A highlight of Bach’s performance was his new song, “By Your Side,” where he asked everyone to hold up their cell phones and lighters. The arena was suddenly awash with swaying fireflies and Bach’s performance, had it been done in the 80’s, would have won him an award.

And then came Axl.

Axl Rose’s entrance was like something out of a movie; a very late movie that begins somewhere around 11:34 p.m. Smoke and lights hid him until he was ready to sing. Low rumbles of bass and odd sounds swarmed the ears of the audience. Suddenly, cannon-like explosions announced Rose’s entrance as the band began with “Welcome to the Jungle,” their signature song. At first, Rose’s voice was strong and impressive. The scene for an excellent concert had been set. Fans were screaming, the band was smokin’, and the energy was high. Soon, though, as the songs progressed, Rose’s voice began to blend in farther and farther with the instruments until it was almost completely gone. During “Sweet Child O’Mine,” Rose’s voice was barely a whisper.

In between songs, Rose frequently left the stage during which time each member of the band played solos, killing the momentum of the concert. Setup changes where stage hands pushed the Yamaha grand piano out of the way were accompanied by cheesy music and low lights. The crowd was obviously restless in more than one instance. During one solo, the guitarist began to play “Don’t Cry,” a well-known GNR song. The audience waited, cheering, for the rest of the band to join in, but the wait was in vain. The song went nowhere, starting and ending on the guitar. It was a great solo, but disappointing to fans who remember the song from long ago. Rose also performed “Patience,” (possibly willing us to have some) and going into the sixth hour of the four-act concert, sang “November Rain,” making us doubt that “nothing lasts forever.” Fans were also displeased that, in a probable effort to urge Axl to get a move on, beer sales were cut off at 10:10 p.m. and at 9:57 at the smaller stands.

Besides the excellent opening, the highlight of the GNR set was “Michelle,” solely because Sebastian Bach came back out and sang it duet style with Axl Rose. Bach’s energy carried the song, and afterwards, Axl once again disappeared.

Guns N’ Roses could have put on a fantastic show .The crowd was ready for one They started out phenomenally and had some great moments in between, but an entire hour could have been excised from their set and fans would have probably left happier. When fans finally thought the show was over (although much of the arena had cleared out long before), Rose came back out to sing three encores, two of which were songs that most didn’t recognize. Their third encore, the expected “Paradise City,” did what it was supposed to do and thankfully, ended the show.

*Publicity photos

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