2016.07.14 - Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, PA, USA

Soulmonster wrote:Anyone got the Sorry video?

Guns N' Roses makes a welcome return to Philly

by By Dan DeLuca, MUSIC CRITIC

Axl Rose appreciates your patronage, but would find it perfectly reasonable if you had given up on him by now.

"Thank you so much for coming," the still-snake-dancing 54-year-old redheaded Guns N' Roses singer said to a Lincoln Financial Field full of fans Thursday night near the start of the hard-rock band's first Philadelphia show in more than 20 years with its "classic lineup." "I would have understood if you didn't."

Rose's empathy with the exasperation of his long-suffering fans was understandable as well. After a half-decade run - from 1987's Appetite for Destruction to 1993's cover collection The Spaghetti Incident? - the Los Angeles band married metal-edged energy with Stonesy swagger and, before they were swallowed up by their own excesses, were one of the most popular bands in the world.

Since then, not much. The 2008 album Chinese Democracy is underrated in retrospect, but it was rejected at the time by fans who correctly considered it to be the work of Axl Rose and a bunch of guys, rather than the genuine GN'R article.

In 2012, when Rose was asked whether the band's key players would ever make amends and get back together, he curtly replied: "Not in this lifetime."

But "never" never means "never" in the rock-and-roll reunion business. And four years on, here we are, with Rose, bass player Duff McKagan, and more crucially musically and visually, stovepipe-hat-wearing guitarist Slash, all buddying up to one another once again in what, naturally, has been branded the #NotInThisLifetime tour.

(And a stadium tour apparently isn't quite enough of a load for the formerly indolent Rose as he's gone back to work this summer. He'll be back in Philadelphia on Sept. 20 as a fill-in singer for AC/DC when the Australian band plays the Wells Fargo Center.)

On a South Philly night so sweltering that everyone would have welcomed a cold "November Rain" - the title of a grandiose Use Your Illusion epic the band got around to (complete with a "Layla" piano intro) toward the end of a two-hour-plus set - Rose performed with a level of professionalism that his younger self might not have recognized.

He's not capable of the screeching-cat vocal power that he had in his prime, and in his matador hat, ripped jeans, and dangling silver crucifixes, he's beginning to look like a Sunset Strip-rocker version of celebrity chef Mario Batali.

But Rose appeared punctually, instantly bettering the infamous no-show incident that caused a near riot when he blew off an arena show in South Philly in 2002, and sang in tune.  And with Slash joined by second lead player Richard Fortus, he moved around remarkably well considering he broke his foot in April and led the way through a career-spanning set that sounded undistinguished and sludgy at the start (when his lower register vocals were barely audible) but gathered force as the evening wore on.

In the band that included drummer Frank Ferrer and two keyboard players in longtime GN'Rer Dizzy Reed and newbie Melissa Reese, Slash (real name: Saul Hudson) took prominence. Long-lost guitarist and unheralded songwriter Izzy Stradlin, who is not on board with the reunion, is much missed.

But it's the interplay between Rose and Slash that people who've spent 20 years watching bad cover bands try their hands at "Welcome to the Jungle" came to see. And Slash, for his part, did not disappoint, playing by turns fiery and lyrical leads all night long. He cranked it up on a cover of Wings' "Live And Let Die" (sorry, not equal to the version Paul McCartney played across the street at Citizens Bank Park two nights before), teamed with Fortus on a crowd-pleasing guitar duet on Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" and delivered a particularly enjoyable segue from "Speak Softly, Love (Love Theme From The Godfather)" into a sweeping and soaring "Sweet Child O' Mine."

Guns N’ Roses Sucked or Was Awesome, Depending On Who You Ask
And other thoughts from the performance in Philadelphia.

By Victor Fiorillo

I told my editor that I would go down to Lincoln Financial Field and write a Guns N’ Roses review. So last night, I sweated my face off with the tens of thousands of other fans, voyeurs, and children of the 80s (and their children) as Axl Rose, Slash, Duff and some hired guns brought the Guns N’ Roses Not in this Lifetime Tour to Philadelphia.

This isn’t so much a formal Guns N’ Roses review, because what fun is that, especially when Dan DeLuca over at the Inquirer published his expedited Guns N’ Roses review at midnight. (You can read it here.) If you were at the show, feel free to put your review in the comments below.

They Actually Started On Time!

In their previous life, Guns N’ Roses was almost always famously late. Like, really late. But the last time I went to a Guns N’ Roses concert in Philadelphia, Axl never even bothered to, you know, show up, and a bona fide riot ensued.

Fourteen years later, the band didn’t just show up, they actually started on time, strutting out with “It’s So Easy” just after 9:45 p.m. (as seen above), the time the tour said they’d go on. Guess they felt they had some making up to do. That, or the promoter put a $10,000-per-minute fine in Axl’s contract.

Stop Body Shaming Axl Rose!

The number of people going on and on about how Axl Rose has gained weight or how he huffs and puffs around the stage and takes frequent breaks, presumably for water and maybe an oxygen mask, is disconcerting.

Dude is 54 years old and looks better or the same as most of the guys in his age bracket who were at the show last night. Try saying that Beyonce gained a little baby fat, and you’re shut down for body shaming, but it’s OK to make fun of Axl Rose’s weight gain?

Drunk + Heat + Crowds = Not Good

Seriously, was there anyone at the Guns N’ Roses show that wasn’t completely inebriated? People were pretty clearly trying to relive their 20s, and it didn’t appear to be going well based on the number of middle agers I saw getting sick or on the verge of it.

One woman fell down drunk and pooped her pants, and that was within the first hour of the show. Excessive drinking, excessive heat, and excessive crowds are not a good combination.

Video Killed the Stadium Concert

I am envious of the Baby Boomer Generation. No, not because cars were way cooler back then or because you could go to airports without taking your shoes off, but because it must have been a much, much more enjoyable experience going to a concert when video wasn’t so much a part of our lives.

Unless you were in the pit or maybe the first 20 rows on the floor of the Guns N’ Roses concert — a very, very small percentage of the audience that the massive stadium held — your eyes were on the big video screens the whole night. Or, they were on your phone that was pointed at the big video screens. Or your view of the stage was obstructed by a sea of people in front of you with their glowing phones pointed at the big video screens.

And it’s not like the sound was great (it was downright awful in some sections), so suddenly the idea of paying $20 or $30 or even $50 for a simulcasted concert in a movie theater doesn’t seem like such a terrible idea, assuming there’s beer.

No, I Will Not Sit Down

Just as the first lull in the concert began — and it wasn’t really much of a lull — some aging ex-rockers started to sit down, including the guy behind me who asked me to do the same and then got all pissy when I didn’t. It’s a Guns N’ Roses concert at the Linc, people, not an evening of Strauss waltzes at the Academy of Music. Get over it.

But Were They Any Good?

Because what good is a Guns N’ Roses review without that? DeLuca’s review was mostly positive, as have been a lot of the other newspaper reviews.

I had a bunch of friends at the show, and their opinions vary wildly. “Honestly, not that impressed,” said Casey Parker, who hosted a tequila-enhanced pre-party at his 15th Street restaurant, Jose Pistola’s. “Wasn’t as good as I wanted. By a lot.” “Wow,” says another friend, who asked that I not use his name because he wasn’t supposed to be at the show last night. “That really sucked.”

But Rich Rys, my friend and colleague at Philly Mag, couldn’t have felt more differently, and I generally agree with him. “Fantastic,” he wrote on Facebook. “Axl sounds great, Slash is Slash, and I hope I look half as good as Duff when I’m 52.” And my wife’s Northeast High School friend Nicole Kulp (go, Vikings!) concurred. “Amazing,” she told me. “If you say anything else, you are wrong.”

If you want to see for yourself, the tour continues through November, with two nights at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on July 23rd and 24th.

Review: Guns N' Roses With A Strong And Sweaty Return To Philadelphia

By Michael Cerio

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- During the days when Chinese Democracy was the supreme punchline for anything long-awaited and unfulfilled, it was impossible to imagine the scene of Slash churning through its title track – flanked by Axl Rose in front of a football field full of fans.

Yet here we are.

Twenty years after Slash and Duff McKagan left the crushing locomotive known as Guns N' Roses in that album's early stages, the three original members performed its songs alongside their iconic catalog that came before their collapse.

The group that was to never reunite "in this lifetime" thrilled Lincoln Financial Field in South Philly on Thursday night, with an on-time and tight performance for the sweaty soup bowl of devotees.

As the drums exploded on Appetite For Destruction's "It's So Easy", Axl Rose emerged – galloping across the stage in ripped jeans, and his first of several soon-to-be sweated-through black graphic t-shirts. With theatrical smizing and sass, Rose stalked the stage with a little stiffness and the grace of a Dancing With The Stars contestant entering week three. The steps were all there and his joy was palpable, but you could tell he wasn't all together comfortable yet in his new, old skin.

Then there was Slash. Near stoic and sleeveless - wearing his trademark sunglasses and top hat – Slash served as the most glowing reminder of everything that is awesome about Guns N' Roses. As the sky-high video monitors that bookended the stage focused in on the guitarist's fingers, he put on a master class. Song after song, dripping with sweat, Slash continued to raise the bar on what you can do with a guitar.

Extended intros and solos were placed throughout the set to allow Axl to swap shirts and catch a breather, but Slash remained in shimmering industrial excellence. He was a slick, sweaty statue of cool.

As the night wore on for Slash and the amazingly ageless Duff McKagan, Axl seemed to find his footing.

Rose's voice soared during "Civil War" while Slash played a double-neck guitar, and he was at ease but electric while playing the piano during "November Rain". Axl even found his snake dance during "Sweet Child O' Mine". With every new shirt came a stronger more powerful Axl Rose.

Guns N' Roses was back for a good old fashion rock show, and with them they brought a reminder of some classic cohorts. Beyond their versions of Dylan's "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" and Wings' "Live And Let Die" – which are GnR standards – the group borrowed from Pink Floyd with a dueling guitar rendition of "Wish You Were Here", and gave plenty of play to the outro from "Layla" before sliding into "November Rain". Not to mention their take on The Who's "The Seeker" during their encore.

In the early stages of Friday morning, after over two hours of memories and rock, Guns N' Roses would take the South Philly for a trip to "Paradise City". As a barrage of fireworks lit the sky, the show that was never suppose to happen "in this lifetime" came to a close and Philadelphia finally got another night with the Guns N' Roses the world deserves.

Guns N’ Roses Reunited – A Review of the 2016 “Not in this Lifetime Tour”

By Sami Al-Awadi

I had to get tickets once I first heard about the potential and possibility of a once in a lifetime event for me. It was the concert I’d waited my whole life for. Axl, Slash, and Duff together again on one stage playing through the Guns N’ Roses catalog. By the time I was old enough to even go to concerts, the seminal ‘80s hard rock combo was already a memory, and I had said for decades I would spend whatever it took to see them if and when the time came.

Two weeks ago, Sunday night, the time had come. At Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, following a stirring warm-up from Alice in Chains, “Guns” took the stage for what would be a spirited, nearly three-hour travelogue through their well-known archive of slammers, plus some deeper delves into their massive catalog, as well as a few inspired surprises.

Though the buzz in the air was extremely noticeable and people were jacked beyond belief and drunk out of their minds to see the band finally take the stage again in their final headlining tour (most likely), the extreme excitement was brought down by a venue not really apt to handle a major rock show. Confession; as a resident of New York City, I rarely make it down to Philadelphia (though it's a short train ride) and this was my first experience in Lincoln Financial Field (I’m a Cowboys fan, not an Eagles fan), but this stadium really was meant for football and not a hard rock show. Unless you were in the pit or maybe the first 20 rows on the floor of the Guns N’ Roses concert — a very, very small percentage of the audience that the massive stadium held — your eyes were on the big video screens the whole night. Or they were on your phone that was pointed at the big video screens. Or your view of the stage was obstructed by a sea of people in front of you with their glowing phones pointed at the big video screens. Also, it’s not like the sound was great (it was downright awful in some sections), so suddenly the idea of paying $20 or $30 or even $50 for a simulcast concert in a movie theater doesn’t seem like such a terrible idea, assuming there’s beer.

However, there was no denying that the band still has a huge stage presence and the fans are loyal as hell to hear their favorite anthems.  My personal preference was to hear strictly hits from the incredible debut studio album Appetite for Destruction, GnR’s most successful CD to date. Although, I will admit after initially cringing when Axl proclaimed they were going to play a couple songs from his version of the band’s latest release Chinese Democracy, I actually enjoyed the two singles they played off that record. The anthology of great songs and albums are well represented and the rabid fan base was well compensated hearing every great song including “Welcome to the Jungle”, “Paradise City”, “November Rain”, and “Sweet Child O’ Mine”.

One thing was clear even from a young-minded fan (in respect to the band’s heyday) about the band’s personnel, and that was the idea that Axl has not aged as well as Slash. Axl needed to take a lot of breathers and pauses during the three-hour marathon. His effort was commendable, but nature has obviously taken its course with him and the constant Mick Jagger-like energy was not apparent. Slash, on the other hand, is still as sharp and effective as ever with his amazing guitar solos/riffs. Slash would often lead off every anticipated hit with an extended intro or a crowd-pleasing outro. The concert featured a quick ten-minute guitar solo that would serve as a mini intermission for the rest of the band and then lead in to the great hit, “Live and Let Die”. The crowd roared in approval and I was no different, because in my short lifetime, few guitarists can hang with Slash and the monster guitar influence he has brought to the 80’s/90’s music scene.

In closing, the band ended with an extended version of the song “Paradise City” that was capped off with a huge fireworks show that culminated over the football stadium. The crowd went nuts, the band seemed grateful, and memories were captured for all on hand. Don’t kid yourself, the following morning on the train back to NYC, I was jamming to the G N’ R catalog on my iPod ready for the work week to begin, still buzzing after the show.

Guns N' Roses' return was an explosive hard-rock triumph

By Bobby Olivier | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

PHILADELPHIA -- All was forgiven.

The hiatuses. The rumors. The no-shows. The riots. The addictions. The implosion.

Twenty-five years spent alienating of one of rock's truly gargantuan fan bases was erased Thursday night in Philadelphia, as a leonine Axl Rose howled, in his still-seething, banshee register: "DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE F*** YOU ARE?"

From center stage, Slash responded with a familiar cascade -- the pulsing, incendiary introduction to "Welcome To The Jungle."

The two rock ultra-stars were playing nice again, and no true Guns N' Roses fan would have been blamed for shedding a few tears of relief; not only because the band's current Not In This Lifetime ... Tour is the closest roadshow in two decades to the storied Sunset Strip lineup, but because the reunion was as titanic a performance as if the group had somehow remained together all this time.

Did Axl and Slash trade jokes, or brush up against one another, as they might have at a Troubadour club show from 1987? No, they were rarely within arms-length through the sweltering, two and a half-hour set.

But backed by an exceptional band, five members behind the duo that included "Appetite"-era bassist Duff McKagan and "Use Your Illusion" keyboardist Dizzy Reed, Slash and Rose each ferociously commandeered the crowd of nearly 70,000 at Lincoln Financial Field.

Heading into this tour, which hits MetLife Stadium July 23 and 24, the one great question among fans was how Rose's 54-year-old pipes would hold up, after some dubious vocal outings over the last decade (he's toured under the Guns N' Roses name since 2001).

But more hopeful news came this past spring, when Rose was asked to finish out AC/DC's world tour after singer Brian Johnson suffered hearing issues. The venerable rockers wouldn't have employed Rose if he couldn't manage their demanding set list, right?

Right. And Thursday night Rose largely kept control, triumphantly screaming through "Live and Let Die" and "Rocket Queen," his baritone traversing the lower notes with ease, though the soundboard could have turned his knob up a tad higher.

He was left most vulnerable on the sparse intro to "This I Love," off 2008's long-delayed yet critically embraced "Chinese Democracy," and with just a piano behind his vocal, he held his own. Rose was energetic, too, his hips in constant sway -- as in the old "Jungle" music video -- and often jogging around the large stage, a grungy flannel tied around his waist and a wide-brimmed fedora flopping along.

Rose had plenty of time to run around, as each song -- either through original blueprint or new extension -- allowed Slash, 50, ample space to jam.

If guitars could ignite, his shredding eminence would have burned down South Philly; it was one impossibly clean solo after another, ripped from the annals of Joe Perry and Jimmy Page and sped headlong into the steaming night, sweat pouring from those defining curls.

Beyond the Guns discography, Slash indulged further with rhythm guitarist Richard Fortus -- an epic guitarist in his own right -- on a raging duet of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here," and an amped up "Speak Softly Love" from "The Godfather."

He and McKagan even (inexplicably) took on the soaring, closing melody to Eric Clapton's "Layla," with Rose accompanying on grand piano before a transition into "November Rain."

Of course, the crowd who either hadn't seen the band in 20 years -- or never got to see them at all -- roared and sang along to everything but the lesser-known "Democracy" tracks. The greatest chants came for the band's lone Billboard No. 1 hit, "Sweet Child O' Mine," as Slash's opening riff leaped from the speakers.

Again, it was like days of old, and later, when the band wrapped with "Paradise City" and an exhausted audience headed home, it was as if the years of animosity had never existed.

Or at least it had melted away, along with all our faces.