2011.12.07 - Covelli Centre, Youngstown, USA

Monique wrote:I know that in this day and age there's wikipedia and google but, where is Youngstown?

ZERO, NONE, 0, NATA!!!! Folks, I have never hid behind the fact that I love the old band and would like to see them on stage one more time. BUT, this show tonight was one of the best shows I have ever seen!. Axl sounded like he was lip singing,, He sounded maybe the best I have EVER heard him. The band fn rocks!. They are tight and play old and new material extremely well. Axl looked liked he was having a great time, I am speachless. If anybody in media or fans give this show anything but a positive review, thay are not music fans and just hate axl and his new gnr. As an older fan and someone who seen them for the 1st time in the 80's, I just want to thank Axl for putting on this show and really kicking my ass tonight. You fucking rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!

On the day the band he has fronted for 25 years was named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Axl Rose demonstrated why it belongs there.

Rose and the current version of Guns N’ Roses gave a two and a half hour concert at Covelli Centre Wednesday night that didn’t end until 1:30 a.m.

GNR was selected as part of the 2012 class of the Rock Hall that morning. So it was good timing for Youngstown —even though Rose barely mentioned it. He briefly acknowledged the rock hall honor before the final song.

Did he simply stick to set list out of humility? Professionalism? Rock attitude, trumping sincerity? Did he downplay the topic because part of the honor must go to Slash and Izzy Stradlin, the integral members who departed the band well over a decade ago?

Who knows. But holy cow -- the hall of fame is only an hour away from the stage, in Cleveland.

At least there were no glaring omissions in the song repertoire, which began with “Chinese Democracy” — the title cut of the underappreciated 2008 album — and ended hours later with “Paradise City.”

Despite his lack of banter, Rose still answered a lot of the criticism that has been dogging him: too old, too sloppy, too ignorant, too arrogant. His act has been called everything short of a GNR tribute band (actually, they have been called that).

While the Rock Hall honor — which impressively came on the first ballot — had to be a shot in the arm, Rose and his band, including guitarist DJ Ashba, still played like they had something to prove, and did it with that glammy LA swagger.

Vocally, Rose can still shriek those high notes, which put the edge on songs like “Sweet Child O Mine”; and like an involuntary reflex, that trademark side-to-side sway kept surfacing.

He brought out the grand piano a couple of times, first for a ripping instrumental version of “Baba O’Reilly” (Rose demonstrated his keyboard command here with an intro that included Elton John riffs), and later for “November Rain.”

It was easily the latest-ending concert ever at Covelli, but just about everyone in the packed hall — was the stage moved forward a few rows to tighten up the house? — stayed until the final out.

The long song list included the stalwarts — “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Mr. Brownstone,” “Patience,” “Knocking on Heaven’s Door, “You Could be Mine” — as well as newer material like “Better” and “Shackler’s Revenge.”

Zakk Wylde and his Black Label Society biker-rock band opened the show.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-bound Guns N' Roses rocks Youngstown (with only two Rock Hall-bound members)

By John Soeder, The Plain Dealer

YOUNGSTOWN -- Where do we go now? How about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!

Guns N' Roses -- or at least what passes for GN'R these days -- headlined a marathon concert in front of 5,000 fans Wednesday night at the Covelli Centre, the same day it was announced that the hard-rocking group will be inducted into the Rock Hall next year.

Far be it from frontman Axl Rose to make a big deal about the impending honor, though. He referred to it just once in passing, toward the end of a performance that was just shy of three hours long.

“I’d like to thank the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and I’d like to thank our fans,” said Rose, 49. “This is your reward.”

An intense “Chinese Democracy,” the title track of the band’s notorious, years-in-the-making 2008 album, announced GN’R’s arrival shortly before 11 p.m. Cue enough pyrotechnics to sustain a small town’s Fourth of July celebration.

As is their wont, Rose & Co. played into the wee hours, wrapping up at 1:45 a.m. as confetti rained from the rafters during “Paradise City.” It’s always a three-Red Bull occasion when these night owls come to town.

Besides Rose (the sole founding member still in the group) and longtime sidekick Dizzy Reed on keyboards, the latest incarnation of GN’R includes guitarists Dj Ashba, Richard Fortus and Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal; keyboardist Chris Pitman; bassist Tommy Stinson; and drummer Frank Ferrer.

From the current lineup, Rose and Reed are the only members headed into the Rock Hall. Inducted alongside them will be ex-bandmates Slash, Izzy Stradlin, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler and Matt Sorum -- i.e., musicians from the group’s heyday in the late ’80s and early ’90s.

It remains to be seen if the Rock Hall ceremony will deliver a hotly anticipated GN’R reunion – or a brawl. Relations between Rose and his estranged partners have ranged from tense to toxic.

If his new associates were miffed about being snubbed by the Rock Hall, they didn’t let on during a polished and unflaggingly energetic performance. Sure, the solo showcases got to be indulgent -- although a raw stab at the Rocket from the Tombs/Dead Boys gem “Sonic Reducer” by Stinson (complete with a shoutout to Youngstown native Stiv Bators) was a treat -- but the end result was a hot mess of rock ’n’ roll excess.

If nothing else, the new GN’R just might be the ultimate bar band.

You want a perfectly good cover of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)”? You got it. How about a smoking rendition of AC/DC’s “Whole Lotta Rosie”? Coming right up. In the mood for note-perfect simulations of “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” “Patience” and other blasts from GN’R’s past? These are your guys.

They’re just not the real GN’R, according to some purists. And now the Rock Hall gatekeepers.

Rose himself was in fine fettle, doing that serpentine dance of his during “Mr. Brownstone,” belting out “Live and Let Die” like a banshee with a splinter and expertly accompanying himself on piano for an epic “November Rain.”

Guns N' Roses will be enshrined during the 27th annual Rock Hall induction ceremony Saturday, April 14, at Cleveland's Public Auditorium, along with the Beastie Boys, Donovan, Laura Nyro, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Small Faces/Faces and others.