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- DoubleTalkingJive
- Rep: 74
Re: Questions
Even tho some GNR fans are jaded, pissed and feel like every year they are let down.
Those that went to concerts that feel this way, when you saw Axl on stage, did you forget about all this and really enjoy or was blown away by him as well as the band?
Did it change your way of thinking at all about the situation afterwards?
Re: Questions
I wanted to puke when I heard Fink playing the SCOM intro !
HA! I wouldn't go that far, but I will NEVER forget watching Inland Invasion as it happened. I have posted about this experience before at the old site. I was watching it with a bunch of people, and even though it was on a comp, had a great speaker system and it was a party type atmosphere. The night was filled with laughter while this band played the old songs, and then laughter as BBF tried to recreate BH. Most of these people were casual fans now but had also heard all the leaks.
Most of the laughter coming from my mouth was during the new songs. I don't think they do a bad job on the old songs, although there are a few bad moments on that front as well.
- jimmythegent
- Rep: 30
Re: Questions
Hey all and Merry Xmas!
I saw them live in Auckland in June and to be honest it was pretty underwhelming stuff. Wouldn't scrape into my top 10 concerts and this is coming from a life long Guns fan.
It was a blast to see Axl in person, but the band itself, although competent, lacked the magic. And Finck was a major disappointment - sorry, I just can't see what it is that some people think he brings.
So in answer to the initial question, if anything, seeing them live made me pine for a reunion even more and kind of completed this little period of Guns history for me personally. I'll be buying CD if it ever comes out, but I don't hold out much hope anymore and I really don;t care anywhere near as much as I did say 2-3 years ago. Too many naff excuses and crying wolf I'm afraid - the ship has pretty much sailed.
- monkeychow
- Rep: 661
Re: Questions
I'm a bit different.
I wouldn't consider myself jaded or pissed about GNR. I am disapointed about the lack of updates as its now only a few months till the aniversary of the tentative date. But i'm not like angry about it.
In terms of GNR, prior to seeing the new band live i'd become quite into the new band, I really like the leaks and new songs and even though i've always been a huge slash fan, was starting to accept the way things are these days as I felt the new songs really showed that the new guys have some game. Like finks solo in the blues is great, and I love the Axl scream in IRS, and TWAT is a cool song etc.
However when i saw the band live something different happened to me. Now this is just my opinion and i'm sure wont be shared by a lot of people on there. I've never been an Axl nutswinger so to speak - but it was very obvious to me that Axl is on a level far above the rest of the band. I was blown away by Axl - he is clearly one of those people with an unusual talent and chrisma thats just on a different playing field to most people you meet.
To me that's whats different about GNR now. There used to be at least 2 people with that kind of power in the band (Axl and Slash), and now there is one. People like to make everything these days about liking axl or slash and it being all axl vs slash fan, but the truth is they're very similar. Both people with a lot of natuaral chrisma and energy who are unusually gifted. Its that something else - like X factor.
While the other musicians are gifted, they arn't on that level Axl is to me. Robin's bluesy solo was great, and he shines in the new songs, but he just doesn't replicate Slash's parts properly on the old songs. (perhaps this is by choice) and this hurts things for me - as those guitar melodys are like verses of a song - and just as you wouldn't want to hear Scott add a new verse to Mr Brownstone, I don't like to hear Robin change the melodies of the solos to the other AFD tracks.
Ron is an awesome guitarist in terms of his technical skill - but his tone was like a computer synth - lost all of the old school rock feel that songs like "out to get me" really need. So he is a star, but not the world's best fit for the band for that reason in my opinion - other than in places where he gets to replicate bucket which he does ok to me.
Then you get to Tommy and Richard - who only ever phone in a peformance worthy of any professional musician. but nothing special. I really don't understand the idolisation of them on many boards. And pitman and dizzy do ok - but then are basicly irrelevant on any song from AFD, which is 90% of the set list. So basicly what you get is 1 genuine superstar - Axl - and then a world class backing band - but not an outfit of superstars.
Its different when they do play the leaks and the new songs. Then you see something a bit different. But seeing this band live really showed me that they just can't deliver the old songs properly. Gone are the days of stuff like Double Talking Jive and Civil War..and I can see why. The feeling isn't there. When it does sound cool its just cos the song is cool. Same way it sounds cool when any pro guitarist plays a GNR tune accurately. But its no longer the people in the band that make it special.
- Jimmy Zig Zag Bobiadis
- Rep: 25
Re: Questions
Blown away by the band ? I wanted to puke when I heard Fink playing the SCOM intro !
your posts make me want to puke.
- DoubleTalkingJive
- Rep: 74
Re: Questions
Jimmy Zig Zag Bobiadis wrote:starsko wrote:Blown away by the band ? I wanted to puke when I heard Fink playing the SCOM intro !
your posts make me want to puke.
I personally find the new band to be great. I think they do a better job on the GNR tunes then VR does, that's for damn sure.
Agreed!
I was a jaded fan prior to me seeing them live. When I saw them live 3 times, I was blown away. Being there is definitely apart of the experience and I am sure some of it was star struck with Axl but damn when he walks out on that stage and does his thing and the band IMO was incredible behind him, that definitely helped ease my jadedness and just hang out this past year to see what happens rather then expecting it and then being let down.
Don't get me wrong, I'd love better updating from GNR and hopefully CD at some point.
But seeing them live in 06 and getting into Ron's music and exploring that has really made me alot more mellow and more accepting of the unknown of what the next year is going to bring. The positives this year was GNR touring [because it's better then Axl and the band being MIA, I think anyone can admit that, because most members only see the touring as a cash grab]. Axl being on Angel Down. Compared to end of 2002 to May of 2006, the last 2 years have been great for GNR. Before everyone jumps down my throat at what defines great, we all know how GNR is and for GNR yeah it's been great in GNR land.
Re: Questions
I personally find the new band to be great. I think they do a better job on the GNR tunes then VR does, that's for damn sure.
To me, that's apples and oranges. The songs VR tends to cover (Brownstone, ISE) are the ones that are within Scott's range; he would make himself a certifiable idiot should he try to replicate Axl's great big screams. I'm not that fond of Scott, but I have to admit, he's not that bad fronting VR on those low-register Axl songs. The band lets Scott go easy, and the performance lies on the amazing groove Slash, Duff and Matt are still able to create.
As for Axl's current band, in comparison they sound heavier. While VR comes off as this slick guitar-driven rock band, Axl's GNR sounds pretty damn colossal, with this huge overall sound custom-built for arenas. It's hard not to get excited while watching Axl push himself to match the sheer volume of the live band. That, I think, is the philosophical difference in between VR and (current) GNR; Slash and Duff play it safe in a lot of ways, and while their talent and chemistry are unquestionable, neither Scott or the new original material seem to jolt them enough to really put themselves on the line.
While Axl's band may sound a bit clunkier, including everything and the kitchen sink with two keyboard players in the mix, they do match his voice better. To me, both bands actually sound like their frontmen, which is why I'd be wary about a reunion taking place anytime soon. Slash and Duff would either pick up the pace or Axl'd need to pipe down, and I can't see either option happening in the immediate future.
