After months of rumors that Guns N' Roses Chinese Democracy would be released November 29 — an album eight years in the making and GNR's first proper record since 1991 — the disc failed to appear in stores today. The leaked tracks we've heard indicate that it's not worth holding your breath for — though "Better" is a fine song. So download that ditty and appease your Guns jones with a report from Friday's GNR show at the Q, from Jeff "J-Z" Zaleski:
Black Friday: While early birds took advantages of the huge sales at the local shopping malls in the morning, night owls enjoyed an evening of sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll as the music of Guns N' Roses graced the Quicken Loans Arena. The show started at 8 p.m., but in true GN'R fashion, the band did not take the stage until midnight.
For the first four hours, the stage belonged to the openers. The sex part of the night was covered by pierced, tattooed indie-strippers of the Suicide Girls, who basically set softcore porn moves to rock music. Unfortunately, this proved to be too much for the some GN'R fans, including a couple who brought their 9-year old son. The mother said, "This is not what I paid for. I had to keep covering my son's eyes."
On the brighter side of the openers, the show marked the return of Sebastian Bach to the arena. He not only played great music, the crowd also got heated up as Sebastian went into a rant about Kiss not being inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Eagles of Death Metal played next and were more disappointing than the Suicide Girls. If there's one thing I know, heavy metal fans are not forgiving when it comes to bad music. The whole arena released boos and jeers. Axl Rose personally referred to them as "The Pigeons of Shit Metal." (Yes, they were kicked off the tour after this gig.)
After another rousing performance by the Suicide Girls, everyone was kept in suspense. At midnight, the lights went down and the spotlights went up and around the arena. In a blaze of pyrotechnics and flame fountains, Guns N' Roses took the stage, kicking everything off with their classic "Welcome to the Jungle." Other favorites from the set included "Knocking on Heaven's Door," "Sweet Child O' Mine," and "Patience."
Axl's new band also played guitar solos by Richard Fortus and Ron Thal, and piano solos by Axl and Chris Pitman. In addition, Sebastian Bach came on stage and sang with the group on "My Michelle." Wrapping up the show was their hit "Paradise City," complete with spark showers, mini fireworks, and a blizzard of faux rose petals. The show may have been six hours long, but the Guns N' Roses performance at the end made the wait well worth it.
—Jeff Zaleski
