2017.09.01 - BC Place Stadium, Vancouver, BC, Canada

REVIEW: Guns N’ Roses Rock Vancouver!

by Corbet Rutzer

Vancouver had waited a long time for last night’s Guns N’ Roses concert and to the delight of everyone in attendance at BC Place, Guns N’ Roses delivered an epic 3 hour plus legendary rock show that featured the big hits, the power ballads, insane guitar mastery from Slash, vintage Axl and a bevy of cover songs that all just worked perfectly.

With a ginormous stage that takes three days to setup and 15 semi trucks to move from city to city and the BC Place roof open, the crowd was buzzing from before opening act Royal Blood took the stage. The merch lines were incredibly long but well organized and the payoff was worth it for anyone who wanted GnR gear… they were selling at least 8 different styles of t-shirts, plus red bandanas, coffee mugs and bad-ass leather jackets!

Once Axl, Slash, Duff and the rest of the band took the stage the crowd was HYPED! They went straight to tracks from Appetite for Destruction and everyone knew the night was going to be special after the fourth song, a goosebump-inducing version of “Welcome To The Jungle”. Check out the video below.

They played fan favourites like “Mr. Brownstone”, “Estranged”, “Live and Let Die”, “You Could Be Mine”, “Civil War”, “Sweet Child ‘O Mine”, “November Rain”, “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”, “Nightrain” “Patience”, “Don’t Cry”… yep they pretty much played every song a GnR fan would want to hear. Plus covers of The Damned, Nino Rota, Glen Campbell, Pink Floyd, Eric Clapton, The Who, Soundgarden and even the Godfather of Soul, James Brown!

The cover of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” was really cool. For anyone with a love for late ’80s and early ’90s hard rock, it was an amazing mashup and fitting tribute to Chris Cornell.

And in the encore, GnR pulled out another one of the most surprising and awesome cover songs you could imagine. For only the second time ever, the band covered James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good)”!! Check out the video here. The cover songs were worth the price of admission themselves!

All things considered, this was one of the best bang for your buck rock shows I’ve ever witnessed. The band overdelivered and sounded absolutely great. The production was top notch and the merchandising was a fans dream. For any diehard GnR fan who had been waiting to see them for what seemed like an eternity, the wait was worth it last night.

And for those wondering what the Guns N’ Roses Vancouver poster looked like, check it out below. The spectacular lithograph had a Vancouver Grizzlies theme with all sorts of hidden details. A thing of beauty that sold for $60 and was limited to only 400 prints.

Live Review: Guns N’ Roses + Royal Blood @ BC Place Stadium – September 1st 2017

By Jamie Taylor

Last night was my second go at seeing the reformed American hard rock band Guns N’ Roses on their ‘Not In This Lifetime’ tour.

I originally saw them in Seattle back in August of 2016. That show left me in awe of their ability and general lust for being back in the game together.

Opening the show yesterday evening was UK rock duo Royal Blood. The twosome went on a little earlier than listed and put on a stellar opening set. In the first few songs, those around me were clapping and head bobbing along, even though many did not know the band or their music. By the end of their set, I heard a few people around me asking around to find out who the band was. As usual, Mike, on the vocalist on the bass/guitar hybrid, and Ben, on drums and evil stares, were explosive in their delivery and captivating in their performance.

Guns N’ Roses took over the stage quite quickly afterward and stormed head first into their set.

Axl Rose, the band leader, was in masterful control of his vocals throughout the night. From the delicate notes in songs like “Patience” to the powerful screams in songs like “Welcome To The Jungle”, he worked his voice with precise accuracy. He was quite athletic as well, running the length of the stage through the course of the night. Mr. Rose looked in fine form and lead his team to victorious evening, and he did it all with a smile and a humble bow after each song.

Slash, on lead guitar, worked his bevy of guitars with a calm cool and a sense of ease. His fingers flew along in a fury of blurry waves as they danced up and down the necks of his various guitars, while the stone wall look on his face rarely changed. In between songs, he too was casting smiles to the fans. Another appreciative professional enjoying what he loves.

Duff McKagan, on bass, brought a punk edge to his performance. He stood with badass scowl pasted across his face, leaning back with his bass guitar hung low as he snapped his wrist and generated the life-giving beat to each song. He looked proud and content as he strutted along the stage and made sure to play to as many parts of the surrounding crowd as he could.

Richard Fortus, on rhythm and occasional lead guitar, was the most intense about his delivery. He spun his strumming arm in a windmill like fashion to add an exclamation mark on peak points of both his guitar solos and his rhythm-centric playing portions. He was the most “rock star” like throughout the show. Everything he did was over the top but it always just fit and felt so right. He seemed to be a hybrid between Duff’s and Slash’s personas. He would try to stand all badass and punk but would break into smiles when the right audience member caught him off guard with a funny shirt or sign.

The rest of the band were on point as well; Frank on drums was a beast, Melissa on keys was playful, and Dizzy Reid on keys was the calm cool.

The show was wonderfully orchestrated and impeccably executed. A slew of fireworks charges, flame ball bursts, confetti cannons, choreographed lighting rigs, and three enormous video screens made for an over the top presentation that was visually stunning and accentuated each song as near perfectly as they could have.

The band was on fire and is back at the top of their game.

Now we all wait with baited breath to see if we get new music from the group. I mean a reunion tour is more than anyone thought would ever happen but should we start getting a little greedy and expecting new releases? I for one think it is possible and it just seems likely. The amount of talent contained within the group is astronomical and their track record with creation back in the day speaks for itself. So, here’s hoping.

Thank you to both bands for an amazing night of music. We hope you come back to Vancouver very soon.