38. MAY 2017-JULY 2018: MORE TOURING AND THE RELEASE OF APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION: LOCKED N' LOADED

Guns N' Roses at Slane review: They look and play so well it's like they never went away

After facing three security checks, 83,000 people patiently queued for beer and burgers in a slightly muddy but far from devastated Slane hill.

Despite the challenging conditions, the crowds flowed into the venue from the bus drop off in well under an hour.

The most recently formed acts to have headlined Slane in the last decade are Oasis and Eminem, which says it all in terms of the paucity of suitable bands to pull off Ireland's biggest show.

Securing a top name capable of selling out this iconic natural amphitheatre is not easy. There were no Slane concerts in 2010, 2012, 2014 or 2016.

Just like U2 and the Rolling Stones before them, Guns N' Roses have been round this Boyne side block before.

A quarter of a century since their first Slane appearance in 1992, core members Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan have buried their respective hatchets.

This was until quite recently considered such an unlikely event the tour is named 'Not in This Lifetime', which echoes the Eagles' 'Hell Freezes Over' global jaunt, referring to how Don Henley responded to a query on whether his estranged band would ever reform.

In 1992, good humoured fans built human pyramids while waiting for Guns N' Roses to take to the stage. Axl Rose was renowned for a lack of punctuality, which also surfaced at a concert in the 3Arena in 2010. In 2017, everything runs like clockwork, despite the inclement weather earlier in the day.

After raucous performances from Irish noiseniks Otherkin, Brighton duo Royal Blood and American cult hero Mark Lanegan, Guns N' Roses preface their set with the cartoon theme tune to 'Looney Tunes' and the Harry Gregson-Williams song 'The Equalizer'.

They blast out of the traps with 'It's So Easy' from 'Appetite for Destruction'; an expletive strewn rock song about when they had no money, but an army of hangers on.

Now, they're on roughly $5.5 million per show. Their music might be big, bloated and debauched alpha male cock-rock, but it's undeniably effective and entertaining.

The sight of Axl Rose and Slash performing side by side is powerful and reaffirming. One of the most iconic singer and guitarist pairings in musical history are finally back in the ring.

Alongside McKagan, they look and play so well it's like they never went away.

They perform a stunning version of 'Black Hole Sun' in tribute to the late Chris Cornell. Like the sadly departed Cornell, Rose has one of the most raw voices in rock history.

For Guns N'Roses and their massive Irish audience, the last twenty five years went by in the blink of the eye.

Guns N’ Roses review – comeback show takes us to Paradise City
5/5 stars

I wondered if it was silly. Me and a bunch of other fortysomethings going to see Guns N’ Roses, a band we loved in our youth when they seemed so wild and pulsating and decadently masculine. Those singalong-with-Jack-Daniel’s dudes, every song a paean to getting high or getting off – or both. British pop at the time was playing with gender and androgyny, but Guns N’ Roses were just pure, stupid testosterone. I wrote their lyrics on my bedroom wall and secretly loved and feared them for it.

If we were middle-aged now, though, what did that make the filthy rock bastards of pop? Old? And hadn’t they already done one comeback tour some years ago, when it was just a bloated Axl Rose and a bunch of hired hands turning up late and trying to recreate the magic because all the other members refused to have anything to do with him?

Would we still be entranced, now that we’ve read their memoirs and know what really went on back in the day, including the bit in Slash’s warts-and-all autobiography when he literally does have warts, on his penis, and he has to visit doctor after doctor to get them burned off because they bounce back more times than Boris Johnson?

Well, arriving at the stadium where the 2012 Olympics were held, the first things you notice are the band T-shirts. Everybody looks like a diehard fan, with about a quarter of the male and female crowd wearing the Guns N’ Roses tops they must have owned for 30 years, with old tour dates on the back. Except these T-shirts are suspiciously clean.

When I ask people, one man admits he works in the City and just bought his from the merchandise stand, before shoving his work shirt in his rucksack. Another two beefy blokes just bought theirs from the Primark across the road. “I got that one from Next,” says one woman, pointing at the T-shirt of the bloke ahead of her in the beer queue, “but they had a better one in Top Shop.”

If the clothes are new, the good news is that the band are old: Slash is back (I can’t speak for his genital warts), and bass player Duff McKagan too, both having made up with Rose. This is the first UK show of the band’s classic lineup in 24 years, and they all take to the stage like men who truly, ferociously mean business, going straight in with the hits.

Welcome to the Jungle begins and the crowd surges like a beast. Mr Brownstone, a druggy song that seemed more dangerous 25 years ago, seems strangely poignant now, with Rose singing its winding melody beautifully, perfectly. His face, which bears the agelessness of any Hollywood star who has reached a certain age and perhaps had some help, is as taut as a drum when he sings the highest notes, and you wonder if he might burst.

Then he puts on a top hat with a union jack on it and suddenly looks less Botox, more Brexit. He sings Live and Let Die with twice the bravado and swagger of Paul McCartney, and the thundering drums are so menacing that it’s a real moment for the crowd.

The lyrics to Civil War feel ripe for the political tensions of today, and Rose’s voice is soft like fur at the start, switching to a tightrope in a second. He’s truly in control; the master of range. We start to see more of Melissa Reese, the young woman who joined the band on keys and vocals in recent years, and who gets a mention from Rose as the camera lingers on her blue-and-white hair.

It dawns on me that what seemed overtly masculine in youth seems theatrically feminine in middle age: the camp mannerisms of a rocker grinding around the stage, the falsetto vocals, Slash’s fantastic black cloud of hair. The huge emotional neediness of everything. The passion. The love.

Sweet Child O’ Mine is so intense that thousands of us seem to simultaneously unite our former and current selves while singing along to it. We are all fully whole! I hug a total stranger! Then Night Train, when we all bellow “LOADED LIKE A FREIGHT TRAIN” at the top of our voices, in a hosanna of ecstatic nonsense. It is the most meaningless and also meaningful moment of the night.

By the time they play November Rain, night has fallen, and everyone’s got their lighters out – apart from the man beside me who’s using his bike light “because I gave up smoking 15 years ago”.

“Thank you,” says Rose, to his loving and loved London audience, “from the heart of my bottom.” You can’t blow the roof off a stadium that doesn’t have one, but they damn well tried.

There are rumblings that Rose instituted a NDA/letter from a lawyer strongly encouraging members, as well as numerous former associates, not to speak about the band.

Guns N' Roses fires at the Stade de France

For their only concert in France and in front of a nostalgic crowd, the hard-rockers gave a professional show for three hours and twenty minutes.

“All you need is just a little patience ,” sang Axl Rose serenely in 1989 on the acoustic ballad Patience . For their public, however, it was a completely different matter. At the height of their popularity twenty-five years ago, the temperamental singer and his gang of hard rockers Guns N' Roses were accustomed to delays in concerts, the wait being up to two hours long. This is clearly no longer the case today. Friday, July 7, the authors of the album Appetite for Destruction , released in 1987 (30 million copies sold), surprised by their punctuality on the Ile-de-France stage of the Stade de France, at 8:10 p.m. sharp, for a show of three hours and twenty minutes. This gives an idea of ​​the degree of professionalism achieved.

In the spring of 2016, the band's eventful reformation with three of its historical members, rock icon Axl Rose, top-hatted guitar hero Saul Hudson, known as Slash, and Sid Vicious-like bassist Duff McKagan reconciled after twenty-three years of scrambles, spawned one of the most lucrative tours of the year: $116.8 million (€102.3 million) in revenue from dates in North America, plus $55 million (48.2 million euros) for the South American tour. The original quintet are missing guitarist and co-composer Izzy Stradlin and drummer Steven Adler. The latter was invited to join his ex-band mates for a few American dates, without however managing to secure his place. There is no doubt that the European tour “Not in This Lifetime”, scheduled for eighteen dates, will meet with the same success as that in North America, judging by the crowds at the Stade de France, filled to capacity.

The audience, mostly in their forties and fifties, comes from the pre-Internet era, when powerful music TV channels such as MTV reigned supreme. Many of this generation have remembered Guns N' Roses through their blockbuster music videos that featured a tortured Axl Rose. The prominence of techno-like synthetic visuals on the giant screen gives the embarrassing impression of dating from the late 1990's and accentuates a certain shift.

However, the essential remains on stage: the group ensures the show, and Axl Rose is a charismatic leader. Despite the bias of a muscular rock entry, the start turns out to be a little soft and it is really necessary to wait for the fourth track, the emblematic Welcome to the Jungle , for the fervor of the public to manifest itself. Some proud bravado followed ( Double Talkin Jive , the famous cover of Live and Let Die, by Paul McCartney and Wings, an extended Rocket Queen ) and epic ballads ( Estranged , November Rain , a superb Civil War , and Patience as an encore). The adored singer, now 55, has of course aged, but without bearing the brunt of the years, continuing to run from one end of the stage to the other. Its high-pitched vocalizations, so characteristic, seem intact. Decked out in aviator sunglasses with chrome lenses, which he later traded for a copious collection of cowboy hats, the ex-rock bully has calmed down and asks the crowd to back off so as not to suffocate the children from the front rows.

Slash, the disheveled guitarist, flanked by his eternal top hat, steals the show from his singer for half an hour devoted to his blues rock solos, based on the theme of The Godfather, the anthem Sweet Child o ' Mine and an instrumental cover of Wish you Were Here by Pink Floyd, rather successful. Other "covers" have integrated the stage repertoire, in particular a brand-new Whole Lotta Rosie, from AC/DC, The Seeker, from The Who, as well as Black Hole Sun , a hit by the grunge group Soundgarden, in homage to Chris Cornell, died at the end of May. A band that enjoyed massive success in the 1990s, whose tragic trajectory does not fail to arouse some comparisons. Ironically, the Guns N' Roses, survivors of all the excesses, are still standing.

'Appetite for Destruction' at 30: Axl Rose shows he's still got it at anniversary show

NEW YORK — Three decades in, rock fans still have an insatiable hunger for Guns N' Roses.

That was amplified late Thursday night at Harlem's historic Apollo Theater, where the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers reunited to play an invitation-only Sirius XM radio show to celebrate their landmark 1987 debut Appetite for Destruction, which marks its 30th anniversary Friday.

Fueled by top-10 hits Sweet Child O' Mine, Paradise City and Welcome to the Jungle, the album spent four nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, going on to sell an estimated 30 million copies worldwide and rank No. 62 on Rolling Stone's "greatest albums of all time" list.

Axl Rose — who reunited with Guns N' Roses last year after more than a decade of strife with lead guitarist Slash — thrived in the 1,500-seat venue, which is a welcome downsizing from the 60,000-capacity stadiums the band has been playing on their Not in This Lifetime tour this year. The intimate setting was an ideal place to watch the bandana-clad frontman's spark-plug antics, which included multiple costume changes when he wasn't snugging his bandmates or jumping in place, frequently bounding onto a raised platform center stage where he towered over the head-banging, beer-swilling crowd.

After a late start, the rollicking set ran for more than two and a half hours, with only the occasional lull in the audience during power ballads Estranged and Better. Electrifying covers of Paul McCartney's Live and Let Die and AC/DC's Whole Lotta Rosie earned loud whoops of recognition, as did Slash's noodling of The Godfather theme Speak Softly, Love during an extended guitar break leading into crowd favorite Sweet Child O' Mine. Rose's vocals — a gravelly grumble that often erupted into a primal scream — shined on the slowed-down This I Love, while Slash and bassist Duff McKagan each got their moments in the spotlight with piercing solos and an epic "duel" in the middle of Welcome to the Jungle.

Spotty acoustics aside, Guns N' Roses put on an animated show that catered to their longtime fans, with a special nod warranted for opening act The Kills, whose loose, fuzz-funk jams set the tone for the night.

First, some facts: Appetite for Destruction was never a flop. By October 1987, the album had sold a respectable 150,000 copies, just three months after being released. By all accounts, this was a successful debut. Appetite had taken over the charts by the end of 1988, having then sold 6 million units. It proceeded to pummel the competition during two decades of rumors and high drama, peaking on Sept. 23, 2008, when it reached 18 million in certified units according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

That makes Appetite for Destruction the best-selling debut ever, regardless of genre.

Three decades ago today, Guns N' Roses transformed and transfixed the world of rock and roll forever with their seminal debut album Appetite for Destruction. To celebrate the multi-platinum record that welcomed fans to the jungle and topped the Billboard 200, the unprecedented legends of rock are announcing a selection of new stops on their momentous Not In This Lifetime Tour produced by Live Nation.

[...]

Last night the band continued their celebration of the 30th anniversary of Appetite for Destruction and the upcoming start of their North American outing with an exclusive show at Harlem's world famous Apollo Theater. The intimate evening for fans was the first time Guns N' Roses performed at the iconic venue. Appetite for Destruction sold 30 million copies globally when it leapt onto the scene in 1987 and became the bestselling U.S. debut in music history.

Guns N’ Roses Announces Exclusive LA Multi-Brand Retail Experience, ‘Guns N’ Roses Was Here’

In celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of their ground-breaking debut album, Appetite For Destruction, Guns N’ Roses have announced ‘Guns N’ Roses Was Here’: an exclusive retail event in partnership with Maxfield and Bravado that will live in the famed Los Angeles boutique from 11 to 18 August 2017.

‘Guns N’ Roses Was Here’ gives past, present and future GN’R fans a new interpretation of their celebrated 1987 album with limited-edition capsule collections. Maxfield and Bravado sought out top collaborators ranging from unexpected streetwear brands to designers deeply rooted in GN’R’s style, to bring new life to the classic artwork that has transcended time.

After 26 years Guns n’ Roses returned to Saint Louis with Stellar concert Thursday

For many Saint Louisans seeing a Guns N’ Roses concert in the Gateway City after the infamous Riverport Riot of July 2, 1991 seemed implausible. One would probably have better odds winning Powerball than guessing the date, let alone the year, that GnR would perform again in Saint Louis.

On Thursday at The Dome at America’s Center the event that many thought impossible became reality with a 3 1/2 hour long performance by the band to kick off the 2nd leg of their “Not In This Lifetime Tour”.

As one of the most anticipated shows of the summer, the St. Louis leg of the “Not in This Lifetime Tour” had a lot of people wondering what the band would bring to the city after the disastrous night of the 1991 Riverport Riots, which effectively instituted an animosity towards the band that lasted over 25 years. Rumors and speculation were thrown around by the public months leading up to the concert, with many wondering if St. Louis would see a repeat of that iconic event.

While many older fans still hold a grudge over what transpired in 1991 many others, and most younger fans, have let the passage of time heal the wounds and begin a fresh start. Thursday’s concert was that catalyst to a better relationship.

Walking into the Dome that night, even I had my doubts about it remaining a peaceful one. The crowd was a large one (about 35,000), with many people already hyped up in anticipation for the night. With all the alcohol being consumed and memories from the past also in attendance, this concert had the potential to be destructive. Fortunately, none of that came to pass. Even notoriously combative rock legends make their peace with time, which just goes to show that all things really do come full circle.

Not that the night was without its drama. The closest that the crowd realistically came to rioting was when vendors for the Dome ran out of beer. That’s not an exaggeration, as many of the vending areas did run out of beer during the show. This caused some panic with the already animated crowd, but it quickly became survival of the fittest as the savvier concert goers rushed towards the remaining beer like it was the last lifeboat on the Titanic.

Without getting too corny with thoughts on the night, I still want to share that what happened last night was as close to pure magic as many of us get from a performance. Watching and listening to a band as iconic and influential as Guns ‘N Roses, albeit without the completely original crew, was as amazing and memorable as I anticipated. Looking around at the crowd during the performances, I think the rest of the audience felt the same way.

To his credit, Axl Rose put on a spectacular performance that was full of energy and without a hint of mockery. Without addressing the controversial 1991 Riverport Riot directly, Rose nonetheless thanked the large crowd for coming out and ended his final performance by alluding that it would not be long before the band would come back again. The crowd responded to this announcement with enthusiasm and excitement, giving a satisfying conclusion to this tumultuous relationship.

All of the band’s members put on a top-quality show, and I want to highlight all the current Guns ‘N Roses crew: Axl Rose, Slash, Duff McKagen, St. Louis’s own Richard Fortus, Dizzy Reed, Frank Ferrer, and Melissa Reese. Each member gave the crowd an incredible performance, something that the audience won’t forget for a long time.

It would be a disservice to his performance if I didn’t specifically mention the powerful guitar work from Slash that happened during the entire show. A legendary figure in the rock world, Slash showed us last night why he is one of the great guitar icons. Not overly technical, but showing skill that few can match, Slash played with such heart and pure energy that went beyond showmanship. His performance was about the quality of music and the pureness of the sound, which was something that I wasn’t expecting from a legend in an over-the-top band like Guns ‘N Roses. It was his performances last night that made me realize how one man could turn a grammatical symbol into a word associated with the best of rock ‘n roll.

An unexpected, but extremely moving, part of the evening came when the band performed a cover of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun”, which was presumably done in tribute to Chris Cornell. Although it was a slightly ironic moment (after all, grunge did usher in a new type of rock music that pushed bands like Guns ‘N Roses out), it was a beautiful and unique tribute to a rock legend that died too soon.

The show was a longer one, with practically 3.5 hours of nonstop playing from the band. If this were any other show, I don’t know if people would have been as receptive to that amount of time. Because this was Guns ‘N Roses and the night was a significant one, the audience kept up the excitement and the elation. It felt like this concert was allowing the past and the present to come full circle and finally be resolved. The night was magical, the playing was spectacular, and St. Louis cannot wait for Guns ‘N Roses to come back to the Gateway City.

Guns N’ Roses provide 3 hours of thrills at U.S. Bank Stadium

It only took 30 years, but Axl Rose finally grew up. Last year, the famously erratic, unpredictable frontman buried the hatchet with original Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash and hit the road for a semi-reunion world tour of stadiums.

Some 85 shows later and the “Not in This Lifetime” road show finally hit Minnesota on Sunday, when Rose and company nearly filled Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium. It was well worth the wait. Not only did the concert run smoothly, it actually began at a decent hour. Never afraid to start a show at 11:45 p.m. on a school night or just cancel it altogether, Rose took the stage at 8:40 p.m., shocking the fans still milling around the concourse.

For more than three hours, Guns N’ Roses delivered a drama-free performance few ever thought would be possible. Utterly satisfying and at times thrilling, overall it felt quite professional, a word rarely used to describe GNR.

The original Guns N’ Roses lineup – Rose, Slash, bassist Duff McKagan, guitarist Izzy Stradlin and drummer Steven Adler – earned worldwide fame, and notoriety, after their 1987 debut “Appetite for Destruction” blew up a metal scene that seemed more concerned with hairspray and eyeliner than the actual music.

But rampant drug abuse, clashing egos and Rose’s increasing megalomania started a chain of defections that left Rose the sole remaining member. He hired a new set of musicians, including Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson, and spent much of the ’00s on the road playing to the faithful while living the life of a recluse.

Once news leaked that Rose and Slash were speaking again, most assumed a full reunion was in the works. Instead, only McKagan rejoined, and the three are on the road with keyboardist Dizzy Reed (who has been with the band since 1990), guitarist Richard Fortus (2002), drummer Frank Ferrer (2006) and new hire Melissa Reese, also on keys.

Sunday, though, both the cameras and staging kept the bulk of the attention on the three old-timers. Ever the eccentric, Rose wore artfully torn jeans, a flannel around his waist and an ever-changing series of T-shirts accompanied by the occasional hat, jacket, bandanna and/or pair of sunglasses. Rose, who made a surprise appearance at Billy Joel’s Friday night concert at Target Field, struggled with his vocals here and there, but managed to hit the notes that really counted.

Dressed all in black with his signature top hat perched above his curly locks, Slash positively oozed cool. The audience clearly adored him and gave him plenty of love, maybe even more than Rose. He played the guitar like Prince used to, without a hint of effort, as if it was an extension of his body. Speaking of Prince, McKagan’s bass was emblazoned with the Purple One’s famous love symbol. (McKagan visited Paisley Park earlier in the day Sunday and was spotted in the crowd Saturday when Ryan Adams played St. Paul’s Palace Theatre.)

Guns N' Roses Made Up for Lost Time With Three-Hour Set at Marlins Park

They say rock 'n' roll is dead in 2017 — a shell of the cultural touchstone it once was, eclipsed by computer-generated sounds and gone by the wayside in a karmic retelling of rock's past usurpation of jazz as America's leading musical force. "They" haven't seen Slash play Eric Clapton's "Layla" solo with Axl Rose on piano in front of 35,000 rabid fans wearing Guns N' Roses T-shirts like compulsory uniforms.

After decades of public feuding and separate musical projects, "The Most Dangerous Band in the World" made up for lost time at Marlins Park with a blistering three-hour set of arena-ready hits, and asserted its place in rock's disciplic succession with tributes to many of the rock 'n' roll gods who came before (and after) them.

The first of these tributes came before GNR even hit the stage, as the offstage announcer introduced the band by shouting out the "Rhinestone Fucking Cowboy" Glen Campbell, whose death was announced just a few hours before the show.

Running onstage to the Looney Tunes theme song, the band opened with "It's So Easy," off the career-defining album Appetite for Destruction. The Not in This Lifetime tour marks the reunion of original members Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan in celebration of Appetite's 30th anniversary.

Guns N' Roses musicians can act as hard as they want — and they do. But at their core, they're crowd-pleasers. They know their fans want raining pyro, climbing and jumping off stage monitors, and extended guitar solos. They delivered handsomely to a melting audience that vocalized and tweeted their displeasure at the park's decision to keep the roof open without AC at the height of Miami summer. Sitting in the heat was bad, but GNR nevertheless powered through the energetic set as sweat dripped off their bodies and Axl Rose changed T-shirt after T-shirt.

Rose faded in and out of view during the show, appearing when his voice was needed for songs like "Rocket Queen," "You Could Be Mine," "My Michelle," and the still-shocking "Used to Love Her." He bowed out during the many times Slash took center stage for extended solos, like his instrumental cover of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here."

That was just one of many tributes, both subtle and overt, to the band's rock heroes. Slash closed out "Civil War" with a few licks of Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child" and duck-walked across the stage like Chuck Berry, as McKagan played in his Lemmy shirt and displayed a purple Prince symbol on his bass guitar.The most powerful tribute of the night came in the form of a moving cover of "Black Hole Sun," in memory of Soundgarden frontman and Slash and McKagan collaborator Chris Cornell. The rendition also allowed space for Rose to sing in his gorgeous lower register, which goes criminally underused in favor of his admittedly impressive sky-high range.

The show hit the three-hour mark during the band's four-song encore, which included "Patience" and "Paradise City." Fans had been clamoring for these songs from the stands throughout the show. Saving his only political statement for the end of the show, Axl Rose asked the crowd to sing along with vigor during "Knockin' On Heaven's Door," alluding to Donald Trump's terrifying "fire and fury" comments regarding possible nuclear war with North Korea. "This could be the last time we get to sing it," he said, before voicing his wish for cooler heads to prevail. After all, after a lifetime of public spats and outbursts, his band's twilight success is living proof of what can be accomplished when people set egos aside and finally get to work.

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Gibson Brands, the world's leading music lifestyle company, announces it has appointed guitar superstar Slash as Global Brand Ambassador, the first such designation in the company's history. As part of the new role with Gibson, Slash is developing new products with three of its celebrated guitar brands, Gibson Custom, Gibson and Epiphone. Details of new products and exclusive content will be announced beginning later this month. Throughout his career, Slash has embodied Gibson's values of quality, prestige and innovation and has brought the indelible sound and style of Gibson guitars to new heights of popularity and recognition over the last 30 years.

"We are thrilled to recognize Slash as Gibson's first Global Brand Ambassador," said Henry Juszkiewicz, chairman and CEO of Gibson Brands. "Slash embodies the characteristics of creativity, passion and excellence that are so closely aligned with Gibson and we are very proud of the friendship and mutual success we have shared together for over 30 years. We are also very excited about the future products we will be announcing soon."

7 reasons Guns N Roses' Hershey show was better than I expected

In some ways, it's like I trained my whole life to cover Guns N Roses at Hershey. I was 8 when "Appetite" came out and in middle school during "Use Your Illusion I and II." My house was full of metal.

But I wasn't sure this show was going to be that good. How can you beat late-80s GNR, even if you're still GNR? And how do you do it without Izzy Stradlin?

The show was better than I expected (and I also apparently remember a lot more lyrics than I thought, since my voice is now shot from singing/screaming along). Here's why.

1. The crowd was fully into it

Never underestimate the crowd Guns N Roses can draw, 30 years after "Appetite for Destruction." Traffic was insane, and the parking lots were so full that I parked over by lightpole 117 at the Giant Center -- that's in the hinterlands of Giant parking, let alone Hersheypark Stadium. By 5:30, Hershey Entertainment wasn't even charging for parking anymore. Cars were just being waved through.

Since it was York's own Live's first show at the stadium since reuniting, I wondered if that would draw a lot of fans. But the crowd was solidly GNR, with a flood of "Appetite" shirts,. including one from the '88 tour. There was also a surprising number of Motorhead shirts (including on GNR's Duff McKagan).

The packed stadium was bouncing, throwing devil horns and shimmying through the entire 3-hour set. A woman in the row behind me was calling out songs from their first notes, high-fiving me for "Civil War,

2. It was a night of tributes

Live tucked "Audioslave" into its set, with lead singer Ed Kowalczyk giving a shout out to "songs given to us by Chris Cornell," who died of suicide earlier this year. GNR's Duff McKagan has a Prince symbol on his bass and was wearing a Motorhead shirt (a tribute to Lemmy, perhaps). And in another nod to Cornell, GNR covered Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" with Axl nailing Cornell's part like his life depended on it.

Rock has lost some great frontmen who shared time and space with Live and Guns N Roses, from Slash's bandmate Scott Weiland (Velvet Revolver) to Cornell to Linkin Park's Chester Bennington, who died just a week before the band was to play Hershey in July (and with whom Slash has also performed).

3. Axl's pipes

I don't know what I was expecting. I've seen a lot of really bad videos of Axl Rose performances since "Use Your Illusion II," after which I pretty much dropped out of GNR. And while Axl every so often softened the falsetto to something reminiscent of Robin Williams in "Mrs. Doubtfire," he let it rip on the songs where it really mattered, like in "Sweet Child," stretching the upper ranges and letting loose his signature style.

4. Slash's shredding hasn't changed -- unless it's gotten better

Slash had, at my count, at least 6 guitar changes, including a double. Now, I know I missed some. Those are just the ones I wrote down. He's still as metal as ever, wailing on the guitar, jumping off the percussion platform and wearing a shirt whose word choice I can't repeat.

He teased the audience opening "Welcome to the Jungle," letting that opening fly and hang in the air, before twisting it into a riff and then coming back to that note, while Axl screamed "Do you know where you are?? You're in the jungle, Hershey!"

Then there was the Slash solo, which came after band introductions about two hours into the show. Axl pointed to Slash, saying, "And on guitar," only to be interrupted by a roaring crowd at least three times before being able to say "Slash." Slash went on a tight yet meandering solo jam that included a wild interpretation of "Johnny B. Good" and a bit of the "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" before heading straight into "Sweet Child of Mine."

I just kept thinking, "I'm listening to one of the greatest living guitarists."

5. Axl's still a showman

Sure, he doesn't shimmy like he used to. After all, it's been more than 30 years. But he knows it. Axl gave a sly little smile before that part in "Sweet Child" we all know, that smooth, shoulder-moving wiggle from the 80s, then did a little bit of it to crowd applause.

He changed his shirt about 5 times, at least, from a tame Harley-Davison tee to much, much more suggestive ones. "He's the Lady Gaga of hair metal," said my fellow reviewer, and he was right.

He jumped, ran, skipped backward, spun, held the mic stand high, did the little foot shimmy. All the things you remember Axl doing in the beginning, he still does -- just a little differently.
(Duff is also just as metal as always)

Duff McKagan looked so happy to be performing. During "Live and Let Die," after one of the raucous jams, Duff had a smile on his face that said, "Well, that one felt good."

And his cover of the Misfits "Attitude" had the crowd bouncing.

6. They came to play, and proved it

A few friends and I joked about the early show. "It's probably so they can go home and take their meds and anti-aging cream," we said of the 7:30 start.

The real reason? They wanted to play for 3 hours.

I also wondered about punctuality, since it's not something Axl was known for. But they took the stage at 7:21, started playing at 7:23, tearing into "It's So Easy." (And by 7:24, Axl had already thrown the finger once.)

Two hours in and five shirt changes later, Axl was just introducing the band. They lit into some covers and then finished the long, energetic show with an encore that included an instrumental "Melissa" cover, "Nighttrain," "Don't Cry," "The Seeker" and "Paradise City".

7. It's great to see Live back together

I saw Live in 2000, and it's long been one of my favorite performances. With Ed Kowalczyk back fronting the band, the energy was still there in their 45-minute opening set.

"We're from *expletive* York, Pennsylvania -- right down the highway," Kowalczyk said to the crowd a handful of songs in. "When you get the call to come open for Guns N Roses, that's a pretty cool day."

A mere 48 after witnessing Guns N’ Roses in Montreal, I was ready to go another round, this time in Ottawa. Would the show be as good?

The band played almost the same setlist, simply swapping out “New Rose” to replace “Attitude”. Again, they were slightly ahead of the announced 7:30 show time, certainly not something we’re used to with this band! The band launched, or maybe I should say exploded into “It’s So Easy” to kick things off. If I felt they’d needed a few songs to really get cooking in Montreal, that wasn’t the case now: they were on! Being up close to the stage this time, I could see the band members were having a blast. Even Axl was smiling all night long.

There’s a human element in music that makes performances unpredictable. It’s not just about playing the notes. and sometimes that human element takes the music to a higher level. This is the state the band was in on Monday, as they tore through their set of classic tracks, deep cuts and covers, all performed flawlessly with the passion and fire that made this band huge.

Slash was burning up the fretboard, whether jamming with second guitarist Richard Fortus or playing those classic solos. Duff McKagan laid down the bass, looking cool as ever. And Axl Rose was running around the stage all night, hitting those crazy notes and screaming his ass off.

As in Montreal, the only weak point was “Better” from the much maligned “Chinese Democracy”, but the title track and a vocal showcase “This I Love” from the same album fared much better, with Slash and Duff putting their mark on the newer songs. Also, seeing them cover AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie” with all the swagger the band can bring was worth the admission by itself.

It was my third show on the “Not in This Lifetime” tour, and I can honestly say that not only was it the best of the three, but it was one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot. It’s easy to be cynical about a reunion tour like this, after years of acrimony between the band members, but when the results are this good, who cares. Let’s just hope they have some new music in them.

Opening the evening was “Our Lady Peace”, who seemed more on than they were in Montreal too. Great show from them too.

According to Slash’s proposed deal, Perla maintains primary custody of the couple’s two children and Slash and her will share joint legal custody. Slash will be required to pay $39,000 per month in child support and the children will also collect 1.8% of Slash’s income until the year 2036.

He also agreed to pay Perla $100,000 per month in spousal support until death or remarriage. The support pales in comparison to the $6,627,352 equalization payment the rocker will be required to pay within 30 days of the judgement getting signed off.

Slash got to keep some important stuff, like all his interest in Guns ‘N Roses and his other companies, all his trademarks and residuals and a slew of fully-loaded bank accounts.

He also gets his entire collection of guitars and instruments, along with a 2011 Ford F-150.

The former couple each bought new houses, so they don’t have to worry about selling off any property, but Perla will also get to keep another home in Los Angeles.

She made out big in the auto department, getting a 2014 Range Rover, 2015 Mercedes AMG and a 2015 Mercedes Benz GL 450.

Slash also listed his monthly income, which towers at $345,000 per month. Perla hasn’t filed hers yet, but Slash is adamant that he does not need to see it and would just like the judgement entered ASAP.

Guns N’ Roses Are Locked and Loaded for ‘Not in This Lifetime’

Guns N’ Roses’ “Not in this Lifetime” Tour offers what few people expected from the band, a reunion (of sorts). The band’s star is, and always has been, Axl Rose, but he’s fronted various band members in incarnations of the group since at least the early 2000s.

But in 2016, it was announced that guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan would rejoin Rose on the road despite any past conflicts with Rose. Other original members, guitarist Izzy Stradlin and drummer Steven Adler, are not on this tour but Dizzy Reed, who was with the band since the ’90s, is here on keys as is Melissa Reese and also guitarist Richard Fortus.

At the first of three Madison Square Garden shows, Guns N’ Roses was pitch perfect over the course of a three-hour performance. With no opener, the band ripped into “It’s So Easy” and “Mr. Brownstone”, classics from Appetite for Destruction before dipping into the forgettable “Chinese Democracy” and then back to Appetite for “Welcome to the Jungle”. It was a powerful opening that had the audience riveted.

There were lulls in the show too — namely the Chinese Democracy tracks — but for a set this long, and being the first time seeing the band myself, I wasn’t concerned. What was notable was that, when Rose stepped off the stage at various points in the night, Slash and the other guitarists carried the evening. Rose often returned sporting a different colored flannel around his waist than he had left wearing.

While I had some hesitation towards seeing this classic group from my childhood on tour initially, given all the past issues with the band, I am genuinely pleased for having attended the show. Rose and Slash looked to be enjoying each other’s company on the road. And I was pretty happy with Pink’s surprise appearance for the last verse or so of “Patience”. But even without the personalities, Guns N’ Roses’ music gripped my attention like pangs of hunger. Even after three hours, I wanted more. More “Live and Let Die” (which I had heard Paul McCartney do in the same venue not so long ago, but with more pyrotechnics), more “Civil War”, more “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and more “Paradise City”. Let’s hope the band just holds together and can keep offering more.

Guns N’ Roses Refuse to Coast in Cleveland: Concert Review

It has now been more than 18 months since Guns N' Roses welcomed Slash and Duff McKagan back into the group. Since then, the Not in This Lifetime tour has circled the globe, garnering almost universally positive reviews and earning somewhere just shy of a gazillion dollars.

To the surprise of some critics, there's also been zero drama and only one delayed show -- and the blame for that went to the weather, not Axl Rose. Even the initial fuss over the absence of founding members Stephen Adler and Izzy Stradlin has completely dissipated.

The tour's most recent leg is set to end in just about a month. But judging from their sold-out show Oct. 26 in Cleveland, Guns N' Roses have no intention of coasting to the finish line. Their April 8, 2016, opening night set list featured an already impressive 23 songs. In Cleveland, we got 32 -- including the particularly noteworthy cover of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" the band started playing nightly following the death of Chris Cornell. (Speaking of tributes to departed musicians, it's cool to see McKagan hasn't removed Prince's symbol from his bass.)

While the set-list shape has remained largely the same for the whole tour, nothing feels canned or stale. There's room for some creative detours -- such as Slash's riff-tastic introduction to "Double Talkin' Jive," or the extended, and especially dramatic, mid-song interlude in "Coma."

The expanded set list has made room for more Chinese Democracy songs, many of which -- like the somewhat slow-building (but oh-so-worth-it) "Better" and the ornate "This I Love" -- deserved a little more love from the audience.

The large number of covers the band has woven in among their originals serve as a shorthand history of rock itself, with Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Chuck Berry, Jimmy Webb, the Misfits, Eric Clapton, Alice Cooper, Bob Dylan and the Who all receiving musical acknowledgements at one point or another. (AC/DC's "Whole Lotta Rosie" has been turning up at many of the shows as well.)

It's particularly ballsy of Rose to lead the band through one of the most famous codas of all time, the one that caps Derek and the Dominoes' "Layla," right before playing his own contribution to that list, "November Rain."

Although Rose, Slash and Duff understandably command the most attention from the crowd, longtime keyboardist Dizzy Reed and relative newcomers Melissa Reese, drummer Frank Ferrer and guitarist Richard Fortus are clearly important and fully integrated parts of the group by now. (And a big part of why the Stradlin and Adler talk has gone away.) Fortus, in particular, made the most of each and every one of his solo spotlight moments.

As the nearly three-and-a-half-hour show concluded with a powerful "Paradise City," the only questions left to ask in regards to Guns N' Roses were obvious, if a little greedy: What's next? And how fun would it be to hear what this version of the group could do in the studio?

Guns N' Roses Prove Rock Isn't Dead Just Yet

I saw something I never thought I’d see again on Friday night, along with something I never thought I’d see at all. Let’s start with the latter …

By the time Guns N’ Roses’ commercial peak had come and gone, I was not yet a teenager, so seeing the band live and in person was never something I entertained. And considering the acrimonious mid-'90s breakup, coupled with the egos and personalities involved, seeing a GNR concert was something that never really got added to the bucket list because, well, it didn’t even seem realistic.

Fortunately, original members Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan (Izzy Stradlin and Steven Adler are not currently touring) decided to bury the hatchet a couple of years ago in launching the aptly-titled Not In This Lifetime Tour. The tour has been such a hit that GNR has added extra dates, including a second swing through Houston on Friday night (this particular gig was at Toyota Center; a previous one took place in August 2016 at NRG Stadium).

So, yeah, seeing Axl and Slash together on stage was a sight I, quite frankly, never imagined would be an actual thing again. Now, for the former statement …

I’ve been fortunate enough over the past two decades to see some legit, kickass rock shows. Metallica twice. Ozzfest a few times. Early-era Linkin Park. Scary-era Marilyn Manson. That said, I’m not sure I’ve experienced the blend of professionalism (yep, I said it) and precision coupled with the music that absolutely rocks one’s face off.

Look, Axl Rose as an entertainer hasn’t always been a choir boy. He’s stormed off sets, ranted when things went awry, or just outright no-showed gigs. Call it maturity, a newfound humility; call it what you will, but Axl Rose and crew were in peak form on Friday night before a packed (though somewhat late-arriving) crowd at Toyota Center.

The band arrived on time, stayed late and hit every note that made them the biggest, and most dangerous, band on the planet in the late 80s and early 90s. GNR blasted through more than 25 songs that encompassed more than three hours.

In addition to expected hits like “November Rain” and “Welcome to the Jungle,” GNR even pulled out some deep cuts from the (unfairly) much-maligned Chinese Democracy. Sure, this provided restroom and drink breaks for many in attendance, but for those (like myself) who cop that Chinese Democracy isn’t nearly the trainwreck it’s labeled, Friday night marked a fine chance to catch tracks like “Sorry” and “Madagascar.”

But people came for the hits, and the hits they got. From “Mr. Brownstone” to “Nightrain” to “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” Axl Rose and his incredibly talented bandmates showed why they were once the biggest thing in rock and pop music. Aside from the occasional “Houston Strong,” shout-out, Axl didn’t say much to the crowd, though he was impressed with the Rockets’ victory over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night at that very same Toyota Center.

The encore was something to behold, particularly GNR bringing out Houston and ZZ Top’s own Billy Gibbons to help along the band’s performance of “Patience.” “Paradise City,” the best anthem GNR ever wrote, closed out the festivities before the seven on-stage band members took a well-deserved bow.

Will we ever get another GNR lap through Houston? It’s tough to tell. This tour appears to be winding down in the next year or so, but it’s not unfathomable GNR mounts another tour in, let’s say, five years. The chords are tight, Axl’s voice has held up well and band members appear to be getting along. It’s GNR as they were meant to be; it’s just good they finally got there.

The Crowd: Pretty much what you’d expect. Mostly folks in their 40s and 50s whose partying primes would have overlapped with GNR’s commercial one. Lot of top hats and tattoos, par for the course when celebrating GNR and bands of its late '80s and early' 90s ilk.

Word to the Wise: I’ll be honest, when examining a venue’s website for showtimes, I typically add about 90 minutes to whatever they say showtime is, taking into account opening acts, stage setups and the like. That would have been a mistake on Friday night. The show was scheduled for 7:30 and began at 7:50. No openers. No delays. It was a very non-GNR-like GNR performance in terms of its punctuality.

Overheard in the Crowd: While waiting in the beer line … “You think they’ll play ‘Sweet Child ‘o Mine?’” Well, when a band empties out its catalog as part of a 200-minute-plus show, you can kinda count on one of its top 3-4 hits being part of the setlist.