So - Gunners.
I have mixed feelings about the gig. The band arrived on stage almost an hour late - surprise,surprise. I am not sure whether that was a matter of waiting for the sun to set or perhaps Axl was getting a foot massage but either way , Axl leaves with his reputation in tact. During the 90 mins leading up we had non stop Barry White through the speakers so I was just about passed out by the time they got on.
Then the announcer from Spinal Tap comes on and says "HELLOOOOOO SYDNEY". One way to piss of a group of Melbournians is to call then "Sydney".
Then they started with It's So Easy which was a pretty flat opener really.
At this point we realise that , as expected , the outdoor football ground colosseum of the MCG has awful acoustics and to top it off the sound is way too loud and distorted. During the first 30-40% of the gig I was starting to wonder if I had grown out of GnR but they won me back gradually - especially after I put some ear plugs in which filtered out a lot of the noise and allowed me to hear what Axl was doing. To some extent the softer songs were the highlights as I could actually hear what was going on.
Random thoughts.......
Song Of The Night: Sweet Child (their biggest hit here easily) followed by Paradise City
Bright Spot : Axl's teeth
Weird Spot : Axl's "banter". When addressing the crowd he turns from a raging frontman into a mumbling hermit.
Best Guitarist Of The Night: obviously Slash came up with the iconic melodies etc... but Fortus is clearly a better technical player
Most Wardrobe Changes: Axl must've changed a dozen times
Axl's Performance: his voice seems in great shape , so a tick. Looks like the face has had plenty of work
Overall I am glad that I went but when the sound is as bad as it was , it ruins a large part of it.
You could argue that the songs are better written etc...and that an outdoor gig with 80,000 people is amazing but I would still take KISS indoors with 10,000 people, better sound , better pyro and much more crowd involvement.
Will post a photo/vid or two later.
Setlist :
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/guns-n-roses/2017/melbourne-cricket-ground-melbourne-australia-6bf86e46.htmlPS Local boy Angus Young dropping by for a couple of songs was cool too.