Guns N’ Roses play reunion show at Troubadour — no foolin’
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By Brent X Mendoza
After a nearly a 24-hour feat of endurance for hardcore Guns N’ Roses fans, the iconic rockers stormed through a nearly two-hour set heavy on songs from 1987’s “Appetite for Destruction,” a feast for a packed house at the Troubadour.
Rumors started circulating on Twitter late Thursday night about a possible secret “April Fool’s,” pre-Coachella warm-up gig. Vigilant GN’R sleuths started lining up at the former Tower Records (now a Gibson guitar showroom) site on The Sunset Strip as early as 9 p.m. on Thursday, in hopes of snagging tickets the following morning, for one of the most highly anticipated shows in decades.
The official GN’R press release/on-sale announcement finally came around 10 a.m. Friday after a couple hundred in-the-know super-fans were already lined up at the rumored on-sale location, staking their turf for the night’s promised rock ’n’ roll milestone.
After an arduous wait, a mere 250 fortunate fans were finally wristbanded and permitted to purchase $10 tickets around noon.
When nightfall finally came, ticket-holders finally started lining up on-site at the landmark Troubadour for a “sometime after 11 p.m.” promised set time.
Once inside, the 500-capacity Troubadour was packed to the rafters with a celebrity-heavy crowd, which including Nicolas Cage, Jim Carrey, Lenny Kravitz, Matthew McConaughey, Bradley Cooper, Kate Hudson, comedian Andrew “Dice” Clay and Hole/Mötley Crüe drummer Samantha Maloney, who credits GN’R’s “Appetite” as “the reason I picked up the drums.”
Despite their notoriously tardy history, the band kicked things off relatively on-time, shortly after the promised 11 p.m. start time and immediately launched into classic “Appetite” hits “It’s So Easy” followed by their anthemic mega-hit “Welcome to the Jungle” and then fan favorites “Live and Let Die” and “Rocket Queen.”
Throughout the show Axl Rose periodically left the stage to indulge in wardrobe changes, which consisted of his iconic bandanas, sunglasses and cowboy hats.
The seven-piece band, which included founding core members Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan, plus veteran keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Richard Fortus and drummer Frank Ferrer, played their “Appetite”-heavy, best-of set without hiccups. The rumored Steven Adler addition/reunion did not come to fruition as fans had hoped.
The rest of GN’R’s set went off without a hitch, as the band sailed through what was speculated to be a preview of their Coachella set. The crowd-pleasing “Sweet Child O’ Mine” erupted into a full house sing-a-long, with Rose enthusiastically making the front row rounds of fan high fives.
Towards the end of their set, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” brought on a nearly deafening crowd chorus participation, followed by a two-song encore, featuring a cover of The Who’s “The Seeker” and a finale of “Paradise City” ignited by Axl’s seminal silver whistle blow.
Their first performance together in 23 years, the landmark show brought the band’s storied 31-year history full circle, finally returning to one of the first venues that helped launch their now historic career.
Setlist: It’s So Easy, Mr. Brownstone, Chinese Democracy, Welcome to the Jungle, Double Talkin’ Jive, Live and Let Die, Rockey Queen, You Could Be Mine, Speak Softly Love, Sweet Child O’ Mine, New Rose, Better, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, My Michelle, Nighttrain, the Seeker, Paradise City
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