Guns N' Roses, Rose Tattoo andSebastian Bach @ Acer Arena

Mon 2nd Jul, 2007 in Gig Reviews

Guns n Roses return to Sydney as the Axl Rose show, playing to an almost capacity crowd at the Acer Arena that waited patiently for three hours and 45 minutes for the main event!

The usual array of fireworks and costume changes made for a fantastic live show. However Guns n Roses knocked over – œSweet Child Of Mine’, – œLive and Let Die’ and – œHeavens Door’ fairly early on which meant that people had little to stay for. Streams of people went for the door and I viewed first hand the current industry debate on performance waiting times with my own eyes. Even people who death-stared those that chose to leave early ended up leaving themselves when there was no end in sight. When the ticket reads 8pm and you are still sitting in your chair at 2.30am you are either getting value for money, or the shits, depending on where you stand.

Rose Tattoo entered the stage with a wall of sound. They juggled their hit songs with offerings from their new album, – œBlood Brothers’, seamlessly which is good news for fans looking to buy the new disc. There was no doubt that the Tatt’s have lost none of the sound which (along with AC/DC and others) defined the halcyon days of oz rock. The bluesy – œBad Boy For Love’ and inspirational – œCan’t Be Beaten’ sounded like a Harley Davison at idle; Big, Fat and soul stirring.

In stark contrast, Sebastian Bach’s soft polished edges and shiny metal might have been a Ducati from the 80’s. The flowing blonde hair and tight jumpsuit was only the beginning of his trademark posturing. It wasn’t long before his infamous microphone helicopters, lassoing and head-banging had much of the dance floor in the air. He even drank water in a pose, never swerving from his high adrenaline performance. Bach mentioned the internet, You Tube and his My Space Page in a very clear attempt to give his old money new currency.

Throwbacks to – œSlave To The Grind’ were sprinkled among some new tracks. The highlight of the night was – œAmerican Metal’ which had such weight to it you could have snapped your neck. The climax was predictably – œYouth Gone Wild’ which might have dated lyrically, but like the performance as a whole stands up against any act touring today.

Finally, large search lights roamed the audience to a dark brooding sound. Then with the opening riff of – œWelcome To The Jungle’ a Slash imitator stood in front of a single spotlight until seven other musicians joined the stage including Axl Rose.

Solo spots selling the new band – œmembers’ abilities came off well enough. Ok there is only one Slash, and – œNovember Rain’ might have fallen short because of it, but their solos were enough to create the necessary rock – œn’ roll attitude. An electric rendition of The Australian anthem(s) the second one being – œBack in Black’ wasn’t going to upset anybody in that audience.

Anderson and Bach were brought on for a couple of duos but many punters were losing – œPatience’ until it finally got an airing before the final song – œParadise City’.

Tonight was an ode to the front man. The only original members of Guns n’ Roses and Rose Tattoo’s new incarnations were the lead singers, while Bach had already dropped his old band on Skid Row. But while many, even hardcore, fans were dubious about the tour, one only needs to look towards INXS or the various Queen reformations to know how much a lead vocalist can shape a band.