearing a cross, no less). He thanked the crowd for coming and put on a thoroughly professional two-hour-plus arena-rock show.

Rose has definitely lost some vocal power to the years, which a muddy sound mix exacerbated. Where his voice used to cut right through the roar, he was often swallowed up Thursday night. But he can still hit the notes, and he can still peel paint off the back wall when he really lets go. When Rose gathered himself and screamed the chorus of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" for the last time, it was one of those hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck-stands-up moments.

It was hard not to notice that most of the highlights came from Guns N' Roses' epochal 1987 debut, "Appetite for Destruction," one of the most durable albums the past two decades has produced. "Nightrain" and "Mr. Brownstone" were both pulverizing, "You're Crazy" worked well in a funked-up blues-rock recasting, and "Sweet Child O' Mine" remains among the most poetic songs in the power-ballad canon. "Sweet Child" would be the best yearbook inscription ever, if you could somehow get Slash's guitar solo (expertly rendered Thursday night by ex-Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck) onto a page.
There were a handful of new songs, too, from Guns N' Roses' long-in-the-works "Chinese Democracy." Now that Brian Wilson finally managed to put out a version of his Beach Boys opus "Smile," that leaves "Chinese Democracy" as the unreleased album with the most intrigue in the rock world. There are reports that it might even be out by the end of this year; but Halley's Comet is coming, too. The new songs were fine, though nothing to write home about. If nothing else, they gave the crowd a chance to catch its collective breath.

Finally came the payoff, "Paradise City." As the clock struck 2 and confetti rained down, the band revved up the outro to triple-time speed. Then they came back out and took a bow afterward.

Axl Rose, singing entertainer. Whoda thunk it?

Memorable moments from Guns N' Roses concert

By MATT WALLACE
Special to Go Triad

If you too witnessed the morose display of tassel-adorned suede jackets, or cowboy boots and chaps, or even the competitive mullet dancing, then you were probably at the Guns N' Roses show last Thursday night.

You also probably called in sick the next day.

The night started out harmlessly enough, with my older cousin, a GNR enthusiast, remarking to me, "The last time I saw Guns N' Roses live, I was 145 pounds, had a full head of hair and a back seat full of people." On this night, his back seat consisted of business documents and a kid's car seat.

When we arrived at the Greensboro Coliseum, we encountered the sanctioned scream-off:

"GNR!"

"No … Papa Roach!"

Crowds were slurring rampantly at one another.

The old philosophy of "If you can't beat 'em, then get as drunk as 'em" certainly applied here. So we headed to the $8 beer tents. After chugging a few reasonably priced beers, the night got a little hazy.
You might remember the concert differently, but here's my recollection:

* Sebastian Bach pointing at his "Youth Gone Wild" tattoo before belting out the best rendition he's ever done.
* A guy in the stall next to me saying, "Your old lady's got more burn marks on her bike tire than you."
* A petite twenty-something girl putting up a better fight than Hulk against four cops trying to drag her out.
* Papa Roach getting pelted by bras then making a run through the crowd.
* Secondhand-smoking three packs of cigarettes.
* And Axl Rose playing piano to "November Rain."

What a night.