“This is a totally different show than I thought I was walking into!”, were Axl Rose‘s first words to the crowd after bursting through his first few songs. In between a huge outdoor show at Buffalo’s Outer Harbor, and a headlining gig at this weekend’s Governor’s Ball, Guns N’ Roses took to the comparatively tiny stage at Brooklyn Bowl at around 11:30, giving fans an up close and personal view of the legendary and controversial rocker. As the only remaining original member of Guns N’ Roses, Axl takes a lot of heat from fans for a variety of reasons. He’s credited with alienating all of his former bandmates – from Slash to Duff to Buckethead – he’s incited riots by showing up for shows late or not showing up at all, and the band’s last album, Chinese Democracy, had been a work in progress for almost 15 years. But that’s just what makes Axl such a rock star, and 25 years later, he’s still going strong.
When Axl refused to show up for Guns N’ Roses’ induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame last year, many praised his replacement, Myles Kennedy, while trashing Axl’s new line up as ‘fake’. Of course, it would have been nice to see Slash’s familiar top hat on stage, but from the moment you hear Axl’s first scream, it’s clear that this is the real Guns N’ Roses, or at least as real as it’s going to get. The iconic guitar parts have been replaced perfectly by DJ Ashba and Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, recreating the rhythms and solos from the album and maintaining absolutely off the charts energy. Seriously, I can’t give these guys enough credit. These guys shred hard, never missing a beat.
But the real star of the show was Axl. A little older, hopefully a little wiser, he still has such a commanding stage presence – he’s got old school swag, sauntering around the stage and singing with his bandmates. His voice is still there, and while he did seem to slow down at points, he still hit all of those famous high notes and screams. And that’s really what sets him apart from his former bandmates, and most hard rock frontman to come out in the past twenty years. He just has one of those unique voices that just can’t be easily replicated. There isn’t anyone else who sings like him. When you hear Axl, you know you’re listening to Guns N’ Roses – and that’s why he can still call this band Guns N’ Roses without any former band mates – it’s his voice that really defines the band, and his voice is still all there.
In terms of setlist, you got to hear pretty much everything you could have wanted to hear (outside of ‘November Rain’, which was mysteriously absent). Standard opener ‘Chinese Democracy’ was switched with the Appetite For Destruction track ‘You’re Crazy’, to the delight of old school fans, followed by ‘Welcome To The Jungle’, which got the place absolutely rocking. ‘Mr. Brownstone’ and ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ were sing-a-long crowd pleasers, and the band ripped through two of their most famous covers – ‘Live and Let Die’ and ‘Knocking On Heaven’s Door’. The set closed with a rip-roaring ‘Night Train’, another Appetite For Destruction track. After a quick break, the band came back for an encore, breaking out The Who‘s ‘The Seeker’, and jamming right into ‘Paradise City’ before the lights came back on.
Axl Rose will always be one of the most polarizing figures in rock and roll history, his band’s early albums are nearly unanimously considered classics, and for awhile he could have been called the greatest frontman in rock and roll. But he has done everything possible since to tarnish that great legacy. But before he takes the stage in front of tens of thousands of people, in a little bowling alley in Brooklyn, Axl showed why he can get away with everything he does – he’s still got that voice, he’s still a rock star, and he can still hold an entire audience in the palm of his hand. For an hour and a half, this guy had Brooklyn captivated. He’s still got it.