I was an MTV junkie as a kid, watching all the music videos that would come on MTV and VH1 and absorbing their lyrics and the way the artists would dress and move around.  I came of age listening to GNR, purchasing their newly released Use Your Illusion I/II cassette tape when I was 12 years old.  The grunge movement started taking over soon after and even though I love all those grunge bands the 80s rock never fully left my heart.  Though I have seen many of my favorite rock bands over the years I never had the chance to see Guns N Roses until this year.

Axl Rose is the only original member left thanks to years of fighting with former band mates, mainly Slash.  I have always been on the fence about how I feel about Axl as an artist and person.  He comes across as a conflicted asshole, with a sensitive soul completely shrouded in venom born of his own self hatred that was probably brought on by a complete detachment/ripping apart of the masculine thanks to abuses at a tender age by the hands of people who should have loved him the most.  Who wouldn’t be pissed off and confused after that mess?  Axl is notorious for being a mystery and since he doesn’t do many interviews most of what is factually known about his life is really more speculation. I had to get up close to try and catch a glimpse of this red headed rock enigma.  Guns N Roses had a residency at The Joint at The Hard Rock Casino during the month of November 2012 and since tonight is their last night of the residency it is only appropriate that I go ahead and post my thoughts.

The show was to start at 10PM (yeah right) so after dinner at Nobu in the casino my friend Sara and I showed up like faithful fans at 10PM.  The Joint was packed.  Though Axl is an American musician a lot of the people in attendance were foreigners from all over the world.  This was the 1st time in my many years of concert experiences that I have attended a show in the US by an American artist and seen so many foreigners.  It was really cool to chat pre-show with people from Italy, Sweden, South American and other spots around the globe.  GNR has done heavy overseas touring and it shows.  They have a very devoted international following.

We had GA (pit) tickets so we made our way to the floor with our drinks around 10:30.  45 minutes pass and my feet which were crammed in 6” Bebe brand heeled boots were KILLING me so I made my way over to the sidelines of the front stage where I chatted with a 22 year old girl about how much shoes with heels hurt (she vehemently agreed—standing in her 5” platforms, WTF do we ladies do this to ourselves for anyway??), and how this will only get worse as you get older so enjoy it as much as you can now.    When I came back to the pit to wait some more I noticed Sara had made buddies with one of the dudes who had been standing next to us, but not in a good way for her.  He was already trying to hold her close to dance to non-existent music that hadn’t started playing yet. I slipped my already sore feet off and my lace tights immediately filled with spilled beer that was on the floor.  The time?  11:30PM.

Luckily we only had to wait another 15 minutes before Axl and band took the stage in full glory playing “Welcome To the Jungle”.  The GA/pit wasn’t too crowded so we were comfortably able to move close to the front to see the action as close as possible.  One of the first things I noticed about Axl were his pearly white veneer teeth.  They kept me distracted throughout the entire concert, even more than the strippers dancing half naked on the poles.  Axl frequently kept going backstage to do God-knows-what, so many times that neither Sara nor I could figure out exactly what was going on save for the frequent clothing changes (my favorite being the jeans and studded leather jacket with bandana look).

Though I have always appreciated Axl’s voice (only close competitor in the field would ironically be one of his good friends Sebastian Bach who has an ah-ma-zing, shut-the-front-door range—”I Remember You” is my go-to hair band karaoke song) it wasn’t until I heard it in person that I can attest to its superhuman strength even at the age of 50.  Major kudos to Axl for hanging on to that gift and still sharing it with the planet.

Song Highlights:

“Patience”:  I think that there may be something wrong with me because I’m a girl but yet I find acoustic guitar type love songs totally dull.  Growing up all the boys my age loved to pull out their acoustic guitars and play the dreadfully boring song “Patience”.  I’m probably the only GNR fan on the planet who doesn’t like this snooze-fest but I have to attest that during the last minute and a half climax of the song during the concert when Axl scanned the crowd and said “and the streets don’t change but maybe the name, I ain’t got time for the game cause’ I need you…” I actually felt something real being there live in person with Axl belting out the words (probably for the millionth time) just a few feet away, but there was meaning.  And heart.  And humanity.  It touched me.  Probably more than any other song he sang that night.  I have a new respect for this song now.  This is what seeing concerts live can do for you.

“November Rain”:  For this long number Axl sat down at a grand piano that lifted up into the sky and hovered over the pit.  It was probably a spectacular sight for those up in the balcony but I was positioned directly below the piano the entire time.

“Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”:  This is a Dylan cover song of course but was probably my favorite performance of the show vocally.  This song was made for Axl’s voice (way more than the lah-de-dah, brief, original rendition, sorry Dylan you are still a legend).  I want to take a bath in this song.  With Axl singing this I really feel like I am knocking on Heaven’s door, either with my fists or perhaps my head banging up against the headboard during great sex right before I climax to orgasm (ie: Heaven)—Axl’s version makes you feel it on that level. I will never get tired of this song, and after seeing it live I love it even more.

“You’re Crazy”:  My favorite Guns N Roses song.  Oh yes.

“Paradise City”:  This was the closing song.  We were all tired.  My beer filled tights had dried and my mascara was running.  It was past 3AM.  Yet it was still so insanely great and wonderful and every other hyperbole you can imagine.

Side Note About DJ Ashba

Original, die-hard fans of Guns N Roses are unhappy that Slash is no longer there so DJ Ashba had some tough shoes to fill.  As I scanned my camera’s pictures looking back at the end of the night I discovered that weirdly I had taken way more shots of DJ Ashba than Axl and the rest of the band.  Like some sort of subconscious crush I realize in hindsight looking back how talented DJ Ashba is as a guitar player and what a wonderful performer he is for the audience.  This guy really cares and would cater to the audience and ham it up for his fans.  Since we were there for a performance that was after midnight that turned into November 10th it was technically his birthday which was made mention.  Towards the end of the very late night Ashba came out playing his guitar in a white bath robe drinking Jager like a true rock star of course.  Which he is.

Final Note:

If you love rock and roll you should check out the latest line-up of GNR.  They all put their heart and soul into the performances, and there is a lot of power and talent and legend that goes into each show.  Everything you expect from an 80s rock band is there:  bright lights, half naked girls, tattoos, explosions, guitar solos, wait times, crowds, dangling pianos, and uniquely of all the tender heart of a brilliant mystery front-man whose music and lyrics show an understanding that only fellow loners and purveyors of the dark can fully appreciate, carried on the wings of a voice that has broken records and hearts and left others frustrated and confused.  Leonard Cohen explains it best when he relays how there’s a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.