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Review & Photos: Guns 'n' Roses w/ Thin Lizzy @ LG Arena, Birmingham [Live]

Saturday 26th May 2012 // "It was always going to be one extreme. Either late and a load of shite, or vaguely on time and absolutely phenomenal..

by AEaston, May 31st, 2012 and has been Read 857 times.
Last Edited by: Glen June 1st, 2012.

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I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of these guys. They’re rather famous. Duly noted as one of the best rock 'n' roll bands of all time, Guns 'n’ Roses have had a rather rocky road, so to speak. After the initial success in the ‘80s, boasting the legendary names in the line-up of Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan, there was a point where they were arguably the biggest band in the world.

Since everyone but Axl left the band, there’s been a lot of controversy and arguing when bands like Velvet Revolver and Slash’s Snakepit formed out of Guns 'n’ Roses would use GNR songs in their gigs. And not only that, but who gets what money for what songs. It’s all a bit of a mess. After Axl cooped himself up in his Malibu mansion for 13 years, he came out with Chinese Democracy a few years back, to everyone’s disappointment. Now, earlier this year, I wrote an article about Axl Rose, essentially outlining the details of his ‘dickheadedness’. So, when I finally got an opportunity to go and see his antics for the first time, I relished the opportunity.

WATCH// 'Sweet Child o’ Mine'

With our wonderful seats just to the left of the stage, giving us a most wonderful view of the stage, we waited for the one and only support act of the night, the magnificent Thin Lizzy. Their awesome logo was lit up with red lights as their backdrop, as they burst onto stage for 'Are You Ready'. After just finishing yet another UK tour, they are supporting Guns 'n’ Roses for their tour of the British Isles, and they provided a near-exact replica of the set, just a little more concise. Blue and red flashing lights meant that the epic 'Jailbreak' came next, to the audience’s excitement.

Run-throughs of songs such as 'Dancing in the Moonlight', which sparked a mass sing-along of that wonderful bass riff, and 'Angel of Death' provided the audience with perhaps the lesser known songs from the Thin Lizzy back catalogue. They did, nevertheless, bring about the big guns with the elusive 'Whiskey in the Jar', famously covered by Metallica, 'Don’t Believe a Word' and 'Suicide', each of them tempting out huge roars of delight from the Brummy crowd. With a set around about an hour long, the audience really took to Thin Lizzy, despite claims that ”it’s not the real Thin Lizzy without Phil Lynott”. The band finished on a high with the triple blow of Bob Seger’s 'Rosalie', 'Cowboy Song' and, of course, 'The Boys Are Back in Town'.

After seeing them twice in 10 days, Thin Lizzy managed to nail a small Royal Leamington Spa crowd, and a stadium-filled Birmingham crowd.

Thin Lizzy can create a set of classics that would slay any crowd. And they certainly did slay this Birmingham crowd, especially in the anticipation of as big a band as Guns 'n’ Roses. Yes, we all know that it’s not the stellar line-up of the yesteryear, and that Phil Lynott essentially was Thin Lizzy. But that doesn’t mean that this isn’t Thin Lizzy. Ricky Warwick, the vocalist and third guitarist, isn’t trying to be Phil Lynott, like previous vocalists have, which have hindered the band’s progress.

Warwick is absolutely brilliant, a fantastic vocalist, superb guitarist and an even better frontman. After seeing them twice in 10 days, Thin Lizzy managed to nail a small Royal Leamington Spa crowd, and a stadium-filled Birmingham crowd. Guitarists, Scott Gorham and Damon Johnson were on fine form, with the titanic Brian Downey on drums and Marco Mendoza on bass performing their duties meticulously. It seems as though Guns 'n’ Roses have a job to do; Thin Lizzy are on fire.



After hearing stories of Axl Rose making his audiences wait up to 3 hours before he appears on stage, I was pretty glad of my tickets in seating. But nevertheless, by half past ten, the lights went down, and 4 massive screens, showing a mixture of videos and live coverage of the gig, came down, whilst the eerie sounds of 'Chinese Democracy' echoed around the arena. Follow this with the likes of 'Welcome to the Jungle', and the place explodes for possibly the biggest song of the night.

Throughout the night, a member of the band played a little of their own music, including some rather tasty covers of Pink Floyd, AC/DC and The Who. We were treated to the super-duper 'Mr. Brownstone' and 'Rocket Queen', before guitarist Richard Fortus treated us all with a smashin’ guitar solo.

The irreplaceable 'You Could Be Mine' and, of course, 'Sweet Child o' Mine' evoked huge responses from the crowd, before Axl popped off stage for the 986358345th time, only to come back with a piano for a little solo, before launching into 'November Rain'. Then, before the lights went black, Axl & Co. managed to blitz through 'Civil War', one of the best tracks of the night, followed by 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' and 'Nightrain'.

It wasn't long, however, before the lights went up again, as Guns 'n' Roses kicked into 'Madagascar' and their superb cover of 'Whole Lotta Rosie', with the cameras unfortunately focusing on one rather large lady in the crowd who felt it necessary to clutch her chest area more than once. Not cool.

Finally, a hammerblow of 'Patience' knocked us all for six, before (and we all knew it was coming), some fireworks, huge flames and a confetti cannon alerted us with the presence of 'Paradise City'.

WATCH// 'Welcome to the Jungle'

You’d have thought I’d be struggling for things to say about how good Guns 'n’ Roses were. But it’s the opposite, I could write a novel on it. The night was fantastic. To see one of the legendary bands of music history, albeit without Axl’s infamous counterparts, is something that will certainly stay with me for the rest of my life. The show was jaw-dropping, explosions, fireworks and flames being exhibited at every possible moment. The confetti cannons booming during 'Paradise City', the grand piano out for 'November Rain' and the brilliant cover of AC/DC’s 'Whole Lotta Rosie' made for a memorable evening.

Guns 'n’ Roses played for nearly 3 hours, finishing at about 1:30am. Yet the musicianship never faulted. All three guitarists, Bumblefoot with his twin-necked guitars and trench coat, DJ Ashba and Richard Fortus were all just wonderful. Musicianship cannot be faulted. And neither can the night.

It’s not really Guns n’ Roses, we all know that, but it’s the best we have right now, and it was astonishingly amazing.

Now back to the man in question, Axl Rose. Was he any good? My, oh my, he was superb. I don’t take back what I said about him in my article, he’s still a misguided oaf.- and still a bit chubby, to boot. But he is a top class showman, and his vocal range and ability has improved tenfold. I was so impressed with the way he conducted the show. He didn’t even get moody once, not a single tantrum. Whilst it would have been nice to omit tracks from Chinese Democracy, this greatest hits setlist was a freakin’ mammoth of a gig! It reminds what rock ‘n’ roll is all about: jumping up and down, singing as loudly as you can and having an incredible night. Amen, Guns 'n’ Roses.

It was always going to be one extreme. Either late and a load of shite, or vaguely on time and absolutely phenomenal. Fortunately for Birmingham, it was the latter. It’s not really Guns 'n’ Roses, we all know that, but it’s the best we have right now, and it was astonishingly amazing. They put on one hell of a show, and Axl, despite reports, still has a damn fine rock voice. Until next time lads ... and maybe with Slash? We can all dream.



Setlist...

1. Chinese Democracy
2. Welcome to the Jungle
3. It’s So Easy
4. Mr. Brownstone
5. Sorry
6. Rocket Queen
7. Estranged
8. Better
9. Richard Fortus guitar solo
10. Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings cover)
11. This I Love
12. Motivation (Tommy Stinson track)
13. Dizzy Reed piano solo (including a cover of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley”)
14. Street of Dreams
15. You Could Be Mine
16. DJ Ashba guitar solo (Ballad of Death)
17. Sweet Child o’ Mine
18. Instrumental jam (including a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall Part 2”)
19. Axl Rose piano solo
20. November Rain
21. Glad to Be Here (Bumblefoot cover)
22. Don’t Cry
23. Civil War
24. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
25. Nightrain

Encore...

26. Madagascar
27. Whole Lotta Rose (AC/DC cover)
28. Patience
29. Paradise City