2007.06.13 - Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide, Australia

No Rose without a few thorns

Concert Review
By MATT DEIGHTON

GUNS 'N' ROSES: Entertainment Centre, Wednesday, June 13.

THE Axl Rose Experience did a more-than-credible job of recreating some of the definitive songs of the past two decades at last week's gig.

To his credit, Rose has compiled a group of powerhouse musicians to tour the globe under the moniker (or more precisely misnomer) of Guns 'n' Roses.

As glorified tribute bands go these guys were exceptional, performing CD quality versions of some of the definitive songs of the past 20 years, namely Welcome to the Jungle, Mr Brownstone, It's So Easy, Paradise City, Night Train and, of course, Sweet Child O' Mine.

But they really came into their own when moving away from the GnR back catalogue, the highlights a brilliant duet by guitarists Robin Finck and Richard Fortus, which morphed from the Stones' Beast of Burden into Bob Marley's Redemption Song, and an instrumental version of Don't Cry by Eddie Van Halen clone Ron Thal.

Alas, this concert was always going to be a tad hollow for diehard GnR fans - a bit like seeing the Stones without Keef, the Beatles without John, Accadacca without Angus.

But that should not diminish the sheer power of the experience, the timelessness of the songs and the incredible stage presence of Rose.

The show was a belter, right up there with Velvet Revolver at the Thebbie in `04. But it left this reviewer with a slightly bitter aftertaste: What might have been had all the egos, drugs, booze and general stupidity not killed such a great band in its prime?

[...]

However, the parties are certainly not as wild as they used to be. Photographer Simon Cross, who was invited up to Rose's suite after the Adelaide concert, said the frontman, now 45, and the rest of the band behaved themselves impeccably.

There were trolley loads of beer and spirits, but no sign of illegal substances and fruit platters had replaced the "selection of men's magazines, Playboy and Penthouse" that previous tour contracts stipulated had to be available in the dressing room.

[...]

Simon Cross, a photographer for The Sunday Mail, will never forget the night he spent partying with rock n' roll legends Guns N' Roses after their show in Adelaide, June 13th.

This is his story written down by colleague Elissa Lawrence:

It was about 1.30am on Thursday and I was hanging out in front of the Hyatt Hotel hoping to snap a photo of their frontman Axl Rose as he arrived back from their show at the Entertainment Centre. As the band's car rolled up and the door opened, out stepped the rock legend and I caught a few frames, not believing my luck. Little was I to know, my luck was only just beginning.

A few minutes after the band had gone upstairs, their publicist re-emerged and asked if I wanted to get a better shot of Axl and the other band members later on. I agreed and she tool me into the hotel, sat me down at the bar and organised a bar tab.

About half an hour later, she came back and said to put my camera away and just come up to the penthouse and mingle for a little bit. When I first walked in, there were about 10 people but about an hour later, there were about 30. There were three trolleys of spirits on offer, two large eskys of beer, including South Australian brew Coopers, and a tray of Red Bulls.

Axl was still in the shower and the rest of the band were just arriving. They were really quite nice, coming up and saying hello. And they were turning down the lights, trying to get the right ambience, to set the mood. One of the guitarists was sitting at the piano quietly playing and singing Elton John and Beatles songs. It wasn't exactly what you'd expect.

When Axl came in, his publicist came and introduced him to me. I've got to admit, I was pretty nervous. I've heard stories of Axl breaking cameras and beating up photographers. I had no idea what to expect. But he was very easygoing. I didn't feel out of place at all. It was just like going to a mate's place for a few drinks. I was certainly made to feel welcome.

He talked about how he loves wallabies. He said you can buy them in the States and he has owned a few of them as pets. I suggested he get a kangaroo but he said they were just too big. He was also discussing wombats and seemed to like all Australian animals. Axl always had a drink in his hand but he wasn't out of control. He had a lot of energy and just seemed happy. He was going around talking to everyone, mingling, having a laugh.

The band said they had never seen Axl this happy after a concert before. The thing that really stuck with me was talking with him while he sat there and casually played the piano. He wasn't playing anything in particular but it was all pretty laid-back. He also talked about his cigar collection. He was just being a really nice guy. I was therefore almost four hours before they left for the airport to fly out.

I didn't really want to press them before that and they just wanted me to become comfortable with them before getting the photos. I snapped off a few shots but I didn't want to push it by asking for a photograph of Axl with me. Apparently someone had asked for his autograph during the night and he said he didn't like doing that sort of thing. I didn't want to spoil it.

And then they were in their car and off to the airport. It was a weird turn of events. I would have put Axl in the top 10 celebrities that I was never going to meet. So to meet him, talk to him and be at his party was pretty exciting.

It was a bizarre night but very much a night to remember.

Gunners blast Ent Centre

By DANIELLE O'DONOHUE

8,000 Guns 'n' Roses fans crammed the Entertainment Centre last night and they loved every minute of it.

Welcome to the Jungle was the frenetic opener complete with pyrotechnics and an energetic Axl Rose prowling around the stage.

Though it's hard to say whether it really is Gun 'n' Roses without Slash and Duff, the new version is a pretty good replacement.

Guitarists and Slash stand-ins - yes, he needs three - Robin Finck, Ron Thal and Richard Fortus proved they could shred with epic solos, bass player and former Replacement Tommy Stinson brought a touch of alternative underground cool to proceedings and original member Dizzy Reed held the crowd captivated during a stunning rendition of the Rolling Stones' Angie played at the front of the stage on a grand piano.

But the cheering fans didn't come for the band. It was Axl they all wanted to see and despite a reputation as an inconsistent performer, the legendary frontman was up to the task, high-kicking, running around and dissing the venue the band played in Perth on Sunday night.

Though the voice isn't as sharp as it used to be, the cornrows look ridiculous and Axl isn't the lanky rocker he once was, he showed on songs such as November Rain, he's still got the star quality that made GnR the biggest rock band of the `80s.

Several new songs were spread throughout the set including Better - the new song most fans would recognise from the internet and though the new material was met with polite appreciation, there was a few promising moments to suggest the 13 years Axl has been working on Chinese Democracy might not have been entirely wasted.

Support act and former Skid Row singer Sebastian Bach was invited onstage to sing a fiery My Michelle, in a moment that was straight out of 1987, not 2007.

The thrilling finale, Paradise City almost had Axl's vocals overwhelmed by the monster sound coming from the seven piece band.

Fireworks and red ticker tape sprayed out over the audience, before the band returned to give the crowd a final round of "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi."

Earlier in the night, Bach and Rose Tattoo were given the task of warming up the crowd.

A veteran of Australian hard rock, Angry Anderson proved he could still rock a stadium running through favourites from We Can't Be Beaten to Bad Boy For Life.

Whlie Bach set the pace with a high-energy set that was all about leather pants, long hair and metal riffs.

Bach last played in Australia in 1990 and he was clearly enjoying this return visit, declaring, 'I've been waiting 17 years to say Adelaide, here I am,' before launching into the Skid Row classic. But the Bach highlight had to be when he intro-ed his former band's acoustic hit, I Remember You. 'I've been waiting all night to say, Adelaide, Australia, I remember you'.