A mindblower of a performance…

First published online in Clash Magazine on 2nd July 2023

As middle-class festivals go, Glastonbury can be a hoot but also overwhelming, with 200,000 sleeping in a field in very close quarters. So, then, British Summer Time Hyde Park offers a fair more accessible and comfy manner in which to watch some of the best music acts in the world.

Yesterday was the turn of the famed American hard rock group Guns N’ Roses. As is the case with a one-day festival, the clientele appeared a direct reflection of the age and style of the band members themselves, so as they are, all there to see the headline act, with seemingly more than half of every man, woman and child donning a Roses tee.

All that is to say, from the minute the old-school LA rockers hit that stage, it was a mindblower of a performance that was lapped up by the thousands of uber fans filling the open-air concert space at London’s central park. 

Heavy-going opener ‘It’s So Easy’, their first-ever single, already had the crowd straight into the mood and of course, blisteringly good tracks ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ and ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ also from their 1987 bestselling debut ‘Appetite for Destruction’ were absolute winners. The title track from 2008 record ‘Chinese Democracy’ also got a rendition, as did a smattering of tracks for the ‘Use Your Illusion’ albums.

Any of the Glasto-sourced doubts about frontman Axl Rose’s ability to reproduce that distinctive vocal range, from gravely low notes to the piercing falsetto, were quickly dispelled. So, too, were any reservations of whether the old timers would be able to maintain their high-octane stage presence for an admittedly marathon-like three-hour set, as they killed it track after track after track. The dangerous edge to their sex, drug and rock ‘n’ roll-infused antics may have subsided, but their musical prowess has not.

Rose skipped endlessly from one end of the stage to the other, interrupted only briefly by “slip-sliding” on the slippery floor, which he good-humouredly said was only holding him back a little: “I’m gonna keep busting my ass for you.” In fact, he was all charm and flattery, with “I’m having a bloody good time, are you?” and “What a lovely gathering, all the best people are here.”

That sentiment of pure dedication to delivering a stellar gig for their fans also poured from the entire band, from Richard Fortus to Duff McKagan to Melissa Reese on keys, though the show was frequently stolen by UK-born Slash, whose solos time and time again had the crowd hooked to every strum of his instrument, his iconic long-hair and tall hat cutting a striking silhouette blown up on the impressive screens against stunning visuals; hard to deny he remains one of history’s greatest guitarists.

Other standouts included covers of Wings’ Bond theme ‘Live and Let Die’, which Rose charmingly called a “little ditty” now celebrating its “50th anniversary”, plus Bob Dylan’s epic given the Rose rock treatment ‘Knockin on Heaven’s Door’. McKagan stepped up to sing lead on the Stooges’ ‘TV Eye’.

As Axl Rose sat down to the piano for ballad ‘November Rain’, singing “So never mind the darkness, we still can find a way / ‘Cause nothin’ lasts forever, even cold November rain”, the sunlight faded and night dawned, the audience were reminded of the band’s ability to deliver deeply emotive music just as well as raucous rock-out tracks.

Charmingly stating they wouldn’t go through the charade of leaving the stage only to come back for the encore, they closed off their mammoth set with ‘Don’t Cry’ and ‘Paradise City’, every attendee head banging along and joining in on those memorable lines “Take me down to the paradise city / Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty.” 

Slash’s cheeky handstand as he exited the stage felt like a final middle finger up to any remaining scepticism about their agility.

You’d hate to agree with your parents but, sometimes, a gig like that makes it hard not to feel they just don’t make rock bands like they used to.

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Words: Sarah Bradbury