You Know Where You Are?
You’re in the jungle, baby.
What a night. One of those you cross off the bucket list - and feel the lingering pain of for days…
Last night I went to see Guns n Roses in Hamilton. I entered the arena as skeptical as anyone, not even being certain that Axl would show up for the concert. But at 10:45PM, he finally took to the stage with a new band, all amazing musicians.
I hadn’t yet heard the Chinese Democracy record, but some of the songs were actually good. Shocking, right? I’m not sure what each one was called as Axl didn’t introduce one song by name the whole night, but I’m definitely excited to hear the record.
But what was most surprising was how strong Axl’s voice was. Videos from the 90s show him hardly able to get through some of the classics, missing notes all along the way. Somewhere between now and then, he learned how to sing. He seemed to be in constant control of his body, keeping a firm footing in order to really project for all of the higher parts, and only running around when it didn’t make his vocals suffer. And of course the classic shuffle dance kept us entertained all the while.
The set was almost 3 hours long and included everything I wanted to hear. I seem to have developed the innate ability to be present when bands play the more obscure songs that I love, which they probably only attempt a few times per tour. Last night was Estranged, my favourite GnR song (You Could Be Mine is a close second - oh, they played that, too).
Estranged is musical majesty. I can only dream of ever putting something together like that song. Close to 10 minutes long and with 3 guitar solos as well as an epic finish, it doesn’t get much better. I suppose, however, I’ll settle with watching it be played live in front of me. Pretty special, and I’m lucky.
