Guns N' Roses made their long awaited live comeback this weekend.
The iconic 80's rock band, now with only Axl Rose from the original line-up, played their first shows since the doomed tour of 2002 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York on Friday night.
The four-date residence shows were sold out in minutes, as fans scrambled for tickets, and have been described by Axl as mere warm-up shows for the European Tour that kicks off in Madrid on May 25th.
The band also performed six new tracks at the Friday night concert. 'The Blues', 'Better', 'Madagascar', 'Chinese Democracy', 'There Was a Time', and 'IRS' will all feature on the decade-in-the-making 'Chinese Democracy' album.
Axl Rose revealed last week in a radio interview that he expects the long-awaited album to be released sometime this year, although no official date has been revealed as yet.
GNR also revealed the bands new guitarist at the show, with Ron Thal, aka Bumblefoot, filling in for the departed Buckethead, who left the band two years ago. It is not yet known if Bumblefoot will be a permanent member of the band though.
New York Times reviewer Ben Ratliff reports on the show by saying, "Mr. Rose’s voice sounded strong, even in his highest nasal shrieks, but the band wasn’t using the warm-up time to experiment."
The concert ran in excess of 2 hours, and the setlist was as follows.
1. Welcome To The Jungle 2. It's So Easy 3. Mr. Brownstone 4. Better 5. Live And Let Die 6. Sweet Child O' Mine 7. Knockin On Heavens Door 8. Madagascar 9. You Could Be Mine 10. The Blues 11. Out To Get Me (Bumblefoot Solo) 12. November Rain 13. My Michelle 14. Chinese Democracy 15. There Was A Timeo 16. Patience (Bumblefoot 2nd Solo) 17. I.R.S 18. Nightrain (Robin Solo) 19. Paradise City
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GNR also revealed the bands new guitarist at the show, with Ron Thal, aka Bumblefoot, filling in for the departed Buckethead, who left the band two years ago. It is not yet known if Bumblefoot will be a permanent member of the band though.
