Guns n Roses @ Outer Harbor, Buffalo, New York 6-5-13

One of the true enigmas of rock and roll is none other than Guns ‘n Roses front man Axl Rose. Axl surrounds himself with drama everywhere he goes or within any circles his name is mentioned. When the Guns ‘n Roses show was announced as the first show to kick off Buffalo’s Outer Harbor series, there was a lot of skepticism and chatter. Of course the talk centered around the questions, “Will Axl show up on time? Will he get mad and walk off stage at some point?” “What will his mood be playing next to Lake Erie?” Well, all of those were answered very favorably this past Wednesday night when the band took the stage at 10pm EST.

Yes, that’s TEN PM EST! Not 10:30 as was originally reported as the start time. Axl actually showed up EARLY! His band still consists of the same band I have witnessed the last two times; guitarists DJ Ashba, Richard Fortus, and Ron Bumblefoot, Tommy Stinson on bass, Frank Ferrer on drums, and Dizzy Reed and Chris Pitman on keyboards completed the line-up.

The set list has been mostly the same for the last few years as the band opened up with Chinese Democracy and then ran through a catalog of their well-known tunes. Axl seemed to be in great spirits right from the beginning. In fact, he or the band for that matter, didn’t let the below average temperatures get to them as they delivered an outstanding 3 hour performance.

Each band member was featured in some sort of solo spotlight, including all 3 guitarists. The stage set up included an LED screen backdrop with two stairs running up each side of the drum kit.

As the long list of G ‘n R hits were played, Axl’s voice remained spot on for the entire night! Yes, I must say that he was as incredible to watch as he was to hear, as this was one of his best vocal performances. His high energy command of the stage mesmerized a sea of fans, both young and not so young. The band also turned in a tight performance and even though this group of musicians is not the original line-up from 1988, they still held their own and deserve a mention for their contribution in resurrecting G ‘n R for all those who haven’t sent a live G ‘n R performance in over 20 years. Axl also played the piano on a few songs, including the epic “November Rain,” and what I felt maybe was the highlight of the evening, a solo spot on the on the Elton John song “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.” The show ended with confetti cannons blasting through the brisk Buffalo air and Axl saying, “Buffalo.good fu*kin’ night!” as he tossed his microphone into the crowd where a lucky fan scarfed up a cool souvenir.

A Guns ‘n Roses show that went off without a hitch, with positives and superlatives being thrown every which way to the band after; now that is something we didn’t expect going in did we?

Set List:

Chinese Democracy
Welcome to the Jungle
It’s So Easy
Mr. Brownstone
Estranged
Better
Rocket Queen
Richard Fortus Guitar Solo (The Blacklight Jesus of Transylvania)
Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
This I Love
Used to Love Her
Motivation (Tommy Stinson song) (Tommy Stinson on lead vocals, with band introductions)
Dizzy Reed Piano Solo (No Quarter- Led Zeppelin cover)
Catcher in the Rye
You Could Be Mine
DJ Ashba Guitar Solo (Mi Amor)
Sweet Child O’ Mine
Another Brick in the Wall Part 2 (Pink Floyd cover) (with Axl on piano)
Axl Rose Piano Solo (Goodbye Yellow Brick Road -Elton John cover)
November Rain
Objectify (Bumblefoot cover) (Bumblefoot on lead vocals)
Don’t Cry
Civil War
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
Nightrain