Guns N' Roses: Used Up Illusion at the Concert in Zurich

We have grown old. We the fans - as well as wild rock heroes Axl Rose, Duff McKagan and Slash, three of the five main figures of the 1993's line-up, reunited on stage yesterday for the first time since 51. The gentlemen, all of whom are now between 55 and 118 years old, want to have completed XNUMX shows as part of the tour by the end of the year. Guns N' Roses played a long concert in Zurich's Letzigrund and revived a pithy piece of rock history.

Guns N 'Roses - You could be mine [Zurich Zurich 7 - 6 - 2017]

What was already apparent in front of the stadium was possibly the highest density of fan shirts in the world. Even the young fans who didn’t see the band’s heyday wore black, guns and roses. The concert was definitely not a pure nostalgia event. Sure, most of the visitors were over 40 and were there to hear the soundtrack of their youth and to indulge in memories. But apparently there is also a young generation of GnR fans who only came into contact with their music after the band split up in the mid-XNUMXs. So the band still manages to win new fans today.

The show in Zurich's Letzigrund was the fifth of a total of 19 European concerts on the big Guns N' Roses reunion tour, which Rose, McKagan and Slash had obviously considered unthinkable themselves, such as the tour title "Not in this Lifetime » hints self-deprecatingly. The musicians, who used to be notorious for drug and violent excesses and for their unreliability, had fallen out in the mid-20s - until the band surprisingly got back together this spring. Also missing from the original line-up are longtime pianist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Izzy Stradlin and drummer Steve Adler, who have been replaced by Richard Fortus and Frank Ferrer. Although the band has been written off again and again in the last 70 years, they proved yesterday that they are not outdated and still have a lot of power under the hood. The Americans played an almost three-hour, seamless show that never bored them. After around XNUMX shows in both Americas, the program is set.

Guns N 'Roses - Paradise city [Zurich Zurich 7 - 6 - 2017]

Following the latest terror reports, the security standards for the first major Swiss stadium show were tightened again and three helicopters alternated circling over the Letzigrund. For example, larger bags and rucksacks were not permitted, but only cosmetic and bum bags that were not allowed to be larger than an A5 sheet. Everyone was scanned individually and many had to queue three times, first at the entrance where they were turned away, then at the lockers for the prohibited items behind the stadium and then again at the entrance. So the IS terrorists have managed to change the lifestyle in Switzerland, although they have not carried out an attack here so far. The bomb at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester triggered a psychological shock wave that reached as far as the Letzigrund. Unfortunately, common sense is obviously being left aside, because there is no such thing as absolute security. It hasn't and never will. If there is actually a risk of terrorism, the crowd in front of the stadium would be the easiest target, as the attacks in front of the football stadium in Paris showed, where the bombs detonated outside ...

Guns N 'Roses - Don't cry [Zurich Zurich 7 - 6 - 2017]

The first third of the concert had the character of a warm-up program, for the band as well as for the audience. As dusk began to fall and the full moon rose above the stadium, the intensity of the event increased and continued until the very end. Everything was there, the top hat, the double neck guitar and the plaid shirt wrapped around the singer's waist. Almost three decades have passed since the best days of the band, now they are back on stage in the packed Letzigrund in Zurich and it almost felt like it did before. The poses and the guitar solos are like they were when the Los Angeles boys were the biggest rock band in the world for a moment. GnR played over 25 songs this Wednesday evening, including all the big hits, from "Welcome To The Jungle" to "You Could Be Mine" to the ballad "November Rain" to the grand finale with "Paradise City". The band also mixed a few songs from the last Guns N' Roses album "Chinese Democracy", released in 2008, into the set. In addition to their own songs, GnR also played numerous covers, including "Black Hole Sun" in memory of the recently deceased Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell.

Duff McKagan looks really good and healthy, which has not been seen in the past. Axl Rose was impressed by how well his voice, which rasped in the low register and chafed in the high register, held up. And Slash's solos are epic anyway. They quoted Chuck Berry, the film music of "The Godfather" and Pink Floyd and even then they didn't get to the end. The concert lasted over two and a half hours, didn't miss a hit and still offered a few lesser-known numbers. Slash kept his glasses on all night but switched guitars on every song and did what was expected of him. Unfortunately, the famous guitar riff of "Sweet Child O' Mine" came without the sparkling elegance of the original and the sweeping solo in "November Rain" sounded somewhat empty. The same goes for the whole band. Nobody is interested in the fact that Richard Fortus actually plays the guitar better than Slash, because he is not Slash. For the fact that a reunion of the core seemed unthinkable for more than 20 years and was excluded for life on every occasion, the performance was great. In this cast, GnR is not a group of old friends, but a bunch of quarreling stubborn heads who got together because of the money and thanks to a certain age wisdom and play this role absolutely professionally. Anyone expecting lust or passion was definitely in the wrong place.

Guns N 'Roses - November rain [Zurich Zurich 7 - 6 - 2017]

In the course of the concert, the joy of the band's return gradually diminishes. Axl changed leather jackets, shirts and hats more than Lady Gaga or Madonna probably ever did, mega oversize rings sparkle on his hands and when he takes off his sunglasses it becomes apparent that he is wearing kajal. During his guest appearance as the singer of AC / DC last summer, Axl already impressively demonstrated that Axl still has it at over 50. For the entrance fee of 120 francs, rock legends like Guns N 'Roses have to offer more than just music and so skulls, graffiti, smoke and rock stars in larger than life sizes shone on three giant screens and the fireworks went off again and again. For the material, 24 trucks are needed, which were parked right next to the stadium. Despite a mammoth tour and a few pounds of wealth, the men are in top form. Axl sprints around, curses as often as he can and showed the middle finger in the first song. Slash can still bend his knees deeply and plays his solos at the front edge of the stage, in every song and for minutes, which Axl used for short breaks and said clothes changes.

Guns N' Roses played powerfully, but without passion. They played for a long time, but without desire. But GnR also achieve an impressive moment of greatness when they played Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun". They were reminiscent of the band's lead singer, Chris Cornell, who recently took his own life, and they were reminiscent of the years 1992-1994 when they were swept off the main stage by grunge bands like Soundgarden. They do it as veterans, as survivors of the rock business, commemorating the dead. Chuck Berry, Chris Cornell, but also Prince, Gregg Allman, Pink Floyd and AC/DC, they have all been honored with a cover version in one way or another. Guns N' Roses dominated the moment 25 years ago and expertly squandered it. But the illusion is gone. Today they seem to accept themselves as part of history, as a historical band. On this evening you could immerse yourself in the 90s again for a lot of money. You don't know exactly what it was like back then - so much was glorified. Nevertheless, a nice journey back in time, in which the mid-fifties revived a pithy piece of rock history and served an obviously existing appetite for reconstruction.

Guns N 'Roses - Wish you were here [Zurich Zurich 7 - 6 - 2017]

setlist:
Looney Tunes
The Equalizer (Harry Gregson-Williams Song)

1. It's so easy
2. Mr Brownstone
3. Chinese Democracy
4. Welcome to the Jungle
5. Double Talkin' Jive
6. Better
7. Estranged
8. Live and Let Die (Wings Cover)
9. Rocket queen
10. You could be mine
11. New Rose (The Damned Cover)
12. This I Love
13. Civil War («Voodoo Child» outro)
14. Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
15. Coma
16. Slash guitar solo
17. Speak Softly Love (Love Theme From The Godfather, Nino Rota Cover)
18. Sweet Child O'Mine
19. We Michelle
20. Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd Cover, Slash & Richard Fortus Guitar Duet)
21. November Rain (“Layla” Piano Exit Intro with Axl Rose playing Grand Piano)
22. Knockin' on Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan Cover, «Only Women Bleed» Intro)
23. night rain

Again:

24. Don't Cry (The Allman Brothers Band «Melissa» Intro)
25. Whole Lotta Rosie (AC / DC Cover)
26. Paradise City

You Know My Name (Chris Cornell Song)

[rwp-review id=»0″]