By DJ Astrocreep
Not the first time I’ve taken the long trip down to London, but certainly the first since Covid became a thing, yet it garners me the chance to see Guns N’ Roses live for the first time… well, needs be what needs must! Some things are worth that extra effort for and catching one of the seminal ’80s hard rock bands live would be in amongst that discussion for sure.
Before moving into the bands, I have something a touch more personal to add in and that is the facilities for disabled access. Having suffered an even further decline in health over the last couple of years, such provisions are now vital in me being able to attend any gig. I was very pleasantly surprised at just how helpful and welcoming all of the staff were around the site.
From being dropped off by a taxi too far from my access point to be walkable, the staff I was able to find nearby worked together with their counterparts inside of the site to get me safely over to the site, something I was extremely grateful for as it would have otherwise been quite a struggle for me. I found this attitude to be consistent through all levels of staff around the site and it was a breath of fresh air compared to some of the situations I’ve faced since the decline in my health. I am informed (by the guys who shuttled me to the arena) that they are both helpful and handsome – I can attest to the helpful side, at least, even if they were sat behind me so I couldn’t attest to the rest!
After arriving much later than I’d initially planned due to the above, I settle down in the artist area for a sitting break just as Larkin Poe take to the main stage. I can hear them pretty well and follow their actions on one of the many screens dotted around various places to help people with catching the action and am quite impressed at how good they sound live. While I was aware of them before, I did not have much experience with their music, but their heavy blues rock sounds immense in our surroundings. I can hear the appreciation from the building crowd so they would seem to have gone down well with those already congregating in front of the main stage, too. A good opening set.
A short amble around the backstage area gets me through to The Foxies opening the Birdcage stage. An unfortunate clash with The Dust Coda mixed with my health issues means picking one or the other, so I decide to take in the Nashville-based quartet nearby and what a choice it is.
Despite coming to the end of a European-wide festival tour, they are still full of energy and giving it their all on stage and it’s promising to hear more than just your standard punk n roll disseminate from the stage. Vocalist Julia is an absolute livewire, barely standing still long enough for anyone to even grab a photo. Similar can be said for guitarist Jake, too, as he riffs away through the band’s highly enjoyable half-hour set, while drummer Rob pounds away with an equal show of talent in his instrument. The crowd interactions are good, with Julia calling people in closer and setting the bar between them all at a high level from the very off. There sounds like elements of alt-rock, punk, pop punk and more in amongst their sound and mixed all into the melting pot, and it’s a very good sign that they seem to have found exactly the kind of sound that they want at this point of their career. An excellent live act.
It’s back to the media area for me next, with two interviews lined up. Unfortunately the first of these, The Dust Coda, falls through due to issues with their equipment needing storage, though this does mean I am able to take in some of The Darkness‘ performance, which seems to go down well with the crowd with their array of people-pleasing hits. After a quick chat with The Foxies, it’s time to finally get my seat for the rest of the evening and catch The Pretenders on the main stage properly.
It feels pretty weird to be talking about a main support act taking to the stage at around 5pm, but with a three-hour headline set scheduled, it’s the space we are in. I have to admit to only really being au fait with the big singles by The Pretenders prior to their performance and I was very pleasantly surprised by how many more I actually recognized. There is a lot more depth to their sound than I’d previously realized, with heavy bouts of rockabilly as well as the pop rock that they are usually associated with. The set is missing a couple of the big singles, though this isn’t too much of a surprise, given Chrissie Hynde’s previous public views on them, though this does not detract from what is quite a sumptuous performance from them.
Chrissie’s vocals are still incredible, sounding both note-perfect and far better than I would have imagined, given her age, and her no bullshit attitude and sense of humour shine through in the short spaces between songs where she addresses us all. Guitarist James Walbourne is also incredibly talented, with solos and playing far beyond what I would have expected prior to taking in this live set. Their set goes down really well, with people dancing all around and singing along to the songs that they knew, albeit with one exception as an idiot towards the front throws a drink on stage, knocking over some drum mics, which technical staff quickly fix. It was a performance that would fit well as a headliner, as The Pretenders have so often been in the past, and it’s great to see and hear just how good they are live still to this day.
It was only during The Pretenders set, when I’d finally been able to sit down and properly take everything in, that I realize quite how exceptional the sound is in general, too, all around the site. I discover that this is due to a shift in the direction of the stage since my last visit by around 30 degrees, which means that they can both go a bit louder and therefore better control the differences in things. Things like this indicate just how seriously and professionally the entire operation is being run, including behind the scenes, where I’ve seen some sights during my time reviewing things.
Somewhat strangely, given the 7.20 pm start, it’s time for Guns N’ Roses to take to the stage, which they do bang on time.
Coming straight in with ‘It’s So Easy’, they are bang on form from the very off. All of the band seem to be fully enjoying themselves and Axl is still running around the stage like he did in their very early days. A trip over the stage during ‘Bad Obsession’ is quickly recovered from as he catches himself and spins himself around, a wry smile on his face when doing so and it seems to lighten him up even more.
A lot has been made of Axl’s vocals a week earlier at their Glastonbury performance but he sounds incredible live during this set. While he doesn’t always have the same power in the high end that he used to – which is perfectly understandable at 61 years of age – he can and does still hit those notes, just with some less grit to the higher end than on the recordings. A couple of flat notes apart, he sounds very, very good and that gravel is still there once he backs off the higher end, though it’s also good to note that he does find it all from time to time in the set, too.
I find the extensive setlist quite interesting, that they have not chosen to try and keep more to songs that just keep to his lower and all but unchanged range, instead working in some extra solos to give him a chance to break before the more intensive high end pitch work, which works really well. Unexpectedly for myself, having kept away from any setlists prior to the show from the current tour, the likes of ‘Pretty Tied Up’ and ‘Estranged’ – one of my personal favourites by them – feature in the first half of the performance. While there is always time for covers, with such luminaries as The Stooges, Wings, UK Subs, Velvet Revolver and Bob Dylan covered, there is a strong direction towards their older material, with over a fifth of the set coming from debut album ‘Appetite For Destruction’.
I would also feel bad to not make note of just how incredible each of the band sound live in this set. While I’ve already made mention of Axl, Slash is still a highly talented artist and in this live setting you get just how much feel and soul he plays with, something that’s not as easy to appreciate outside of this medium. While it’s always just expected that Duff and Dizzy Reed are going to nail their parts, it’s important to note just how integral their abilities are to the collective. Richard Fortus on guitar is an extremely good technician, which he amply demonstrates right through the set, while other newer members Frank Ferrer on drums and Melissa Reese on synths and others are by no means out of place in any way, shape or form either.
As they wind through the set, it feels quite fitting that we start to get a light smattering of rain just before ‘November Rain’ is worked into the set, while the inclusion of the likes of ‘Coma’, as we build towards the climax, is an extremely welcome surprise. The focus remains on their older archive for the last four songs from here, with the Bob Dylan cover following before ‘Night Train’ rings out across Hyde Park and the original version of ‘Don’t Cry’ follows. Rather than wasting time to leave the stage, they get straight into the sole encore of the night of ‘Paradise City’, which would bring down the roof if there was one above us!
All in all, a great day’s entertainment, with some nice surprises in terms of both what is included in the sets and of the abilities of the bands themselves. It may have been a long trip down there, but between the inclusive, helpful attitude of all the staff and the highly talented bands on display, it was definitely a day to remember.
PHOTO CREDIT: Images of Larkin Poe, The Darkness and The Pretenders © Dave Hogan Media. Images of Guns N’ Roses © Guilherme Nunes Cunha Neto. Copyright on all photos remains with the photographers.
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