Guns N’ Roses
4th February 2017
Western Springs Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand
Review by Sarah Kidd, Photography by Doug Peters.
Once in a blue moon; a truly legendary band touches down in New Zealand. Whether you are a fan or not, what makes them legendary is just how infamous Guns n Roses are. You know who they are. Everyone knows who they are. They have become an integral part of the woven history of music and nothing will ever change that.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, in support tonight was the ever endearing Wolfmother, who are basically our cousins due to the fact that they hail from Sydney, Australia. With a gorgeously dirty Rock n Roll sound, this 3 piece – who officially formed in 2004 – wasted no time in hitting the gathering sea of black with a wall of noise as they kicked off their set with ‘Victorious’. Lead singer Andrew Stockdale’s voice in full flight as he howls into the microphone. While they make look tiny on such a huge stage, their presence is massive. This is in part due to the hugely entertaining bass player/keyboardist Ian Peres who plays with such unabandoned pleasure that it is a sight to behold. On tracks such as ‘White Unicorn’ where Peres plays the keyboards (while on his knees it might be added) – it feels as if the spirit of The Doors themselves are being channelled. “You beautiful people – bless!” Stockdale beams at the audience. Wolfmother run through nine tracks of pure Rock n Roll bliss and prove just why they have shared the stage with some of music’s biggest acts.
The sun which has been blazing down on patrons for the entirety of the day is slowly sinking down behind the main stage when graphics featuring the Guns n Roses logo spring to life on gigantic side screens. The sound of gunshots echo out across the stadium eliciting huge cheers from the crowd as they realise that within minutes the icons that are GnR are about to arrive. It is quite an amazing sight to see thousands (over 50,000 at official count) of people gather in a single place to collectively experience a musical event. And there are few acts currently touring that can boast being able to draw such numbers.
As the lights hit the elaborate stage of platforms and staircases, the opening notes of ‘It’s So Easy’ from the epic album ‘Appetite for Destruction’ ring out, sending the crowd into an absolute frenzy. While it may not quite be the original line-up, it’s the best we are going to get and let’s face it seeing the trio of Slash, Duff and the man Axl himself back on stage together again, brings a tear to the eye of any true Gunners fan. Axl, resplendent in leather jacket and jeans, a flannel shirt tied around his waist and wearing enough bling to sink a ship wastes no time in showing us that while he may now be in his mid-fifties he can still tear around a stage of staircases while wailing into the microphone (even if it did leave him a little breathless). Slash, the ultimate icon of cool was there in his trade mark top hat and curly hair, a look that was mimicked by more than a few fans on site. Bass player Duff McKagen always cuts an impressive figure with his height and edgy looks, and tonight is no exception. The current line-up consists of seven members, the band boasting two keyboardists (the well-known Dizzy Reed and relative new comer Melissa Reece) along with Richard Fortus on rhythm guitar and Frank Ferrer on drums.
After second song of the night ‘Mr Brownstone’ Axl, eyeing up the crowd says “How you doin – there’s a lot of you motherfuckers here aren’t there?” and that was about the most audience interaction we received (besides a rather strange little anecdote later in the set where Axl leans on Duff’s shoulder and says “You know, Duff went into a store in Wellington, and they tried to sell him a top hat!”). While the sound was unfortunately rather muddy for the support act, it was thankfully crystal clear for the Gunners. And while Axl’s vocals are at times a little screechy (‘This I Love’ was admittedly a bad choice live and a tad cringe worthy) he proved that he is still up there with the best of them belting out hit after hit, his lower octave range deep enough to rumble the ground.
Duff McKagen also flexed his vocal chords stepping up to the microphone mid set to deliver a face meltingly good version of the Misfits classic ‘Attitude’ a popular cover amongst fans. There was sadly a notable absence of banter between the members of the band; however the guitar work of the night spoke volumes. Slash inspired thousands of air guitar solos as he delivered some stunning finger work on tracks such as the underrated ‘Double Talkin Jive’, and ‘The Godfather’ theme. But it was the duets between Slash and Fortus that really stole the show; their instrumental cover of Pink Floyds ‘Wish you were here’ while standing upon a podium a genuinely moving affair.
So far the audience had been treated to a great mix of tracks from both the Appetite and Illusion albums with a few songs from the less well received Chinese Democracy thrown in for good measure. And when a baby grand piano appeared front of stage, every soul present knew what was coming next. A close up of Axl’s hands revealed not only rings the size of rocks, but beautiful piano work, Rose being a highly accomplished player. The fierce ending to the song was accompanied by showers of sparks from the stage ceiling and visuals of rain moving swiftly across the screens.
Speaking of screens, let’s hear it for the unsung heroes of the show, the people who put together the absolutely, mind blowing onstage visuals! Each and every song was accompanied by outstanding graphics depicting everything from skeletons getting it on to birds taking flight. Not to be forgotten either is the cameramen who followed the moves of the four main members, their astounding camera work projected crystal clear on the aforementioned side screens, ensuring that no matter how far back from the stage you were, it felt like you were within inches of the band. The gunners set finished on the grimy classic ‘Nightrain’, a song about the infamous cheap fortified wine that was popular with the band back in the day when they could afford little else.
There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that we wouldn’t receive an encore and after a very short break, the band returned to the stage and delivered a further four songs, finishing on the ever popular ‘Paradise City’ complete with pyrotechnics and showers of confetti. The gunners retreated under the cover of smoke, only to return one last time for a final bow, the sight of Axl, Slash and Duff arm in arm with the rest of the members tugging on the heart strings – long may their renewed friendship continue!
Were you there at Western Springs Stadium to witness this epic show? Or have you seen Guns N’ Roses somewhere else before? Tell me about it in the comments below!
Wolfmother Setlist:
- Victorious
- New Moon Rising
- Woman
- White Unicorn
- Apple Tree
- Gypsy Caravan
- Cosmic Egg
- How Many Times
- Joker and the Thief
Guns N’ Roses Setlist:
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live & Let Die
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Attitude (Misfits Cover)
- This I Love
- Civil War
- Come
- Godfather Theme (Guitar Instrumental)
- Sweet Child of Mine
- Yesterday
- My Michelle
- Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd Cover – Guitar Instrumental)
- November Rain
- Knockin on Heaven’s Door
- Nightrain
- Sorry [encore]
- Don’t Cry [encore]
- The Seeker (The Who cover) [encore]
- Paradise City [encore]
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