2021.09.01 - American Airlines Center, Dallas, TX, USA

Guns N’ Roses played first full-capacity American Airlines Center show in a year. Here’s how it went

Review: It was a blast from the past for a more-or-less masked Dallas crowd.

By Kelly Dearmore

A stroll around the American Airlines Center on Wednesday night didn’t yield many signals at first that a pandemic is still gripping the globe. With only a few masks visible among hundreds of concertgoers making their way to the arena, things seemed far more 2019 than they did 2021.

Perhaps we should say things seemed more 1989, given that the majority of people filling the sidewalks along Victory Avenue were sporting black concert shirts featuring names such as Metallica, Def Leppard, Anthrax, the Rolling Stones and, of course, Wednesday night’s star attraction, Guns N’ Roses. It was the first concert the American Airlines Center has seen without restrictions on capacity since before the pandemic.

American Airlines Center said face coverings were required for all attendees at this stop of the band’s tour. So, as people entered, women pulled their masks out of their purses as men reached in their pockets to recover theirs in impressively speedy fashion. Some shows in North Texas have required proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter, but that wasn’t the case at this one.

A large black sign with prominent white lettering stating “Masks Required At All Times” was unmissable over the entrance doorway. And as the line dwindled to the door, there wasn’t so much as an inconvenienced huff nor puff issued from a ticketholder entering anywhere near us. Once inside, things became a bit dicier. In an even larger sea of black band T-shirts, a substantial amount of folks chose to try their luck at lowering their masks or removing them completely.

An usher at the entrance of the Jack Daniels Old No. 7 club located on the southeast plaza level loudly encouraged one man to “put that mask on, and go ahead and keep it on.” But such exhortations from stadium personnel seemed to be the exception rather than the rule. Perhaps that was due to the fact that although there were some mask-ditching mavericks milling about, there were also plenty of people actually adhering to the requirement.

Once seated, it’s safe to say that the crowd ran about fifty-fifty in terms of who kept their masks on and who did not. A couple sitting quietly in one section would both have theirs on, while another couple sitting not too far from them wouldn’t. Some diligently slipped their masks up and down with each sip of their beverage. Others clearly relished the chance to go maskless in the crowd.

Just before Axl Rose, Duff McKagan, Slash and the rest of the band appeared, a creepy, animated skull figure sporting a long-beaked plague doctor mask while plunging a pair of syringes labeled “Vaccine” into its chest was broadcast on the large screen behind the stage. Not exactly your average PSA.

If the shutdown slowed Guns N’ Roses down, it didn’t show on stage. The band, which rocketed to fame in the late ‘80s on the strength of now classic songs such as “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Paradise City,” strutted, hopped and twirled around with the energy of teenagers. Axl may not be able to hit some of the more soaring high notes he once did, but his admirable commitment and effort more than made up for his current, less than operatic reach.

Instantly recognizable sing-along tunes rolled out, one after another. “Civil War,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” “You Could Be Mine” and “November Rain,” dominated FM rock radio at the end of the previous millennium, and certainly regained their throne inside the AAC last night. The iconic setlist added to the time-capsule nature of the night.

Mixed in with the music, Rose offered only a few small bits of good-natured banter to the crowd. Even though he’s been recently known to speak his mind politically on social media, the lead singer didn’t dispense his thoughts on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, Hurricane Ida or even the pandemic. He was saving his breath for the dramatic howls he’s long been known for, it seemed.

If anyone around us was apprehensive about being in a large crowd, it wasn’t obvious. Regardless of the reality outside of the AAC’s walls, it felt like old times.

Oklahoma City resident Lucas Swindler, 43, said concerns about the coronavirus are far from his mind when it comes to catching a concert. Besides driving down from Oklahoma with his wife to attend the Dallas Guns N’ Roses show, he’s been to numerous other big-time concerts in recent months including the Black Crowes at Dos Equis Pavilion in Fair Park in August.

“I work around people all day and wear a mask” he told us. “I’m vaccinated, I don’t have a problem wearing a mask, so I’m not too worried about it.”