2018.11.25 - Du Arena, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Thank you Abu Dhabi! @axlrose pulled a damn miracle...the man was beyond ill, and pulled off something I've never seen in my 40 yrs of playing. You all pulled him thru. Til next time!

— Duff McKagan (@DuffMcKagan) November 25, 2018

Review: Guns N’ Roses start well, then, well...
Curtailed performance leaves fans wondering where the hits were
Chris Newbould
November 26, 2018

Guns N’ Roses returned to the UAE on Sunday to close the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and this time frontman Axl Rose brought most of the band with him, rather than the troupe of session musicians he’s been touring with since the band split acrimoniously over two decades ago.

Notoriously publicity-shy original rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin’ remains elusive, reportedly over the financial offer he received to join the Guns N’ Roses reunion, while original drummer Steven Adler, who has guested at a number of G n’R shows in recent times, was not on the menu for the Abu Dhabi gig, which closed the Asian leg of a tour that has now lasted almost three years.

At close to an average of $4m per gig, you can see why the three remaining members - Rose himself, legendary guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan - are dragging things out.

The pre-reformation version of Guns N’ Roses had garnered something of a reputation for, shall we say, an unhurried approach to gig timings, but there were no such concerns tonight. We were barely through the gates for the band’s scheduled 9pm start when the gang appeared on stage, and started strongly, ripping into It’s So Easy, from 1987’s seminal album Appetite for Destruction.

The old energy was very much there. Rose has put on a few pounds, but McKagan looked remarkably chipper for a man who has had his fair share of health issues, while Slash didn’t appear to have changed in the slightest. Then again, it’s not entirely clear whether Slash is an actual human being or a symbol. The top hat, the Lennon sunglasses, the mop of curly hair, the Les Paul guitar. The man is a collection of imagery, surely, not a mere mortal creature?

The crowd were immediately convinced. Mr Brownstone from the same album followed and shortly afterwards, when Slash made the most of a histrionically extended intro to Welcome to the Jungle, the audience were eating out of the band’s hands and it seemed they could do no wrong.

But they did. They embarked on a decidedly take-it-or-leave-it mid-section (or so we thought) to their set that saw them playing a mix of songs from their less successful later albums, tracks from the members’ numerous side projects, and several covers – not the covers they are known for such as Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, Live and Let Die or Mama Kin, but tracks like Jimmy Webb’s Wichita Linesman, which didn’t suit Rose’s voice in the slightest, and gave the distinct impression they’d be better off sticking to hard rock.

We were happy to put this down to saving the best for last initially, but as more and more of the set became a collection of unfamiliar covers and showboating guitar solos from the undoubtedly talented Slash, the audience began to turn, and a steady stream were leaving the arena by the set’s midway point.

I love The Godfather, but is a five-minute guitar solo cover of its theme tune really something we need to hear from a band that hasn’t performed this close to its original line-up for almost three decades?

Things did pick up from a reception perspective when the band launched into their global smash Sweet Child O’Mine, and the “Guns N’ Roses goes prog rock” theatrics of November Rain were equally well received, and given unexpected poignancy by the unseasonal November rain. And then it stopped.

To give Rose credit, he did explain mid-set that he had been vomiting for much of the afternoon, and spent several hours on a drip prior to the gig so as not to cancel, which is commendable, and certainly a world away from the diva-ish behaviour that used to characterise his several-hours-late appearances.

If the singer was ill, then respect is due for his appearance at all, but perhaps the band could have factored this into their set list? They essentially seemed to play as much as Rose could get through of the set list from previous gigs on the tour, in much the same order, stopping when Rose had enough. So the low-key middle section we assumed was building up to more of the classics ended up as the crescendo.

Much like their 1991 double album Use Your Illusion, which a friend recently noted could have been one really good album, but was instead two really long albums, some prioritising could have helped. Cut some of the covers and solos from the middle, give the crowd what they want, maybe?

In fairness, the band played for close to two hours, which lesser bands would never achieve, especially with a sick singer, but there was no encore, and thus no Paradise City, no Night Train, no Live and Let Die ( a rare occasion where a cover improves on the original). In short, the gig began well, but ended, quite simply, underwhelmingly.

Misfit79 wrote:I don’t get the criticism of the UYI’s being too long with too many filler songs. If they asked me to thin out all of the songs to just twelve for one album - I wouldn’t be able to. I want all of them. So I’m grateful they released them all in one go, who knows what would’ve happened to any kept back.

I hope Axl is feeling much better now