60 Second Review of GNR Show

GNR (aka Axl and friends) played the Harbor last night.

My favorite pre-show FB message:

After the show, I gave a one tweet review.

That was a ridiculously good band that I watched tonight. No, it wasn’t real GNR but it also isn’t 1987.

— Brad Riter (@BradRiter) June 6, 2013

I could’ve tweeted a lot more but it occurred to me that I write for Trending Buffalo and we don’t enforce character limits. #stillaimingfor140ish

• 24 songs over nearly 3 hours= money’s worth. Full setlist here.
• Axl seems happy. He must not read all of the “Fatxl” comments online.
• If Axl remembered me from our last “meeting” in 1993, I certainly wouldn’t be the one asking the other about weight gain.
• Gates opened at 8. GNR on stage at 10. Totally reasonable. #newAxl
• For all talk of “this isn’t real Guns n Roses,” all branding/imagery was “GNR” not full band name. Less offensive.
• Weird, cool venue. Crowd pretty dead. 50ish degrees in June? Took away from the vibe.
• Bumblefoot started shirtless. Then added leather jacket. Then added shirt under jacket. 3 more songs and we were gonna see him in a snowsuit.
• Axl’s voice took a few songs to warm up but he hit his stride by 5th song. (Estranged)
• Tough to believe that Axl’s perfect whistling on a windy night next to the lake wasn’t digitally enhanced (or produced.)
• HUGE stage/GIANT riser/ drummer in the sky! Wimpy, Poison-esque explosions.
• Amazingly tight band. Slightly “Vegas” but wow, that was technical precision.
• DJ Ashba wears a hat kinda like Slash, making it seem like he’s copying. Thing is, he probably grew up worshiping Slash. Good.
• Ashba is RIDICULOUSLY talented.
• Not real GNR but best GNR cover band ever, fronted by W. Axl Rose.
• Crazy fight right near us. Security took so long that it just ended with enforcer-style “we’re done” shoulder tap. Both guys walked away THEN keystone cops showed up. Never saw that before.
• Terrible setup for handicapped seating area. People in wheelchairs couldn’t see over the crowd. Might as well have been facing backward.
• No waiting at the merch table.
• Tommy Stinson looks younger than I expected… and healthy. #mats
• When GNR did “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” at The Ritz in 1987, it was a cool novelty. Last night’s 10 minute version was not.
• Axl seems to think “Catcher in the Rye” is his masterpiece. Nobody else in the world likes that song half as much as he does.
• “Don’t Cry” and “November Rain” are kinda the same song. Don’t need both.
• All of the Appetite stuff is still great live, especially Rocket Queen (my favorite GNR song) and Nightrain (set closer.)
• I liked “Civil War” a lot better than I remember liking it in 1991.
• Cover of  The Who’s “The Seeker” in encore was freaking fantastic.
• If you were on the fence about attending the show, and didn’t– you made the wrong decision.