A MASTERPIECE! Guns N’ Roses Historic Reunion

The email flew Tuesday, January 19, 2016 at 10:16 in the morning here in New York. I read it around noon. The Subject line read, “Nightrian Pre-Sale: 2 Vegas Shows Announced”. I quickly scanned the body of the email, “April 8, 2016 – Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena…Pre-sale password to appear on Account Dashboard at 12:55pm, ticket sales begin 1pm…” It was about to happen! I was minutes away from securing the best seats in the house to a historic Rock & Roll event, the debut reunion performance of one of the greatest bands in Rock & Roll history, an iconic band whose three original members, Axl Rose, Saul Hudson AKA Slash, and Duff McKagan, had not performed together since July 17, 1993 at the Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aries, Argentina. I started to cry, filled with such incredible emotion. Yes that’s what Guns N’ Roses means to me! I didn’t even notice the spelling typo in the email subject line… Nightrian. Hmm, perhaps a treasured fan artifact? Sitting on the edge of my chair, I became a proud Signature VIP ticketholder at 1:03pm, Section 3, Row D, Seat 10. Tickets to the general public went on sale 4 days later. They sold out before the day was over.

Guns N’ Roses had made their original comeback announcement to much fanfare on January 4, 2016 with the news that they will be headlining the Coachella Festival in Indio, California April 16 and 23, 2016. Tweets from @gunsnroses  @Slash  @DuffMcKagan and @axlrose, similar posts on Facebook and Instagram, and an email to fan club Nightrain members filled the hearts of legions of dedicated fans around the world that had been waiting for this moment for 20 years!

Of course there had been considerable speculation in the months leading up to this announcement, as reconciliation rumors swirled, original band members were increasingly in the spotlight, and changes to the current lineup began to emerge. In a May 7, 2015 interview with CBS, Slash revealed, “I gotta be careful what I say there. I mean, if everybody wanted to do it and do it for the right reasons, you know, I think the fans would love it. I think it might be fun at some point to try and do that, but…it just starts to get into a whole complex thing. But anyway, it’s really between the guys in the band.” Slash admitted that he and Axl Rose hadn’t spoken for “a long time,” but that most of their old tensions had eased. “We don’t have all those issues anymore,” he said. “There’s not a lot of controversy. It’s something that’s more perpetuated by the media than anything.”

On July 27, 2015, lead guitarist DJ Ashba announced he was leaving the latest Guns N’ Roses band member configuration. Soon after, guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal acknowledged his departure as well.

An August 2015  interview followed on Swedish TV Station Aftonbladet, where Slash revealed that becoming friends again with Axl Rose “..was probably way overdue..”

In December the band’s official website was updated with their classic logo. On December 24, the Guns N’ Roses Facebook page changed its profile picture to that of a screaming crowd. Then at the end of December, a mysterious trailer of a crowd going wild, to the tune of “Welcome to the Jungle”, was shown at screenings of the new ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ movie.

Guns N’ Roses reunion mania had now reached a fever pitch as we ushered in 2016, prompting lead singer Axl Rose to playfully tweet this denial on January 1. The much anticipated announcement came 3 days later to a completely enamored global Rock & Roll community!

Fast forward to Saturday evening February 13, 2016.   I’m at the London Hotel in Hollywood with Slash and 49 other very lucky fans for an Advanced Screening of “The Witch”.  There I meet one of GNR’s most dedicated fans, Margott Hinostroza, a true asset to the band and fans around the world. She alerted me to a specific Nightrain discussion thread and new Facebook Group attending the Las Vegas concerts. Terrific! I’m new to GNR’s fan club, “Nightrain” and very impressed by this band’s command of social media technology to engage their listener audience! Of course there is also a very active Guns N’ Roses community on Twitter, of which I am heavily engaged, and use as my primary source of band and band member information. As of this writing, I have 103.8k impressions in the past 28 days. 19 of my top 20 impressions are GNR related, with my top tweet earning 34,541 impressions and 816 engagements. What was it? I’ll get to that in a minute.

As we approached the April 8 and 9 concert dates, we moved to a new social media app called Celly, in order to chat and coordinate our Vegas activities. A meet up was set for Thursday evening April 7 at 10:30pm at the Center Bar at the New York, New York Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. Great! My flight was scheduled to arrive at 8:40pm.

It was an incredible evening as this energetic and devoted group took over the Center Bar! Fans flew in from across the United States to destinations as far away as South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia! I met new friends from Florida to northern California, New Zealand, Australia, United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands and more! I had only intended to stay until 11pm for the group photo, as I was still on New York time and completely exhausted, but the energy was palpable and kept me going a while longer!

The next morning I was up early for breakfast, so excited for the night ahead! Late morning though, that excitement turned to raw emotion, as one of the guys on our Celly App shared that Axl had fractured his ankle during last night’s practice, this from a very reliable source. I was aware that Axl had fallen early in GNR’s surprise club performance a week early at the Troubadour in Hollywood. I had also heard he had twisted his ankle at the practice for that event. I was incredibly worried at this point, but still hopeful it was simply a rumor. To be clear, I was never worried that Axl wouldn’t deliver. I knew he would. I simply wanted each and every member of this incredible Rock & Roll band to have the experience of a lifetime, just like me!

Then our legendary and beloved singer brought us into the fold with this tweet, “This is what can happen when you do something you haven’t done in nearly over 23 years, “Internal Fixation”. I was thrilled at the optimistic tone of the tweet and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Rachel Triche’s message!  I wanted my singer to be on top of the world, like I was! Still though, it was sobering news. Having some personal experience with this, I can tell you there is tremendous swelling in the first 48 hours following a surgery like this, and you’re supposed to keep your foot above the level of your chest, otherwise it becomes miserable quickly. When I had my surgery, I was very “gymnastics” fit and decidedly younger, with fierce energy and optimism, and I can tell you those first couple of days were very difficult.

I immediately thought of this amazing group of fans I had met last night and the awesome group photo we had taken, thank you Margott Hinostroza! So yes, my number one tweet in the past 28 days, with 34,541 impressions and 816 engagements as of this writing reads “@axlrose @gunsnroses the rumors are true. WE LOVE YOU SEE U TONIGHT !!

Thankfully I still had time to settle myself down and rest up before heading over to the red flags stationed in the T-Mobile Plaza at 5:45pm, to claim my spot on the Signature VIP line. I had carefully crafted my outfit and was feeling incredibly fit and young in my newly crowned “Signature Guns N’ Roses” boots. I spoke to a few people, met a friend for an early dinner, then headed over to the Plaza.

As your level of Guns N’ Roses fan engagement increases, you quickly see the magnitude of this Band and the people who follow them. I’ve never seen anything like it! And I’ve been a Rock & Roll fan since the 1970’s. Obviously the members of Guns N’ Roses have extraordinary talent, but the level of intensity, integrity, and commitment to their craft is unparalleled. You can catch a glimpse of it here, in this provocative August 31, 1990 MTV Axl Rose interview on the Kurt Loder Famous Last Words series.

As Slash penned in his 2007 New York Times bestselling memoir ‘Slash’, “I’d done everything in my power from the day we got together to make Guns N’ Roses the best band in the world. I’d put my heart and soul into everything we did and I regret none of my contributions in the least. We did things other bands only dream of; in just a few years, we surpassed goals that took bands like the Stones decades to achieve. I don’t like to brag, but if you research it at all, you’ll see that what we did in the time frame we did it is something unsurpassed in the history of rock and roll.”

Yes we certainly do see that and no, Slash is not bragging. He is one of the most humble and down to earth rock super stars on the planet, consistently standing up for important causes, like the slaughter of innocent elephants to further the Ivory Trade, or performing live at a club on the Sunset Strip to raise much needed funds for a musician friend battling cancer.

We get another glimpse of the motivation and essence behind the genius of Guns N’ Roses in Duff McKagan’s 2011 New York Times bestselling memoir ‘It’s So Easy’, that kicked off with one of Duff’s signature “Rock & Roll Cool” Rock Book Show interview at the landmark BOOKENDS bookstore in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

The full picture becomes complete though, when you arrive at the T-Mobile Plaza opening night to the long listing queues of the multiple VIP level ticketholders. I entered the line next to two women who had each traveled all the way from New Zealand and Australia.

Clare Fairless, a forensic scientist, wife and mother of 2 small children, flew 15 hours from New Zealand to Los Angeles, then rented a car and drove 4 hours to Vegas. This is the 3^rd continent where she has seen Guns N’ Roses perform, and the first with this classic lineup. Tahnee King made a similar trek from Australia. There were many single warriors like us, couples, and even a family of four from Atlanta. Mom and dad brought their two teenage sons! One couple purchased Signature VIP tickets for both nights! Wow that’s dedication!

At 6:45pm we were promptly ushered into the T-Mobile Arena and the Signature VIP group was broken out into two groups. I was in group one and could hardly believe that shortly I would be up on the stage! But, as we know, schedules are always fluid. Suddenly, I realized the band was in the house and they were doing their sound check. I could hear them! The epic ballad “November Rain” was playing! Tears filled my eyes and a wave of emotion took over. It’s emotional still to write about it. We were told a “change in plans” and escorted to the top of the arena to the VIP Hyde Park lounge. What an absolutely incredible experience as we all watched the sound check from this club lounge high in the rafters. Axl sounded amazing! They all sounded amazing! What remarkable luck! Normally, you would never have access to the sound check. Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door and Welcome To The Jungle followed. We all stood there mesmerized, our mouth’s agape. I’m not even sure the band knew we were there. I could clearly hear Axl giving instructions. Words can’t begin to describe what I was feeling!

Floating on cloud nine, we were escorted back down to stage level, each of us wearing a second red checkered bracelet, giving us access to the stage and backstage areas. Security was very tight.

We chatted in the general admission pit briefly, then were led up the stairs onto the stage for our individual photo at this historic Rock & Roll event! This is why I purchased the Signature VIP ticket. I will carry this memory with me for the rest of my life! Next was the backstage tour, where we learned about the incredible haul of equipment and staff necessary to put on a production of this magnitude, and of course in this unique situation, a complete last minute reconfiguration of the stage and nearby seating, to accommodate Axl’s injury. We then spotted Keyboardist Dizzy Reed coming out of the catering room! As we wrapped up this memorable tour, feeling quite emboldened in the moment, we negotiated for some band member swag. Yes! Memories of a lifetime! We were escorted out of the “secure zone” and some of us went back up to the VIP lounge for a while. At 10:45pm we made our way down to our seats. The vibe was pure Rock & Roll cool, and everyone was smiling and sharing stories.

Suddenly, the lights went out and the arena went wild! I could see Slash and Duff enter the stage. They stood on the side, in the dark, apparently waiting for Axl to come out. The audience was chanting, “Guns N’ Roses!” The Looney Tunes theme started to play. Brilliant! From the back of the stage, I begin to make out this large contraption. At first I thought it was a rack on which to hang all of the guitars, but no, they wouldn’t bring that out in front. Then I see Axl sitting atop this large platform on wheels. Okay! This is how they’re going to do it! Later in the performance we would learn that this was the “Throne” Foo Fighter’s David Grohl used last year when he broke his leg on tour. I did not see this during the sound check and wonder how and when David Grohl got this very large item from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, on a minute’s notice, in just one day. Of course David Grohl and the Foo Fighters are terrific! Axl and the GNR guys were very grateful for their efforts, evidenced by Axl’s repeated thank you messages during the concert and tweets to follow, Axl Rose tweet, Duff McKagan tweet.

The lights went on and Guns N’ Roses took the stage to a full standing ovation! It was 11:57PM and the crowd was electric! The energy could have propelled us to the moon! More tears flowing from pure unbridled emotional, as our legendary rockers opened with “It’s So Easy”, perhaps in tribute to their humble beginnings. Written by Duff McKagan and West Arkeen, this was GNR’s first single release on June 15, 1987 in the UK, and the staple concert opener for the Appetite for Destruction tour way back when.

The set continued with Mr. Brownstone, a controversial yet beloved anthem written about the degree of heroin addiction in the band and “..as the evils would say, too much of everything all the time..” It’s significant to acknowledge the degree of sobriety and tranquility we understand today, following well documented years of struggle and admitted “debauchery”. We’re glad you’re still in the game guys! Your extraordinary raw talent and commitment to your craft is historic and game changing. Welcome home!

Next the band dove right into the title track of Chinese Democracy, GNR’s latest album release in 2008; giving some of us Appetite and Illusion era fans food for thought on the latest band member configuration. They did not disappoint! Rhythm Guitarist Richard Fortus delivered a powerful and solid technical performance, with great presence and agility on stage. I loved the fierce tuck jump stomp, perfectly synchronized to the downbeat of the audience intro to “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”. Frank Ferrer was masterful on the drums knocking out a powerful and tight percussion set. Forever a fan of the keyboard section, I love that Guns N’ Roses added their first female member, the very talented Melissa Reese, who joined a guy that needs no introduction, Mr. Dizzy Reed. They added a unique and melodic texture that simply rounded out the mastery of collective talent on this stage. Yes, Guns N’ Roses continues to evolve their creative genius that only masterful musical legends offer to their fans.

It would be the 4^th number in the set though, that broke this historic night wide open. The epic hit that propelled this eclectic group of “full on committed Rock & Roll talent” from the debauchery of Hollywood alleys and “Hell House” to Rock super stardom the world over, “Do you know where you are ? You’re in the Jungle Baby!..”

Before the night was over, 2 hours and 28 minutes later, Guns N’ Roses would perform 20 epic masterpieces spanning the evolutionary history; from the early days of their meteoric rise to fame, catapulted on the debut best selling album in American music history, Appetite For Destruction in 1987, to GNR Lies, Use Your Illusion I and II, and Chinese Democracy in 2008. As this incredible night played out, fans were treated to the majesty of one of the greatest voices in Rock & Roll, the epic power and lofty highs of the four octave vocal range of a now 54 year old Axl Rose, delivered on top of a mighty “Throne”, some 24 hours after undergoing surgery to drill metal into a fractured 5^th metatarsal bone in his left foot. It was f*&%*n incredible !

The audience was treated to fierce fan favorites like “You Could Be Mine” from the ‘Use Your Illusion II’ album, that opens with Slash’s epic “WAH WAH WAH” on the electric guitar, to the brilliant and masterful lyrical prose of Axl Rose, “I’m a cold heart breaker fit to burn, and I’ll rip your heart in two. And I’ll leave you lying on the bed..” As the band powered through all the classics from the Appetite and Illusion albums, a powerful high point of the night that brought me to tears once again, arrived with the purely passionate and emotional performance of “This I Love” from ‘Chinese Democracy’. Axl Rose delivered a stunning range of emotion, scale and dynamics, an exquisite voice floating above an epic performance on the electric guitar, Slash’s first for this ballad, silhouetted in white shining light, in a classic, almost effortless pose of pure emotional abandon. Slash, who is one of the world’s greatest musicians on the electric guitar, brought his veteran and extraordinary skill to a whole new level in this debut reunion event. It was incredible to witness! The next pivotal moment came with the performance of “Coma” from ‘Use Your Illusion I’, affectionately referred to as “Slash’s baby”, an epic ballad of hope and inspiration, and the first time the band has performed this live since 1993.

Of course what makes this event historic is the reconciliation of three exceptionally talented musicians, who somehow found each other, and created something rare and beautiful, beyond anything they ever dreamed possible; an incredibly gifted and passionately driven lead singer, overflowing with emotion and commitment to the music pure and simple; a humble and quiet top hatted persona who pours every ounce of emotion into the electric guitar; and a Seattle born rocker with Punk Rock roots, determined to follow in the footsteps of his musical idols. Well ladies and gentlemen, this is the formula that delivered an epic and unforgettable moment in Rock & Roll history, the opening night of the Guns N’ Roses reunion concert, Friday night April 8, 2016, at the brand new T-Mobile Arena on the Las Vegas strip, a night fans have been dreaming about for 20 years!

I hope you get an opportunity to see this historic “#NotInYourLifetime” tour that kicks off Thursday, June 23 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan and wraps up Monday, August 22, at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. Don’t wait. Tickets are going fast. Of course, if a venue is sold out, please reach out to a fan club member, a fiercely dedicated and loyal group of folks who will do everything they can to help you secure tickets. Count on it.

As I don’t wish to spoil the grandeur of what you will witness, I’d like to leave you with a simple and powerful reminder of the genius of this extraordinary band we love so dearly… that we remember from that fabled night, some 23 years ago, July 17, 1993 at the Estadio River Plate in Buenos Aries, Argentina, “..so never mind the darkness, we still can find a way, nothing lasts forever, even cold November Rain …”

I’d like to acknowledge some lovely people who contributed valuable support and energy in the writing of this post, and with whom I shared this incredible experience. Margott Hinostroza, Tina Cole, Nir Regev, Tahnee King, Claire Fairless, Margo Lombardi Sykes, Korine Dobbins, Barrel O Bourbon, our Vegas Celly group, Jennifer Weintraub Iverson, Robyn Bryson, David Paul, and Bea Seravello.