Guns N’ Roses Roar Back With Epic Las Vegas Reunion Show
The reunion of the so-called classic Guns N’ Roses lineup had faced enough obstacles already. Fans complained that original members Izzy Stradlin and Steven Adler weren’t on board, and rumors flew that the thaw between formerly fractious band leaders Axl Rose and Slash was less about mending fences than cashing in. So it looked like one more bad omen when news leaked Friday that Rose had broken a bone in his left foot after the group’s impromptu warm-up gig April 1st at Los Angeles’ venerable Troubadour, necessitating surgery. But not only did the frontman vow that the show would go on, he and the rest of the band – especially his lead guitarist – delivered a persuasive, often exhilarating reunion show Friday night at Las Vegas’ newest venue, the T-Mobile Arena. And they did it with a little help from Dave Grohl.
After a churning, hit-heavy opening set from Alice in Chains, the ravenous, sold-out crowd waited 90 minutes for the notoriously late Rose to make an appearance. But just before midnight, he arrived to deafening cheers – while sitting on a tricked-out, Middle Ages-era throne complete with light displays that surrounded his head like a glowing aura. The eagle-eyed in attendance noted that the seat looked awfully similar to the throne constructed for the Foo Fighters leader last summer after he broke his leg, but it was only at the end of GN’R’s show that the roadies removed a covering that had obscured the Foos’ iconic “FF” logo underneath. “That’s a good advertisement,” Rose said admiringly of the logo, an indication of the singer’s jovial demeanor throughout his band’s two-and-a-half-hour set.
With his left leg in a cast, Rose was deprived of the frenzied movements he typically brings to his concerts. But the lack of mobility added an unexpected air of regal splendor and humanizing humility to the singer’s collection of schizophrenic songs that veer wildly between impassioned mash notes and toxic kiss-offs. Shrieking, wailing and cooing sweetly from his throne, Rose ruled his kingdom of metaphorical and literal pain, serving as the tortured center of GN’R’s vibrant, melodramatic tunes. And he was clearly in a good mood, smiling frequently, offering a polite “Thank you” each time the crowd roared its approval for a song, and commenting “Nice place you got here” about the spacious but comfy arena that, just the night before, had been christened by hometown heroes the Killers.
The Troubadour show may have been the first time that Rose, Slash and original bassist Duff McKagan have played together since 1993, but any naive hope that these reunion gigs would somehow thrust Guns N’ Roses back in time to the jet-black menace of 1987’s Appetite for Destruction quickly dissipated. Although plenty of Appetite material made the set list, the band’s current configuration – which includes guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer, keyboardist/percussionist Dizzy Reed and keyboardist Melissa Reese – emphasizes the sweeping grandeur and cinematic shading that first took hold with the Use Your Illusion records and became even more prominent on the long-simmering Chinese Democracy. Even when Slash and his cohorts locked into the ferocious riffs of “It’s So Easy” or “Welcome to the Jungle,” the combustion was more glitzy Vegas than seedy Sunset Strip.