Morrissey will return home to Manchester for his biggest concert to date as an independent, unsigned artist. The former Smiths frontman will perform at the city’s MEN Arena on Saturday 28th July, following a globe-trotting tour that will have taken in South America, Japan, Hawaii and parts of the USA as well as southern Europe.
Guns N’ Roses + Sebastian Bach + Adelitas Way
The Joint, Las Vegas
31st December 2011
As W. Axl Rose approaches his 50th birthday, these are interesting times for the entity that exists under the banner of Guns N’ Roses. After a difficult Rock In Rio performance, where atrocious weather contributed to a less than an on-fire band, Guns came back blazing and received great reviews on their autumn US tour, with obligatory complaints about late starts. It was also announced they will be inducted into the Rock N’Roll Hall of Fame, although which of numerous current and former band members will attend is unclear.
Quite a celebration on this New Year’s weekend, a two-night stand of club shows by G N’ R standards with 4,000-capacity venue The Joint playing host. After a triumphant live-streamed concert the previous night (see video below), anticipation and excitement is tangible in the air.
Local Vegas five-piece Adelita’s Way, fronted by fantastically named Rick DeJesus, kicks things off. They play radio-friendly hard rock with dashes of nu metal, mixing material from their self-titled 2009 debut with tracks from their current album, “Home School Valectorian”. Their 10-song set closes with “Invincible”, recognisable to some as the theme of “WWE Superstars”.
A different kind of superstar to coin a phrase, Sebastian Bach has an impressive and varied CV. A huge voice with ego to match, he went from fronting 80s/90s rockers Skid Row to Broadway starring as the lead in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Jesus Christ Superstar”. And being Riff Raff in “The Rocky Horror Show”! Recently “Bas” concentrated on his solo career, with occasional boosts from his long-time buddy Axl.
Tonight’s set is an indication of what he knows is his strongest material. Over half the songs are Skid Row classics, and more than 20 years on, his vocals still soar from down and dirty, like “Monkey Business”, “Piece of Me”, to gentle poignancy on ballad “I Remember You”. The crowd loves the old hits, but also gives a good reception to tracks from his latest well-reviewed album, “Kicking and Screaming”. The biggest cheer of the night so far greets a climactic “Youth Gone Wild”. Similar to hearing Roger Daltrey roar “…hope I die before I get old…”, there is smirking irony as almost middle-aged Bach screeches “We are the youth gone wild!!!!”, while his precociously talented 20-something guitarist nails the riffs. His trademark strident poses and general exuberance demonstrate someone young in mind and heart, and having a blast!
One of the first sights greeting visitors to the neighbouring Hard Rock Hotel is a display of a Slash outfit comprising top hat, leathers and Les Paul. Passing through to The Joint there is a grander cabinet containing relics from Axl’s wardrobe. Ghosts of Guns N’ Roses’ past loom large here.
In the present, one thing that has never changed is the band taking the stage later than the average big rock act. However, on New Year’s Eve nobody should whine. After a surprisingly short break, the lights go down approaching 11pm and the theme of Axl’s favourite TV show, serial killer drama, “Dexter”, plays. A spotlight catches guitarist DJ Ashba on a riser, hitting the opening chords of “Chinese Democracy”.
After the title track of the most protracted album in history, Axl, looking dapper in designer jeans, leather jacket, shades and hat, follows the pattern of Bas and takes the audience on a nostalgia trip with a quick fire burst of “Appetite For Destruction” numbers. “Welcome To The Jungle” has the audience screaming along, followed by petulant “It’s So Easy” and drug anthem “Mr Brownstone”. Then, possibly connecting the narcotic theme that apparently ruined the old G N’ R, Axl bitterly croons his way through “Sorry”, with its sarcastic swing-a-long vibe. The latest album is also represented by a meaty version of one of its most heavily produced tracks, “Shackler’s Revenge”.
The pace slows for arguably one of Axl’s finest moments, the sprawling epic “Estranged”. The song, not played live for almost 20 years until recently, packs a powerful emotional punch musically and lyrically. A spine-tingling masterpiece.
A sharp change in mood sees one of the sleaziest numbers from the archive , debut LP closer “Rocket Queen”, which infamously featured Axl getting it on with a young lady in the studio. Allegedly. As he nears his half century, Rose is no longer so lithe, but still manages his snake-hip sway dance.
As the midnight hour approaches, time for a pause. It’s the sign of a great band when even the solos are entertaining. Richard Fortus knocks out a rocking rendition of the “James Bond Theme”, and the rest return for “Live and Let Die”, though Axl warns it may be interrupted for the countdown. The pyro disperses in time for New Year, and referring to the Mayans’ apocalyptic prediction Rose ponders out loud, “Is this the end of the beginning or the beginning of the end…?”
String-laden ballad “This I Love” is followed by a proper party anthem, AC/DC’s “Riff Raff”. Axl hands over to ex-Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson, who performs his own song “Motivation”, followed by an ethereal take on The Who’s “Baba O’ Riley” by long-serving keyboard player Dizzy Reed. The ginger one returns for blues-tinged “Street of Dreams” and a ripping “You Could Be Mine”, still great after two decades.
Next is the turn of DJ Ashba, playing his own “Ballad of Death”. Dressed almost like a Tim Burton caricature, he has been heavily criticised for apparent mickey taking of the band’s former lead guitarist. He pushes it with similar poses, playing a Les Paul sometimes and even lighting up a cigarette in these days of forbidden smoking indoors. Aside from this, Ashba is a great player and a cheeky crowd pleaser, getting cheers not boos when he holds a hand to his ear in pantomime style. He seems to relish playing the intro to “Sweet Child O’ Mine”, which Slash publicly said he was never fond of, and the crowd welcome the band for a drunken, lighter-waving sing-a-long. Axl takes a seat at the grand piano and leads everybody in a brooding rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick In The Wall”, ahead of another classic tears-in-beers ballad “November Rain”.
Bearded Rasputin-a-like Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal’s takes centre stage with his fun version of “The Pink Panther Theme”. He starts an apparent solitary “Don’t Cry”, but is joined by Axl and drummer Frank Ferrer on a tambourine to huge cheers. A change of pace sees the second AC/DC cover of the night, “Whole Lotta Rosie”, which featured on G N’ R’s debut EP “Live Like A Suicide” a quarter of a century ago. The mood slows once more the double salvo of anti-conflict anthems, “Civil War” and Bob Dylan’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”, the latter stripped down compared to the jazz/reggae version featured on the “Use Your Illusion” tours. The main set closes with another classic crowd-pleaser, the ode to cheap booze “Nightrain”.
After a brief pause, Bumblefoot and Fortus return to spar in a jam that shows the great rapport the players in the current band have. The others return for more from the most recent album, sprawling “Madagascar” and the terrific chug of “Better”. Then the acoustics come out for another sing-a-long, “Patience”. Almost three hours have passed, and Axl seems re-energised for pumped and visceral closer “Paradise City”. He runs across the stage like a man half his age, the stage bursting with fireworks and red confetti.
As 2012 begins, the current members of Guns N’ Roses have proved they are worthy of the band’s iconic status. Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” floats across the arena while the punters head out to face the new year, and it is obvious W. Axl Rose still does things his way all the way.
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I grew up in the middle of nowhere, the hamlet of Godmanstone famous for the smallest pub in England called The Smith’s Arms. With rock and metal music blaring from my old ghetto blaster, I used to pore over gig listings in magazines wishing one day a band I headbanged to in my bedroom would play somewhere nearby. Sadly, it was not to be.
Two decades later, Dorset’s Hourglass Promotions have made it their mission to bring proper rock and metal music to the county, specifically Weymouth, a sleepy, old-fashioned seaside resort more used to putting on Canon and Ball and Jethro. In the past year Hourglass have already hosted legendary death metal bands Sepultura and Morbid Angel, and tonight saw the visit of one of Britain’s finest and longest-serving grindcore acts, Napalm Death.
The Crow’s Nest, as the name suggests nestling in the top of the Pavilion, is rammed to capacity. On a windswept, very rainy night out, the walls are wet with sweat even before Londoners Ted Maul warm up the crowd with their brutal sonic assault on the senses. Swaggering frontman Solomon J. Lucifer Christ (!) stirs things up in amusing style. He can also roar with the best of them. Great stuff!
Now into its fourth decade, Napalm Death is a national institution. Although it now features no original members, the current line-up continues to push its quasi-anarchic mix of socially aware politics and total noise terror.
Opening with a double blast from 2009’s “Time Waits For No Slave”, “Downbeat Clique” and “Strong Arm”, it is a comical sight to see the portly form of wild-haired bassist Shane Embury and towering vocalizer Mark “Barney” Greenway jostling for space on the tiny stage. More than once they have to pause as Barney’s giant-toddler-having-a-tantrum stage moves send amp stacks, and occasionally other bandmates, flying in various directions. He stops to apologise in his likeable Brummie brogue to the audience, who help rebuild the sound equipment before the mayhem resumes.
The set mixes old material from classic albums such as “From Enslavement To Obliteration”, including “Unchalleged Hate”, “Mentally Murdered” and “Social Sterility”, with newer tracks including “The Code Is Red…” and “When All Is Said And Done”.
Despite being hailed as legends, ground-breakers and many other lofty titles lumped on them, it is obvious Napalm Death have never changed their principles and genuinely believe in what they do. Barney pauses between songs to make his feelings clear about politics and injustice with a sincerity that would shame more famous and wealthy musicians who lecture from gold-plated soapboxes.
With that in mind, their debut album, 1987’s raging attack on corporate greed, “Scum”, gets a good airing. The title track, “Life?”, “Control” and “M.A.D.” make up the majority of the set’s second half , ending with record-breaking 1.3 second blast of “You Suffer”. Their customary finale, The Dead Kennedys’ “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” causes a further outbreak of mosh appeal madness.
As the stage is squeezed into the corner of the room, it made sense to simply go straight to the encore after a brief pause for breath and a swig of drink. A two-song last stand of “Suffer The Children” and “Silence Is Deafening” leaves both band and punters dazed and exhausted in the airless confines, and everyone leaves gasping but grinning.
Check out a new track from their 14th studio album, “Utilitarian”here:
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Olde Nick 666 