2017.08.05 - War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock, AR. USA

Marine Glisovic wrote:Just two weeks away from Guns N' Roses concert at War Memorial Stadium

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) —

We're just two weeks away from Guns N’ Roses coming to War Memorial Stadium; it's the first major concert being held there in nearly 16 years.

Preparations will be underway in just one week when hundreds prepare the stadium for a concert versus a football game and that means covering the field to protect the turf.

They've already removed the goal posts to build the stage, which will take three days and 5,000 seats will also be brought in for field seats.

“The stage and steel will come in on August 1st and there's 18 steel trucks that come in that have to be unloaded, the stage has to be built, it's three days’ worth of building a stage,” said stadium Executive Director, Jerry Cohen.

Just recently the layout of the concert has changed, sections 4, 5, 27 and 28 are now blocked; some paid more than $200 per ticket for those seats.

Cohen tells KATV Ticketmaster will be re-ticketing some with comparable seats, but some who bought seats in sections not blocked off may have a different view of the stage.

"That was done through the Guns N’ Roses production people and the promoter which is Live Nation," said Cohen.

On Friday, Ticketmaster had tickets on sales for $30.

War Memorial Prepares to Host Guns 'N Roses

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - War Memorial Stadium is gearing up for the Guns 'N Roses concert Saturday.

Stage hands, steel workers and catering staff have been on site working every day. It's the first time in 17 years for War Memorial to host a big name concert

"Saturday night, they came in and laid the floor on the turf. They worked yesterday on odds and ends so they could start stage construction today," Jerry Cohen, Stadium Manager, said.

Cohen says it will take three days to build the stage which will be 144 feet wide and 77 feet deep. He says it is best to arrive early. Gates open at 5 p.m. Saturday and there are still tickets available at ticketmaster.com.

Amanda Jaeger wrote:Arkansas gets welcomed to the jungle Saturday as Guns N' Roses takes the stage

ITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- Fans are gearing up for the highly anticipated Guns N' Roses concert coming to War Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

THV11 spoke with fans spanning multiple generations. They all said this is going to be one of the best concerts Arkansas has ever seen.

Mark Albert has been to 17 Guns N' Roses concerts over the years. He even saw them in 1987 when they were opening for Alice Cooper in Dallas. He's gotten backstage passes and met multiple band members personally.

"Meeting them back then was cool, but now they're more mellowed out," he said. "Back then anything could happen at any time with them."

Albert said he never thought they would come to Arkansas, but he has high hopes for the upcoming show.

"Production wise and definitely ticket wise, this is one of the biggest shows to hit Arkansas for sure," he said. "You just don't get bands with the originality they have and nowadays, other bands just don't live on like this."

The band certainly has a wide fan base filled with people of all different age groups. John Walls is in his early 30s and said he's been listening to the band for 20 years.

"I know every song and I listen to them all the time," he said. "My friends think I'm crazy, my wife thinks I'm crazy, and I just don't care."

He works at an Arkansas university and said he still sees college students coming in with Guns N' Roses shirts on. He expects younger people to be at the concert at War Memorial just like they were at the Guns N' Roses concert he attended just last week in St. Louis.

"My wife had gotten me the concert tickets for St. Louis and I was so excited because I had never seen them and it was a bucket list type thing," he said.

When he found out they were coming to Little Rock too, he decided he might as well just go to both! He said he's looking forward to an even more explosive show than he saw in St. Louis.

"The fireworks outside War Memorial are going to be beautiful and just crazy," he said. "I've seen what Razorback games are like here and I can only imagine what a Guns N' Roses concert will be like."

A marketing director for Verizon Arena said War Memorial's doors will open at 5 p.m. on Saturday and the opening act should begin around 6:30 p.m. Guns N' Roses should be ready to perform around 7:30 p.m.

Review: Guns N’ Roses at War Memorial Stadium

By Christopher Farris Terry

Saturday, Aug. 5, 2017: “Guns ‘N’ Roses Day” in Little Rock. I started the day off completely biased and fully ready to rock for the concert. I’ve been to hundreds of big rock shows in Arkansas and all over, but I’d never been to War Memorial and never seen GnR. Just a few numbers shy of 24,000, most of the available seats were filled up. Parking was pricey, but easy to get in and out of. There was some complaining from smokers who weren’t allowed to smoke, and as far as I know there was no smoking area. There was some confusion going on, too; the printed ticket read 7:30 p.m. as the concert’s start time when, in fact, it started an hour earlier, with long lines on the left and right of the stadium. (Because of the parking setup, these lines weren’t able to see the six other lines set up in the middle, all of which were moving much faster.) Luckily, we noticed them and waited in a line for less than five minutes. Unfortunately, the other two lines took about an hour and, as a result, lots of people missed opener Sturgill Simpson.

That said, the weather was perfect, and it was incredibly beautiful seeing so many Arkansans out in numbers for a rock concert. Sitting in the top rungs of the stadium with friends was the perfect atmosphere for this show; space enough between seats to move around freely. (My 11-year-old daughter and I had good “reviewer” seats on the floor, but kept finding ourselves back in the stands with our friends.)

Sturgill Simpson’s sound harkens back to the outlaw country of the 1970s with some country soul in the mix. I’m honestly not a fan, but only because I haven’t found the time to get into his music yet. He started with a humble dedication to Maxine’s in Hot Springs, and played to a crowd of around 12,000-15,000 folks. By the time he was done, the stands were full and the sun was comfortably hidden behind the press box.

We ran to the restroom during the set change, and you could feel it in the air — a series of GnR-inspired animations on the jumbotron acting as a sort of countdown to the show, folks rushing to get back to their places before the announcer yelled (surreally): “Hello, Little Rock, from Hollywood, Guns N’ Roses.” Axl Rose walked slowly to the front of the stage. Duff McKagan ripped into “It’s So Easy,” and everyone sang along for the entire song. This was real, and we couldn’t believe it was actually happening to us in our own hometown.

The entire show was completely gold. The crowd never let up as the band relentlessly tore through the opening numbers. I remember looking at my daughter when Axl screamed “That’s right, Arkansas, you’re in the jungle, baby!” Her face was completely startled, and she yelled right back to him. For some context: She is exactly one year younger than I was the first time I heard this song on MTV’s “Headbangers Ball” in 1987. There’s no real way to explain what I was going through.

The set was filled with hits and many deep album cuts. Slash did his traditional “Godfather” theme guitar solo and the band was in tip-top shape. Axl barely talked between songs except to introduce the band. He just smiled and kept in great spirits all night.

Some highlights: “Double Talkin’ Jive,” because the band really seemed to lock in on this song. Like a well-oiled rock train. Like they were back in the day, one of the best bands out there and ready to prove it. The extended jam at the beginning of “November Rain” was a take on Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” mashed up with the piano ending of “Layla;” completely epic and perfectly connected. Paying tribute to Chris Cornell by covering “Black Hole Sun” was special, and the AC/DC cover was insanely fun.

Strangely enough, my other favorites were a few from “Chinese Democracy.” “Better,” “This I Love” and especially “Sorry”; all freakishly heavy. In fact, “Sorry,” which I was barely familiar with, was the re-entry song after the encore and ended up being one of my favorites that night.

I was sent a copy of the set list for purposes of this review, and noticed the band added a few songs. I think they knew that 23,973 was a big crowd for the Little Rock market, and that mostly everyone there likely worked very hard to buy tickets. After three hours without a break, the band looked like they were still having a great time, like they could’ve easily played more for their Arkansas fans. It didn’t hurt closing the show out with “Paradise City” and having a massive fireworks display in GnR colors: green, red and orange.

All in all, my dreams were fulfilled. I saw a band I’ve always dreamed of seeing with an opener of the same caliber of talent, and I had a moment that I will never forget, all at the War Memorial Stadium.

CONCERT REVIEW: Guns N' Roses hits 3 decades in 3 hours at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock

by Sean Clancy

Wailing vocals, blistering guitar solos, power ballads and in-your-face rock 'n' roll, Guns N' Roses brought it all Saturday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock.

Powering through a set that lasted over three hours, the band -- including core members Axl Rose (vocals), Slash (guitar) and Duff McKagan (bass) -- hit all of the highlights from its 30-year-career for a crowd of 23,973 on an atypically comfortable August evening.

Opening with the McKagan-penned "It's So Easy," the group wasted no time in getting down to the business of hard rock. Rose's voice, which can shift from a banshee's shriek to a baritone croon, was mostly strong and assured. He had no problem hitting most of his notes even as he was tearing across the stage in a sprint, skipping around with a microphone stand or sliding about in his patented snake-hipped shuffle. Sure, he's not a skinny 27-year-old anymore, but neither was most of the audience, who screamed along with his every move.

Slash, in his top hat, his face obscured by his curly hair and his eyes hidden behind sunglasses, gave a master class in guitar-hero style. With his six-string resting on his thigh, its neck pointed skyward, he unfurled solo after solo. He duckwalked, ran and jumped all over the stage while churning out classic riffs. He even worked his way through the love theme from The Godfather.

The band, bolstered by guitarist Richard Fortus, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboardist Melissa Reese, was on point all night. Slash teased out the unmistakable opening notes of "Welcome to the Jungle" and Rose belted the song with ferocity early in the set. "Rocket Queen" was blistering as was "Nighttrain" and "Mr. Brownstone."

"Civil War" was perfectly epic and the Bob Dylan cover "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" was transformed into a singalong power ballad.

And speaking of ballads, Rose took a seat behind a grand piano for "November Rain," with Slash peeling off his solo on a walkway above Ferrer's drums. Later, Rose whistled his way into the acoustic "Patience."

Besides the Dylan song, other covers were sprinkled throughout, including Wings' "Live and Let Die," AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie," Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" and The Who's "The Seeker." Slash and Fortus also worked their way through an instrumental version of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here."

"Paradise City" was the absolute perfect song to close the night, though Rose apparently missed the much-anticipated police whistle cue at the beginning. Sigh.

Country singer Sturgill Simpson, an inspired choice for an opening act, started his 45-minute spot by telling the crowd he was dedicating his set to Maxine's, the club in Hot Springs where he played in his early days of touring.

Anyone scratching their heads at Simpson as an opener would have become believers early on. His performance, which included tracks from his most recent album, A Sailor's Guide to Earth, among others, was a deft mix of country, rock, blues and soul.