2017.08.19 - Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal, QC, Canada

Concert review: Long-awaited return of Guns N' Roses doesn't disappoint

They delivered what remains of big-ticket hard rock and roll with a 3-hour-plus extravaganza on a perfect Montreal August evening.

By Mark Lepage

So. We meet again.

As a veteran of the 1992 Axl Debaxle, I had to reserve an honorary sliver of suspicion that, despite the reports of adult, contractually-observant behaviour throughout Guns N’ Roses massive Not In This Lifetime Tour, Axl might blow a gaxet for Auld Lang Syne. Least I could do.

But no.

Twenty-five years and 11 days to the moment when Axl Rose destroyed Guns N’ Roses/Metallica/Faith No More, the biggest and most Voodoo-cursed bill in hard rock history, storming off the Big O stage and triggering a world-news riot that trashed the stadium, the neighbourhood, police cars and a reputation, GNR delivered.

Taking the stage on Île Notre Dame promptly at 7:30 p.m. – with the last of the gloaming in the sky – they delivered what remains of big-ticket hard rock and roll with a 3-hour-plus extravaganza on a perfect Montreal August evening.

And legacy still speaks. A phenomenal crowd north of 32,500 gathered in the Gilles Villeneuve parking lot, a mere Bataan force-march from the métro, to salute a history maybe half of them knew first hand, and the other half had learned from gathering around the YouTube hearth to witness something/anything more exciting, dangerous, bad-boy or even just loud and live-performed than what is passing for the robo-porn of pop in 2017. After ending a breakup that may be remembered as the longest tantrum in rock history, GNR has a kind of exclusivity when it comes to massiveness of set list and narrative.

So “You wanted the best… but they couldn’t make it,” joked the intro emcee. “So you get these guys instead.” And as Slash leaned into ideal opener It’s So Easy with the blown-out Les Paul tone of yore, Axl Rose met history.

There was plenty of it. There had been the deranged GNR opening set for The Cult in Verdun in 1987, and Axl’s own 2010 return with his Guns N’ Poseurs, but this was different, and as they leaned into skag anthem Mr. Brownstone, this was going to be a kind of late redemption.

Some will recall that in 1992, U2 played the Big O a few weeks after the Debaxle. Bono – Rose’s opposite number at the time, the saint to his sinner – asks the crowd “What time is it?” and then jokes “We gotta go…” Instead, they’d played One, reputed to be Axl’s favourite song at the time, and effectively sent him to his room without any supper or groupies.

On August 19, they would reclaim and revel in their status. Slash turned zany spinaramas and crazed shredding in the high-octane Double Talkin’ Jive. There were sidesteps into Better and Estranged – back catalogue, if you will, and with Slash and bassist Duff McKagan (the centre of the sound) playing the former off Chinese Democracy (which they don’t even score royalties from). Then the enduringly lunatic Live And Let Die detonated the evening and illustrated we would get the full iconic treatment from a singer who has never doubted his place on the mountain.

Speaking of icons, I have literally never seen a man play more guitar than Slash did, from Lick One through his solo/band turns in Johnny B. Goode and The Godfather themes, into a dazzling Sweet Child O’ Mine. It was Jimmy Page 2. It went to 12. But I know what you want, aside from detailed descriptions of how much blown-out Les Paul pyro Slash manhandled from his fretboard (417 kilotons of it): the Voice. After all the scurrilities about Fat Axl and how he’d lost it, does he still have it? And that’s a qualified affirmative.

Oh, some of the oomph has leached away, and the sheer menace. He raced around heavily but with bounce, in leather skeleton jacket, flannel rags, distressed jeans and boots, and his breath was shorter. But this is a 3-hour-plus show, and there aren’t any Al Stewart vocals in it. Stomping amid the fire pots in You Could Be Mine, he shrieked the lyric as though it were a weapon. There was nothing pro-forma here: drummer Frank Ferrer was perfect throughout, Slash and secondary guitarist Richard Fortus played monumentally, Dizzy Reed and Melissa Reese’s keyboards served the songs until they were meant to overblow them (as in Layla). Rose was front and centre every moment, and let’s face it, whatever he may have lost to Time, etc., he’s the only one who had it to lose in the first place. Stubborn fella. All the way through November Rain and the Chris Cornell tribute Black Hole Sun, he dodged nothing.

Not even The Debaxle. “When they were talking about this concert, they said ‘Hmmm. Where should we have this show?” he told the crowd. “Well, we couldn’t have everyone together in a stadium, we tried that…”

Cheeky. Meanwhile, Slash was utterly on fire, and by the time they got to the encore, it was clear GNR was going to play their own version of RnR History. Duff sang You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory, there were nods and riffs to Voodoo Chile, Wish You Were Here, The Rain Song, Layla, Attitude, Only Women Bleed and, of course, the unnecessary cover of Knocking On Heaven’s Door – although if it got two Hells Angels / British Columbia Chapter to slow dance with their molls, who am I to judge? And yes, that happened right next to me. Best summer ever!

And could there be a song more relevant right now than Civil War? The encore, with kablooey fireworks, was itself a mini-concert, opening with Don’t Cry, banging out terrific covers of Whole Lotta Rosie and The Seeker, dropping into Patience, and revving up the summer rollercoaster of Paradise City. Fireworks, confetti, singalong. Rose exulted at the end, saluting the crowd with genuine bonhomie (“Muntree-f***in’-all!”, hilariously). Thirty years in, this GNR beast obeys the rules – but by comparison with anything else on the scene, you were struck that this was not just the only band alive capable of mounting a spectacle this brawny, excessive and immense, but the last one ever.

Guns N' Roses / Our Lady Peace Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montreal QC, August 19

By Chris Bubinas

Twenty-five years after their infamous, riot-inducing meltdown at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Guns N' Roses made their long-awaited return to the city to pour an impressive catalogue of nostalgic sleaze-rock over dozens of thousands of fans.

A weaponized "GNR hot rod" animation played on the video screens, providing a countdown to the start of their show that, shockingly, started exactly on time. And with that, the band leapt onto the stage to kick off this latest stop of their Not in This Lifetime tour.

Guns N' Roses have an arsenal of hits to draw from, and despite only five studio albums of original material, have cashed in on over 100 million in record sales. This night (August 19), they certainly pulled out the vast majority of their biggest hits, and then too much more. The marathon performance showcased the reunion of rock icons Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan, and it lasted for 30 songs and over three hours.

The band opened with a barrage that had the crowd howling voraciously. "It's So Easy," "Mr. Brownstone" and "Welcome to the Jungle" were three of the first four songs the band chewed through, all originating from their landmark 1987 release Appetite for Destruction, which recently celebrated its 30th anniversary. Beyond that, however, hit-density was a really rare occurrence on the night, which often saw a crowd favourite sandwiched between several B-sides, cover songs or "impromptu" jams.

Some performances were impressive. Highlights included 1991's "You Could Be Mine," a tremendous instrumental rendition of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" and "November Rain" that saw Axl Rose showcase his chops on the piano for a while.

Even more performances, however, were rough around the edges. A number of them showed vocal struggles and uninspired stage presence, simply felt cumbersome, or all of the above. When a band pulls out seven cover songs, including two (AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie" and the Who's "The Seeker") just in the encore alone, it's certainly going to dampen a crowd's enthusiasm for beloved originals. This was a performance that would have benefitted by being a lot more concise.

That being said, fans howled in glee when the bright spots hit. Some of the Guns N' Roses classics, a "Sweet Child of Mine" or "Paradise City," for example, frenzied the crowd when those iconic opening riffs hit. And the band really seemed to appreciate the love from the crowd, as Rose so succinctly put it between songs: "Merci beaucoup, motherfuckers!"

Canada's own Our Lady Peace served as opening act for Guns N' Roses. While it may sound like a bit of an odd alliance, the band received a tremendous reception under the beautiful late-afternoon sun. Many in the crowd danced and sang along to classics including "Naveed," "Starseed" and "Somewhere Out There." The band teased a new track, too: "Drop Me in the Water," from their upcoming release Somethingness, and it was a very solid performance. It certainly had that signature Our Lady Peace sound.

Concert review: Guns n’ Roses – Montreal – August 19th 2017

By Jean-Frederic Vachon

Almost 25 years to the day after the infamous Olympic Stadium riot, Guns n’ Roses are back in Montreal. Sure, the “Axl Rose and hired guns” lineup played our city twice before, but that hardly counts now that 3/5 of the original band is back together. The show was held outside at Parc Jean-Drapeau (“They know better than to put you and us in a stadium. They’ve tried that before and it didn’t work” would brag Axl during the show) and about 36000 people clearly didn’t hold a grudge for that infamous event.

The “Not in this lifetime” tour has been going strong for more than a year, so obviously the years have made the band and their mercurial lead singer wiser. The 7:30 set time for the Gunners seemed like a pipe dream but at 7:27, the “Looney Tunes” theme blasted through the PA and the band took the stage soon after.

The band ripped through “It’s So Easy” and “Mr Brownstone”, both from their multi-platinum debut “Appetite For Destruction”, an album celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. Take a moment to let that sink in: “Appetite” is 30 years old. Where did these years go?

The setlist hasn’t changed much since the beginning of the reunion tour last year, but songs have expanded and a few were added to make this a whopping 3 hour and 10 minutes event. The “Chinese Democracy” material is kept to a minimum: “Chinese Democracy” and “This I Love” slot in nicely with the classic material, and with Slash and Duff’s playing, the songs gained a swagger that elevates them above the sterile studio recordings. “Better” remains an oddity that never manages to sound as good as it could or should.

But one does not listen to Guns n Roses for technical precision, although the band is more than capable of playing this way. The performance oscillated between rough around the edges renditions of some classic tracks, like for example “Sweet Child O’ Mine” which lacked a bit in cohesion, or “Rocket Queen” where the band briefly got out of sync during the middle break section, to pure grandiose versions of the deep cut “Coma” or the classic “Estranged”. Slash shone on guitar, with creamy tones of pure bliss coming out of his beat up Les Paul, and his chemistry with second guitarist Richard Fortus is great, with both trading licks throughout the show. Fortus is an excellent guitarist too, and his playing meshes well with Slash’s. And Duff McKagan, at 53, still looks cooler than you or I ever did, especially when playing a rousing version of the Misfits’ “Attitude”.

One complaint I had last year about the show I saw in Toronto was the high number of cover songs played. For sure I expect “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” and “Live and Let Die”, but the second half of the show also features a beautiful instrumental version of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”, the end section of Derek and the Domino’s “Layla”, as well as The Who’s “The Seeker” as an encore. And let’s not forget Slash’s traditional solo spot, that prominently features Nino Rota’s theme to “The Godfather”, Alice Cooper’s “Only Women Bleed” and an instrumental jam that seemed to draw on Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and Led Zeppelin’s “Rock ‘n Roll”. This year, the band added a tribute to the late Chris Cornell by playing Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun”, and a nod to Axl’s stint with AC/DC with “Whole Lotta Rosie”. Now that’s a lot of covers to play in a show. They’re all good mind you, but maybe that time should have been used to play deep cuts, or the 4 missing songs from “Appetite”, since it’s the album’s 30th anniversary.

Opening the evening was Our Lady Peace, who looked a little lost on the gigantic stage. I thought the band sounded a little too loose at the start (especially on a dragging version of “Innocent”) but picked things up mid set and finished with a pretty good rendition of “Starseed”.

Let’s hope Guns N’ Roses can keep it together long enough to do some new music. In the meantime, I’ll head out to Ottawa on Monday to relive it all over again. Not in this lifetime? How about thrice in this lifetime?

Original Guns N' Roses Members Return To Montreal 25 Years After Riot

According to The Pulse Of Radio, the three original members currently touring under the Guns N' Roses banner made a triumphant return to Montreal on Saturday night (August 19),with singer Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan sharing the stage for the first time since their last appearance together there ended in a riot twenty-five years ago.

That show, an August 8, 1992 co-headlining gig with Metallica at Olympic Stadium, started late and was cut short after Axl developed vocal problems and was forced to leave the stage. Metallica had already played a shortened set after frontman James Hetfield was burned onstage in a pyrotechnic accident. When Guns called it quits early, some two thousand fans started a riot that trashed the venue and extended to the streets outside until it was quelled by police.

The incident made headlines around the world, especially since a Guns concert in St. Louis also ended in a riot the year before.

Although Axl has led later editions of the band to Montreal in 2010 and 2013 with no problems, Saturday night was the first time that a lineup featuring at least three original members performed in the Canadian city, this time at Parc Jean-Drapeau.

Axl told the crowd during the three-hour, thirty-song set: "They know it's better not to place you and us in a stadium." The show played out without any issues and ended just before curfew, with local press praising the show. Slash later tweeted: "Montreal! Man, you guys did not disappoint. We had the best time."

The current Guns reunion tour stays in Canada through the end of this month before shifting back down to the U.S., with dates booked through the end of November.