The Madison Square Garden Guns N’ Roses Show

First off, I want to say the Madison Square Garden concert was amazing.  Compared to the May 12th Hammerstein Ballroom show, Guns N’ Roses is so much better as a band.  Everyone was more confident and Bumblefoot was in sync with the rest of the guys and much more a part of the band.  At the Hammerstein show, he had only been with the band for a week and did not have much time to prepare.  He still did great, but this time around he seems more at ease.  Robin Finck, whether officially or not, is the rock star of the band.  He plays all of Slash’s solos, has his own look, and has the greatest stage presence (excluding Axl). His style is very bluesy and fits very well within the band’s overall sound.  Richard Fortus looks like a skinnier version of Izzy Stradlin except more energetic.  He can solo as well as anyone in the band, but plays mostly rhythm.  His unaccompanied solo featured a lot of chickin’ pickin’ (thumb and index finger plucking).  Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal was really in a groove.  He played Buckethead’s parts almost note for note.  At points, he mirrored Buckethead’s solos, but added his own flourish by using his own right hand fretting technique.  All of the guitar players in Guns N’ Roses are so good, you always think that each one should have more solo opportunities, but it’s not possible within the two and a half hour set that they play.  You always want them to play more.  Axl is healthy, robust, and happy.  I can’t imagine him being this way with the older version of GNR.  You can tell he likes everyone in the band and gets along great with everyone.  As far as the new material, they did not play There Was A Time, but they did play The Blues, Better, I.R.S, and Chinese Democracy. 

I think they should release Chinese Democracy, then get back in the studio immediately.  This band is too good not to record new music.  Chinese Democracy represents the last nine years (I do not think CD got off the ground until 1997 when Duff and Matt left the band).  It will be an album that captures a transitional period in the band’s history.  Recording new material will further solidify the New Guns N’ Roses i.e. the Guns N’ Roses that was so locked in at tonight’s show.