Newcastle Entertainment Centre
Wednesday March 13, 2013 :
Given that it was a school night, I was a bit unsure as to how many people would show up to see hard rock behemoths Guns N Roses, but as testament to the band’s influence, Newcastle Gunners fans turned out in droves to witness what was to be a huge rock extravaganza.
Meat and potatoes rockers Rose Tattoo opened up proceedings and really got things going with a set chock a block full of such dirty blues rock classics as ‘Bad Boy For Love’, ‘Rock and Roll Outlaw’ and ‘We Can’t Be Beaten’. Angry and the boys ripped through the high-octane set in a way that many bands their junior could never hope to achieve. While they have threatened, in recent years, to scale things back, tonight’s set proved that there is still plenty of life left in Rose Tattoo.
Hirsute rockers (except for the drummer Frank Beard who ironically is the only one without facial adornment) ZZ Top were up next and, as I have never been the biggest fan of their simplistic blues, I found this set a little repetitive. That said, these guys are consummate professionals and put on the kind of highly polished show that you would expect from a band that had been playing together for more than 40 years. Most of the major ZZ Top food groups were represented – ‘Legs’, ‘Sharp Dressed Man’ and ‘La Grange’, easily the best song about a Texas brothel. If you were a fan of the band you would have been in hog heaven. Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill’s stage presence oozed a laid back Texas cool that may’ve been a little at odds with the rock and roll exuberance that was to follow.
Much had been said in the lead-up to this show about whether Guns N Roses, without the likes of Slash, Duff, Izzy et al could bring it, and the answer is an unequivocal yes. They brought it big time – complete with all of the bells and whistles, pyrotechnics and rock and roll swagger you’d expect from a Guns N Roses show.
Opening with the title track off the latest album Chinese Democracy, Axl and co wasted no time with making their intentions to blow the doors off the Entertainment Centre felt, following up the lesser-known opener with two thunderous run throughs of the Appetite For Destruction classics ‘Welcome To The Jungle’ and ‘Mr Brownstone’.
However, from where I was sitting at least, the vocals sat a bit too far back in the mix, but as the fourth song, ‘Estranged’ from the Use Your Illusion II album kicked in, Axl’s signature wail began to resonate throughout the Ent Cent and refused to give up for the remainder of the set.
Now a seven piece (DJ Ashba, Bumblefoot and Richard Fortus on guitars – yes three guitars, Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman on keys, Tommy Stinson on bass and Frank Ferrer on drums) the band proved to be a force to be reckoned with. While the inclusion of three guitarists may be a little bit of overkill, Guns and Roses, the kings of early 90s rock excess were never known for their subtlety.
In another nod to the overt rock pomp and circumstance that surrounded stadium shows in the 80s and early 90s, all three guitarists and Illusion-era ivory tickler Reed were given their own chance to shine – DJ Ashba impressed with a Satrianai-esque neo-classical number, Dizzy Read gave us a beautiful run through of the Led Zep hit ‘No Quarter’ and Richard Fortus’ solo section proved what a consummate axeman he really is. Bumblefoot chose one of his own songs – a mile a minute punk number ‘Objectify’ that was possibly a low point of the set.
With a few more selections from their Chinese Democracy set thrown in – ‘Better’, ‘This I Love’ and ‘Catcher in The Rye’, the band really surprised with two covers – Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick In The Wall Part 2’ with Axl belting out the “we don’t need no education” line from a piano and a rousing rendition of The Who’s ‘The Seeker’.
The rest of the set read like a Gunners greatest hits album with ‘Night Train’, ‘November Rain’, ‘You Could Be Mine’, ‘Don’t Cry’ and ‘Knockin On Heaven’s Door’. Choosing to close the show with an encore of ‘Patience’ and ‘Paradise City’ was inspired.
Sure it was big, brash, bold and explosive, but that’s exactly what we’ve come to expect from the likes of Guns and Roses – a brilliant rock and roll show.
Reviewer: Stephen Bisset
Photographer: Kevin Bull
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