Gig review/ Guns N' Roses

BY NARENDRA KUSNUR 

Guns N Roses/ Live In Mumbai

Genre: Rock

Details: Mahalaxmi Race Course grounds, May 17

Presenters: Brought to India by Book My Show Live, globally produced by Live Nation

Rating: ***

Let's face it. Axl Rose's vocals have lost their zing. At 63, the man with one of the most powerful voices in rock history now seems a pale shadow of the past. He athletically soldiered on for two hours and 40 minutes at the Mahalaxmi Race Course last night, determined to play all the favourites. One should give him a nod for perseverance, but one could notice the strain.

Of course, the Guns N' Roses show was more about nostalgia. It was more about hearing those classics performed by a group that has been part of a generation's upbringing. It was about wearing those black GNR tees to see two idols - Axl and guitarist Slash - together on stage, though both have performed in Mumbai separately.

To everyone's delight, Slash was in his element. Those fingers, shown close-up on the giant screen, were sheer artistry, as he donned a sleeveless yellow tee and wore his trademark hat to keep up with his distinct stage persona. The part where he moved from an instrumental solo to his riffs on 'Sweet Child Of Time' , and later to 'November Rain', was sheer magic. The a-ha moments, for many.

The rest of the group was tight too, with old-time bassist Duff McKagan, guitarist Richard Fortus, and keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Melissa Reese joining the party. And how could we forget the bare-chested Isaac Carpenter, the newcomer in the band who looked much younger than his 45 years? Sadly, they were let down by the erratic sound mix in the first 45 minutes or so, with even Axl's voice showing uncanny fluctuations in volume. Though things shaped up after a point. they were nowhere close to the quality one heard at the same venue at the Green Day gig a couple of months ago.

The band took to the stage with 'Welcome To The Jungle' at 7.10 pm after Bengaluru-based group Girish And The Chronicles did an appropriate opening set. Vocalist Girish Pradhan, guitarist Suraz Karki, bassist Yogesh Pradhan and drummer Nagen Mongrati were marvellous on 'Hail To The Heroes', 'Rock n Roll Is Here To Stay' and 'This Night, Every Night'. Girish mentioned how GNR had influenced them, and also hailed the role of Indus Creed and Parikrama in Indian rock. However, people were still walking in during their performance, and clearly, many missed their gig.

GNR did a massive 28-song set, with 'Bad Obsession', 'Mr Brownstone' and the cover of the Wings' 'Live And Let Die' among the early tracks. Axl rarely spoke between songs, and after too many numbers were played back to back, things seemed mechanical, like a greatest hits CD going through the motions. One track he introduced was 'You Could Be Mine', which he described as a love song. Thankfully, he stayed away from the accented 'Namaste' and 'Dhanyavaad'.

A bulk of the crowd was divided between the  ViP and General Attendance (GA) sections, and one could clearly spot the most hardcore fans near the barricade of the latter, though it was distant from the stage. They sang along to stuff like 'Yesterdays', 'It's So Easy' and 'Don't Cry', all favourites of the true-blue followers. A large number of songs were culled from the band's first three albums Appetite For Destruction, Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II. Though they've been covering it regularly over the past seven or eight years, 'Wichita Lineman', written by Jimmy Webb and popularised by Glen Campbell, was a disaster, specially coming straight after 'November Rain'.

Though the crowd would have been tired because of the long walk and the terrible humidity, they waited for hits like the Bob Dylan-penned 'Knockin' On Heaven's Door', the gorgeous 'Patience' from the GNR Lies album, the energetic 'Nighttrain' and the rollicking finale 'Paradise City'. Yet, despite the ups and downs, the show marked a tick-off on many bucket lists, specially for those who waited for years to see Axl and Slash together. All they needed was just a little patience.

SET LIST

Welcome To The Jungle

Bad Obsession 

Mr Brownstone 

Live And Let Die

Chinese Democracy

Locomotive 

It's So Easy

Slither

Pretty Tied Up

Estranged 

Double Talkin' Jive

Absurd

Yesterdays

You Could Be Mine

Rocket Queen

New Rose

Better

Civil War

Slash guitar solo

Sweet Child O' Mine

November Rain

Wichita Lineman 

Knockin' On Heaven's Door 

Hard Skool

Don't Cry

Nighttrain

Patience

Paradise City