May 31st, 2006 Budapest, Hungary (including pictures)

[themovieaddict.com]

Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd -- high as fuck. It's a fact that drugs such as marijuana increase the creative part of your mind, it is a mind-altering drug. I'm not endorsing drug use, but let's face it - some of the best music in the world was written by musicians completely stoned out of their minds. GN'R used to all collectively be on drugs too, although Axl was the first to quit circa the Illusion era. I personally get the impression that he's been off drugs for years, but I like how people to these references of his drug use as if it's unheard of. I hate to say, but he was into a lot worse stuff than that. Izzy and him used to sell drugs on the street and have sex with women so they could rob their purses/homes, so...if Axl's snorting some coke or smoking some weed I don't exactly think it means he's gone to the dark side - he left it a long time ago. 

[Mikkamakka]

So people claim Bumblefoot himself says (through email) there was no friction w/ Robin. Other people say they were at the show and saw it themselves. Anyone no for sure what's up with this?

I have to correct myself. I only saw them crashing and later Robin walkin' off stage. I asked my younger brother and he said he had seen the full crash, and that it was really some 'punk thing', cause they had wanted to smash into each other and they did it for fun.

So Bumblefoot was right, I apologize. Robin was pissed off for another reason, there is no friction between the two.

 

[gnr1967]

Good to hear!? ??

Although friction between band members added to the explosiveness of the original lineup, it's good that GNR is becoming a more cohesive band for a change!? Glad to hear there was no friction with Finck-Thal.? ?

[SWINGTRADER]

If Axl went back to smoking cigarettes and heavy drinking and drug use ?it would probably inspire some great music ?and his voice would also get very raspy again ( a very good thing). ?But if he were to go back to doing those things the rest of the band would also have to get fucked up along with him. ?I think drugs would do wonders for this band , you know Axl is a freak and would probably do something crazy if under the influence ?and it would bring some danger back to this band / and rock n' roll in general. ?I know some people think that is terrible ?thing to say but fuck it , this is rock n' roll and I am a selfish prick . If ?doing drugs ?is going to help this band ?create ?good music and generate some ?unpredictability ?I say go for it , even if it causes a few overdoses. ?

[Chief]

I can't believe with all the drug problems this band has been through that you think it would be good for them! (unless this post is a joke)...

If Axl went back to smoking cigarettes and heavy drinking and drug use  it would probably inspire some great music  and his voice would also get very raspy again ( a very good thing).  But if he were to go back to doing those things the rest of the band would also have to get fucked up along with him.  I think drugs would do wonders for this band , you know Axl is a freak and would probably do something crazy if under the influence  and it would bring some danger back to this band / and rock n' roll in general.  I know some people think that is terrible  thing to say but fuck it , this is rock n' roll and I am a selfish prick . If  doing drugs  is going to help this band  create  good music and generate some  unpredictability  I say go for it , even if it causes a few overdoses.   

[themovieaddict.com]

If Axl went back to smoking cigarettes and heavy drinking and drug use  it would probably inspire some great music  and his voice would also get very raspy again ( a very good thing).  But if he were to go back to doing those things the rest of the band would also have to get fucked up along with him.  I think drugs would do wonders for this band , you know Axl is a freak and would probably do something crazy if under the influence  and it would bring some danger back to this band / and rock n' roll in general.  I know some people think that is terrible  thing to say but fuck it , this is rock n' roll and I am a selfish prick . If  doing drugs  is going to help this band  create  good music and generate some  unpredictability  I say go for it , even if it causes a few overdoses.   

A 45-year-old man on drugs who drinks constantly isn't a cool and dangerous rebel anymore - when you're that old, it just means you're a lame junkie alcoholic. I'm glad Axl had the wisdom to quit back in the early '90s and go clean. It wouldn't look cool for a guy his age to be walking around high, taking shots of whiskey, getting into fights and smoking. It would be sad and pathetic.

[Tomorrows]

If Axl went back to smoking cigarettes and heavy drinking and drug use  it would probably inspire some great music  and his voice would also get very raspy again ( a very good thing).  But if he were to go back to doing those things the rest of the band would also have to get fucked up along with him.  I think drugs would do wonders for this band , you know Axl is a freak and would probably do something crazy if under the influence  and it would bring some danger back to this band / and rock n' roll in general.  I know some people think that is terrible  thing to say but fuck it , this is rock n' roll and I am a selfish prick . If  doing drugs  is going to help this band  create  good music and generate some  unpredictability  I say go for it , even if it causes a few overdoses.   

Great point! Thats why Steven Adler is the rock god he is today!

He's even got his very own AOL website!

[Will]

Guys, let's focus on the show.

[gandra]

Firts to say i had a better time than i excepted before show
And Boltonaza was right "Slash time is gone"
As we know,show was late and started about 11.45!
Guys you will see how powerfull is the begging of the gnr show,you have some psyhodelic and then "do you know where...."!!!
Arena was almost full,standing area was packing(i think that organization sold moretickets thantheycould),and on sitting area there were free about 500 seats!
There were eople of all generation,but i have to say onshow were lot of people older than 40,and that was great,because they were in greatmood!!!
Also i want tosaid in hotel i met with gnr fan from poland which name is Agata,so agata i hope that you had a great time.

About new songs:till the show my favorite new song were madagascar,and i didn't like better.
After show icould tell you the blues is next big gnr hit,that song is amazing,mady is fantastic song(new estranged),and better is genious song.I'mrealy excited about better,how good it is!!!

Old songs are great,and crowd were nuts from allof them,but for me big suprise were out ta getme and my michelle.These songs are very powerfull live!!!On knockinon heavens door whole arena were claping with hands and Axl sang with crowd like in 1991-1993.On jungle finck crashed guitar and on paradise city he went in the crowd.

I was sceptic about new players and fluid betweend them before show,but guysand gaals trust me there were big energy between themand betweenthemand crowd.I especialy liked ron thal and robin,but the other guys were fantastic too.Now gnr have a 3 guitar players,and you'llsee they are more talented than slash,and teyhave a better relation withcrowd than slash.
Especialy what is important,they have a better relatiopn with Axl.

Axl was great.his voice is great,and he was running on the stage whole show.Lot of energy were there.

I don't know about hoe were crowd in other shows,but in budapest crowd were fantastic and sanfg with axl and band the hole show.

Sorry for bad english,but my point is guns n roses now are betterthan ever

[SWINGTRADER]

If Axl went back to smoking cigarettes and heavy drinking and drug use? it would probably inspire some great music? and his voice would also get very raspy again ( a very good thing).? But if he were to go back to doing those things the rest of the band would also have to get fucked up along with him.? I think drugs would do wonders for this band , you know Axl is a freak and would probably do something crazy if under the influence? and it would bring some danger back to this band / and rock n' roll in general.? I know some people think that is terrible? thing to say but fuck it , this is rock n' roll and I am a selfish prick . If? doing drugs? is going to help this band? create? good music and generate some? unpredictability? I say go for it , even if it causes a few overdoses.? ?

A 45-year-old man on drugs who drinks constantly isn't a cool and dangerous rebel anymore - when you're that old, it just means you're a lame junkie alcoholic. I'm glad Axl had the wisdom to quit back in the early '90s and go clean. It wouldn't look cool for a guy his age to be walking around high, taking shots of whiskey, getting into fights and smoking. It would be sad and pathetic.

My post was  a joke.  But you can't deny drugs have been responsible for inspiring some great  masterpieces .  So I think a little drugs in the studio would not be the worst thing in the world.

[supaplex]

ok. i'll try to post a review of the show. please take note that this was my first gnr show so i might sound a little enthusiastic.

it was a 15 hour long drive to the show from bucharest romania (come to fuckin romania gnr!) so i was a little tired.

got to the arena half hour before the gates opened. there wre like 2000 people already there so i got in line and waited patiently. the gates finally opened and everybody was rushing in. got into the arena and took a spot in the 3rd-4th row in front of the stage (in the front of robin's mic). and then the waiting begun. didn't bring a watch at the show so i don't know exact times and delays

the opening band
don't know their name but i think they were pretty bad. they played the same song over and over again with a few variations. probably the lyrics were different but i don't speak hungarian so i couldn't tell. anyway, if i remember corectly they copied a whole alice cooper song (don't remember the name) and only put some different lyrics to it. there was another song that sonunded a lot with my michelle, at least the chorus was exactly the same. and their last one had the intro identically with locomotive. so... i didn't like it. sorry to all you hungarian fans but...

the wait
and after the opening band (glad that they were done) the waiting begins. after 30-45 mins of watching the gnr crew setting things on stage a guy comes out and says something in hungarian and everybody starts booing and shit and he goes away. i had to ask around what the fuck he was saying. you don't announce something at a gnr show just in hungarian. there's people there from all over the world that don't speak the language. speak some fuckin' english. anyway, some guy said that they'll be another 20-25 mins late due to technical difficulties (madrid, anyone?). so the 25 mins turned into 45 then into 1hr and a half. if axl wants to get this band rolling he should get his shit straight and come up on time or 30 mins late maybe but not more. i was standing there for five hours waiting for gnr. how to find the energy to jump and scream? (i found it when the show started). to the people saying i shoud've known they'll be up late: i'm aware of that but it was fucking hard to go through the wait.

the show
i'm not gonna list the songs because you've already got the correct setlist
so... the lights went down and the intro started. you know the 1 min intro that everybody knows just that this time we got the 1min turned into the 15 min intro because there were sound problems. i think that there were some problems with certain effects from chris's synth because my body was resonating at certain points. so they tried the intro a lot of times but it just wouldn't work and i thing they gave up on it.
the intro riff of the jungle started and the place went nuts in the first rows. jumping and pushing and screaming and singing along with the band. it was awesome to see the guys 6-7 ft away. i've watched a lot of shows on my comp but you can't compare that with the real thing.
so the first 4 songs were wttj, it's so easy, brownstone and better. before better axl said somthing about computers and downloading and stuff and he went on with the song. i was really losing it when the song started and i was jumping and singing along the lyrics while people around were looking at me and the few others that sang along with the "what tha fuck?" look on their face. it didn't matter to me. i was there for gnr. after better there was a solo. i was happy that a solo was next so i could catch my breath cos i was barely breathing from all the singing and jumping.
then it was live and let die and the crowd was singing along and the huge flames went off on stage making the air even hotter in there.
axl introduced madagascar with a one line something like: "i had to get a map to locate this" and he went on with the song. it was awesome hearing it live finally. madagascar and better were the 2 "new" songs i relly really wanted to hear and they played both. yey!
then it was time for robin's solo and we all know what song followed. yep, scom! when the intro to sweet child started everybody went nuts and sang along the whole song!
then another guitar solo. this time it was richard. and i have to say that this was my favorite of all the solos. i can't say exactly why. after the richard solo robin joined him on stage and they did their "battle" and sang "beautiful". it was a great moment to see this two guys interact and play from the heart. i think it was one of the few moments i saw robin smile during the show. it was awesome!
you could be mine followed than a jam (axl called it the taking out the piano song) to give time to the crew to get the piano out for dizzy.dizzy played a piano solo then they started the blues which sounded great. they hid the piano under the drum set and went on with out ta get me and knockin' on heaven's door. he did the i sing one you sing one thing but the people were already singing so he said "oh, i see you already know this". they played my michelle next and then it was time to take the piano out again. axl played a small piano solo and then november rain followed. this is the first song i remember from gnr (i was 3 years old when appetite came out) and is still one of my favourites so to hear it live it was unbelievable. it totally blew me away. all the solos during it were great. after nr they played another jam and axl joked saying "i guess we'll call this an old hungarian folk song" and smiled. i think he made refference to the 92 show and that it was just a joke not really a hungarian folk song.
they went on with nightrain and it was fantastic. i think during this robin tried to croud surf but the security didn't allow him to. the guys really nailed the song and the crowd was great. then they went off stage. some gnr chants started and ron got out and did the don't cry solo. it was definitley longer than the one in lisbon and tha crowd was singing along and ron was smiling and kept encouraging people to sing with him. which they did. he finished with an army style salute and gave a kiss to the croud. it was time for robin to take the stage and do his part. when he finished axl came on and said something like "that was mr finck doing somewhere over the rainbow" or something like that. he definitly said "over the rainbow".
then paradise city started and i knew that it was almost over so i jumpend and screamed my ass off. robin got down in front of the crowd and played while running in front of the people in the front row. then ron came down 3ft from me and was shaking hands and he got his guitar up and people grabbed it and he was holding on to it, that was really funny. all this was happening during paradise city. they closed the song, axl said good fuckin' night and that was it.

a few thoughts
it's a pity that they don't come out for encores after paradise city. they just turn the lights up and put music so no matter if the croud chants for them to come back they don't return.
during the breaks between songs there were some gnr chants going and tommy was really happy and smiling and he started jumping on stage with the chants and making funny faces. he looked like he was having a good time. one of the times he was acting funny axl came out from backstage and said in a joking way that a daddy has to let his children misbehave once in a while or something along those lines.
the solos were nice but there's too many of them. it gets people off the energy they get from the songs. for me they were welcomed because i was losing my breath and it gave me time to breathe. but theres too many solos.
to the people just standing around at the shows not reacting. i was there to rock the fuck out so don't get all upset because i'm jumping and screaming. you should do the same thing. a guns n' roses show doesn't happen everyday so i'm not going to stand there like in a theatre. rock n' roll fuckers'!!
i wasn't paying attention at the exactity of the songs, whether they sound exactly like in the studio or shit, so i can't tell you if someone missed a note or shit like that. i don't care. they sounded awesome overall. they maybe made some mistakes but not noticeable. axl's voice was awesome, he sounds great, so no problem there

to the haters
yes axl was wearing the same clothes like all the other shows. who gives a fuck? how many bands wear the same clothes at their shows? and he even has 4-5 jackets. most of the other frontmen only have one. he looks good. he's 44 years old. i don't think the kilt and the shirt like a net would do it anymore.
yes the setlist wasn't that different but if you think that they'll change the setlist a lot because it's another show? you don't get different versions of movies for different cities do you? fans at a gnr show will want to hear wttj, it's so easy, paradise, sweet child, nov rain, knockin and a few other and they have to play 2-3 new songs so that won't leave a lot of room for variations.
and it's not axl fault that we're downloading motherfuckers and have all the recordings that exist from this band and we all knoe how the show will look like before it even starts. well, it is his fault that he gave us 10 years time to collect all that stuff but... just be thankfull that gnr are out there playing and touring again. go to the shows and rock the fuck out. don't look for mistakes in the solos or in the songs, just go and have fun.


quite a long post i know but it was a great show for me. sorry for the typos and all other mistakes. got to see gnr live and the guys are great.

to everybody going to the shows have fun and enjoy it while it lasts!

[Ignatius]

Great review!

You didn't notice if Robin left the stage while they were playing Better? Did he really smash 4 guitars as someone else posted?

[gandra]

is this true that dvd will be realised

[wells]

Great review!

You didn't notice if Robin left the stage while they were playing Better? Did he really smash 4 guitars as someone else posted?

Robin left the stage while playing Better, few seconds before his nice-melodic solo and few moments after he smashed 1 guitar ... It was funny, because Axl was like really into it and then looked back like: "Robin?" ... anyhow he was cool about it. Also Axl asked if there are some thechnical problems he is not made aware of and all was cool... GNR is a complex band with 3 guitars and  2 synths so the sound man should really get his ass together and make the sound... They are using speaker system (I don't know english words, we are calling it 'grapes' while the classic one is 'blocks' or whatever) that allows them not to kill people in first raws with loudness, but to distribute it evenly over the arena... 3 guitars really sounded over the edge from time to time, drums were great, bass had some frequency that my ear didn't like, but it may be position where I was seating and as I said Axls voice had some wrong compression at the beginning...

[supaplex]

Great review!

You didn't notice if Robin left the stage while they were playing Better? Did he really smash 4 guitars as someone else posted?

if i remember corectly i think i saw robin going backstage during better but about the guitar smashing thing i can't say caos i was watching the other guys on stage you know there's lots of them

[Lucky]

I said that in my review...
he smashed his guitar 2ce.
I'll post the clip of better...
you can see the whole incident.


I was told the DVD will be out by the end of summer.

[Mayne]

Better from my cell

[gandra]

Fuckin greatshow,i can't wait to see dvd

[erose]

thanks for the reviews!! sounded like a really interesting show with lots going on!

And to those who think axl stopped doing drugs "a long time ago", wake up and smell the fish people!!! he's a super legend rock star with a troubled mind for gods sake, of course he's doing splenda, it's axl fuckin rose we're talking about!! jeeez..

[wegotit]

A review (in German) can be found at http://www.sommerfahrplan.at/blog/index.php?/archives/2-GUNS-N-ROSES-31-Mai-2006-Budapest.html