Frank Meyer, Managing Editor
Monday, January 15, 2001 03:34 PM
Guns N' Roses Play Rock In Rio To Ecstatic Reception; Audio Bootlegs Of
Live Shows Surface On The Net
As
live bootlegs of the Guns N' Roses' line-up surface on the net, GN'R
singer (and the only original member) Axl Rose took his new outfit to
Rio De Janeiro for the Rock In Rio Festival last night and rocked the
elated crowd of 200,000.
On
Sunday, January 14th at 2am, the retooled GN'R blazed through a two-hour
and fifteen-minute, 22-song set that leaned heavily on vintage Guns
material but, like the Vegas set, featured some choice selection from
the upcoming Chinese Democracy album. Opening with "Welcome
to the Jungle" Axl screamed, "Do you know where you are?
You're in the jungle baby! You're gonna die!!!" as his band tore
into the classic cut with precision and aplomb.
Dressed
in trainer pants and an open white shirt, Rose stormed the stage, the
same one he stalked when GN'R played the festival in 1991, with an
abundance of energy and bravado. Like the days of old, he controlled the
show with iron fist, at one point toward the beginning of the set,
yelling at a security guard, "Get that guy out of here. Are you
listening to me Mr. Security guard? That guy. Out." Rose also used
a translator for his between song speeches, of which there were many. At
one point Axl even mentioned his former bandmates, saying, "I know
that many of you are disappointed that some of the people that you came
to know and love could not be here with us here today. Regardless of
what you have heard or read, people worked very hard -- meaning my
former friends -- to do everything they could so I could not be here
today. I say fuck that. I am as hurt and disappointed as you that unlike
Oasis, we could not find a way to all just get along...so much for the
past. This is 'Live and Let Die.'" The band then tore into the Paul
McCartney classic.
The
new line-up - currently featuring of Buckethead, Robin Finck, Tommy
Stinson, Paul Tobias, Dizzy Reed, Chris Pittman, and Brain - ripped
through the classics like they'd been playin' 'em since '87, but it was
the new songs that many were curious to hear. Rose debuted two songs
that were not in the Vegas set, "Madagascar," in addition to
the five others that he debuted during the New Years Eve performance,
"Oh My God" (the only one to have been released, on the End
Of Days soundtrack), "The Blues," "Silkworms,"
"Chinese Democracy," and "Rhiad & The Bedouins."
In addition to the obvious hits, the band played several GN'R tunes that
had not been played since the very early days, including "Think
About You" and "My Michele." Rose also addressed the old
school Guns heavy set, saying, "We've done one show before this and
already we have been criticized for playing old songs. But I have no
intention and I never did of denying you all something you enjoyed. And
I thought it was only fair for you to see that this new band can play
the fuck out of these songs. It's very hard to ask a musician to learn
to play the part or parts played by other musicians before that. These
guys here have worked very hard."
He
closed the set with, "I love you. I will be back here next summer
with a whole bunch of new songs. Be good to each other and we'll see you
later." For the hardcore Guns fans who can't wait that long, many
of the songs from the New Years Eve show at House Of Blues and even
songs from last night's show are already surfacing on the internet.