It’s one thing to be the source of hype, but it’s another to live up to it and bring down the house. According to multiple outlets, that’s EXACTLY what Guns ‘N Roses is doing on their historic “Not in this Lifetime” reunion tour.
The tour kicked off in Detroit on June 23rd in front of a 40,000-person crowd at Ford Field. The reunited group wasted no time coming out of the gate with a blistering rock performance that lasted 2.5 hours. The performance included two dozen songs and was laced with a proper mixture of their greatest hits, dusty gems, and a slew of diverse covers. During their tour kickoff show, they covered “Live and Let Die” by Wings, “Raw Power” by Iggy and the Stooges, and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” In proper GnR fashion, a band introduction was followed by a Slash solo that segued into “Speak Softly Love,” the love theme from The Godfather.
Hitting the ground running on a tour opener is one thing, but maintaining that stamina and energy show after show is a whole different animal. It seems like the Washington D.C. performance on July 26th was no different, if not raising the bar even higher. While the band had a reputation for taking the stage notoriously late or walking off notoriously early in their heyday, frontman Axl Rose was beaming about the weather and how much fun the group was having. Although it’s been 20+ years since the band’s taken the stage, it seems like the boys still have it, especially at their age. 54-year-old Rose’s voice is powerful, in tune, and commanding while Slash is still taking stage dives and hoisting his instrument up like a championship trophy while taking solos.
It is often common practice for groups to play the same set night after night on high-profile stadium tours. While fans can guarantee that they’ll get the hits that they paid big bucks for, Guns N’ Roses seems to be mixing it up on the cover front. At their D.C. performance, they busted out “The Seeker” by The Who and “Layla” by Derek and the Dominos. It’s unsure whether or not those tunes gelled with diehard fans, but we think almost anyone can appreciate the effort of mixing it up and not regurgitating identical sets.
Wednesday night, the group took the stage at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. The Kansas City Star cited that once again, the group that was once habitually tardy and dismissive of fans, was punctual and “even diplomatic” for their Wednesday night performance in front of 25,000 people. The band opened with “It’s so Easy” that set the tone for the rest of the nearly 3-hour set and Slash fans were satisfied with some serious guitar foreplay before the band barnstormed into “Welcome to the Jungle”
Needless to say, the most anticipated reunion tour since The Eagles “Hell Freezes Over” tour in the 90s, is living up to its hype and expectations. The group takes the stage for its first night of a 2-night stand at Soldier Field in Chicago TONIGHT and will be romping through the U.S. until the end of August.
Aside from the band’s vigor and long setlists, another reason to catch the Not in this Lifetime Tour is the hand-selected openers for each market. Alice and Chains warmed up the stage for these first three shows and will appear with the band during the Chicago dates. Chris Stapleton, one of country music’s current stars, will open in Nashville on July 9th. Other openers include Lenny Kravitz, The Cult, and even young buck dubstep artist, Skrillex, at NRG Stadium in Houston in early August.
While the dates are being shaved away by the day, it’s not too late to take a look at our list of ticket contests we compiled to see if there are still opportunities to win tickets to a date near you.
Click here for a complete list of contests rounded up by yours truly.
With each passing date, the ZRock team is taking note of the performance and chomping at the bit to see the reinvigorated group for ourselves. We’d love to hear your thoughts on the show(s) in your area, so please contact us if you’d like to submit a review.
We’ll see you guys in the jungle!
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