Guns N’ Roses @ Rogers Centre, Toronto, Ontario 7-16-16

Being billed as “Not in this Lifetime Tour,” Guns n’ Roses have reformed with some of the original members and are trekking out and playing stadiums in major cities this summer. It’s been 23 years since Axl Rose and guitarist Slash have played on the same stage together. Much bad blood has been put aside for these two to even be in the same room together, let alone on the same stage. Along with original bassist Duff McKagan, the three original members are spearheading one of the biggest tours this summer. This year’s touring outfit also included longtime keyboardist Dizzy Reed, Richard Fortus on rhythm guitar, Frank Ferrer on drums and Melissa Reese on keyboards.

I must say I was very apprehensive about going to see one of these shows. I was lucky enough to see the band in 1992 (not the original five, but nonetheless it was the Use Your illusion lineup) and they still were at the top of their game at that time. So seeing the band then, I didn’t really think this incarnation would show me much to compare to the version I saw back in 1992. Boy, I must say I was so wrong. Seeing the band up close and from about 15 feet away at the Rogers Centre this past Saturday in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, put any of my preconceived notions to rest. I will get more into that later but it should be noted that this was the only stop in Canada on the first leg of this tour. The Rogers Centre was sold out (50,000) and the crowd gave the band a good response throughout the entire show.

GnR took the stage at 9:50 pm (stage time was set at 9:45), so a mere 10 minutes late was a remarkable Improvement for Rose who is notorious for making fans wait sometimes hours before taking the stage. The band appeared one by one then both McKagan and Slash appeared getting the crowd riled up. The people next to me were saying “this is really happening,” while grabbing each other with uncontained enthusiasm. McKagan started to pound out those few first bass lines to the hard driving “It’s So Easy” off the iconic album “Appetite for Destruction” then everything took off. Rose came running out to take center stage to sing the opening lines of that and the place went absolutely bonkers. Rose minced few words in between songs but he didn’t need to. The music did the talking and Rose works the crowd like few others can.

The show was choreographed to let band members showcase their talents as well. Slash and Fortus did a great job on “Double Talkin’ Jive” (Use Your Illusion 1) and it showed early that the guitar would be front and center along with Rose’s dynamic vocals. One of my favorite GnR tracks is “Rocket Queen” and the band did the extended version which just ripped and was one of the highlights of the show. The crowd went absolutely ballistic for “You Could be Mine.”

McKagan took over and sang lead for the Misfits cover “Attitude.” Rose’s vocal highlight possibly came on the next track “This I Love.” He really sang the sh*t out of it and showed, if there was any doubt, that he was up to the task on delivering the goods. “Sorry” was also another highlight where Rose held a note for a bit to the delight of the crowd.

Before the band played “Out Ta Get Me,” Rose talked about how the band being detained as one of the members of the touring entourage had a gun on one of the buses. He joked and was very complimentary towards customs. It was a perfect segue into the song. Rose’s masterpiece “November Rain” saw a piano rise from the bottom of the stage to the top and Slash playing the solo from atop behind the drum kit. I wish just like on the 1992 tour that he would ascend to on top of the piano and play from there. It would have made for a cool effect. Hopefully, Rose will allow this to take place going forward. A few horns blared in the front of the stage for the start of “Nightrain.” McKagan played the acoustic while Slash played a beautiful double neck guitar on “Patience.” Of course, the show ended like each GnR show has for the last 15 years with the anthemic “Paradise City.” This included a load of sprayed confetti and fire to give a bombastic ending to what I call a bombastic show.

So a show I had no interest in really seeing became, by far, the most unsurpassed show I’ve seen so far this year. Slash’s guitar playing doesn’t get enough of the credit it deserves. He played the tracks like they were supposed to be played, note for note. He was spot on. McKagen seemed at home back as the bass player for GnR and was moving around the stage the entire night and also provided quality harmonies. There are few front men in the history of rock that have the gift and swagger that Rose has. Rose worked that crowd from the first chord to the last, when he subsequently tossed his microphone dead center, about 10 rows back, to a lucky fan. What a souvenir for that fan and what a show for us!

Setlist:

It’s So Easy

Mr. Brownstone

Chinese Democracy

Welcome to the Jungle

Double Talkin’ Jive

Estranged

Live and Let Die (Wings cover)

Rocket Queen

You Could Be Mine

You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory/Attitude (Misfits cover)

This I Love