Guilherme Neto – Guns N’ Roses

After all is said and done from the Guns N’ Roses show at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, there is only one word I can muster. Wow.

From the moment I got into my seat till the moment the band took their final bow there was not one moment I was disappointed.

As I drove home and began to type on my laptop, all I could think was that I got my money’s worth at that show.

This was the first time that I’ve been to MetLife Stadium since The Rolling Stones made a pitstop in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on their No Filter Tour back in 2019.

What made this night even more special was that this was the first time in six years that I’ve seen Guns N’ Roses live. In fact, on Oct. 12, 2016, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, I saw my very first concert which happened to be Guns N’ Roses on their Not In This Lifetime Reunion Tour.

After 44 different concerts over six years and witnessing some amazing performers in between the two Guns N’ Roses shows like Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Pitbull, Peter Frampton and The Who, I’m glad to say that it became a full circle moment for me.

The night began around 6:00 p.m. when the legendary Pretenders graced the stage to start their 15-song set.

The Pretenders, which is led by singer and original member Chrissie Hynde sounded amazing. I love the overall make of the band and Hynde’s voice has not aged a bit, she still sounds the same as she did on the recording.

Having a band like The Pretenders on tour with Guns N’ Roses is a great idea. They’re different in sound and style and they give a variety in musical style than the normal Guns N’ Roses music.

In fact, Guns N’ Roses have a large variety of opening acts on their North American tour in addition to The Pretenders, Carrie Underwood, Dirty Honey, and Alice In Chains are all opening for Guns N’ Roses on select dates. Talk about having music from all over the place.

Hynde is everything that you could want in a lead singer. She has charisma, she’s charming and she’s funny. On multiple occasions, she joked with the crowd stating how the Guns N’ Roses guys must be “making a fortune” due to the amount of merchandise they were selling.

To add to that, Hynde at one point picked a fan out of the crowd with a Motörhead shirt on and dedicated their smash hit “I’ll Stand By You” to the late Motörhead lead singer, Lemmy Kilmister because she said that “Lemmy rules.”

While The Pretenders aren’t for everyone that attended the show on Tuesday night, I certainly liked their set which went as followed:

1. My City Was Gone
2. Talk of the Town
3. Kid
4. Turf Accountant Daddy
5. Boots of Chinese Plastic
6. Hymn to Her (Requested by Axl Rose)
7. Don’t Get Me Wrong
8. Back on the Chain Gang
9. Thumbelina
10. I’ll Stand by You (Dedicated to a fan with a Motörhead shirt because Hynde said “Lemmy rules”)
11. Brass in Pocket
12. Junkie Walk
13. Let the Sun Come In
14. Middle of the Road
15. Mystery Achievement

Right after the final song of The Pretenders’ set, Hynde told the crowd that there was a special guest that was going to make an appearance right before Guns N’ Roses were to hit the stage.

Lo and behold, just minutes after The Pretenders went off stage, legendary comedian, Andrew Dice Clay walked out on stage to a thunderous, while confused, clap.

Some fans remember “The Dice Man” from his heyday of the 1990s when he sold out arenas like Madison Square Garden while other fans, most of them younger, didn’t know who the guy with purple sunglasses and leather gloves was.

I thankfully was not in the latter and was able to enjoy Clay’s 20-minute set. To close out his quick comedy set, he stated that he knows what fans know him for and went into his adult nursery rhymes.

If you’re wondering which ones he did let’s say Little Mrs. Muffet, Jack and Jill, and Hickory Dickory Dock were all mentioned.

After “The Dice Man” went off stage at around 8:00 p.m. the house lights went dim, a video montage appeared on the screen and over the PA system fans heard “From Hollywood, Guns N’ Roses!” and the band kicked into their first song of the night, 1989’s “It’s So Easy” of the legendary debut record, “Appetite For Destruction.”

I think it’s about time that people put the rest of what happened with Axl Rose in the 1990s. Yes, he showed up to shows hours late and played concerts into the early hours of the morning. Yes, sometimes he never showed up and other times he walked off stage early.

It’s time to move on from that because what I saw tonight simply was a different man. The entire band was on stage for a little over three hours and played 30 songs. 

No, you didn’t misread that. Guns N’ Roses played 30 songs, dug into the vaults to play some deep cuts as well as played the fan favorites for the tri-state area crowd that hadn’t seen the band in over two years.

Name on Guns N’ Roses song and the chances of playing it that night are extremely high. They played some cool covers like an acoustic version of Jimmy Webb’s “Wichita Lineman,” AC/DC’s “Walk All Over You,” The Stooges “T.V. Eye,” and my favorite, a cover of Velvet Revolver’s “Slither.”

4 you aren’t familiar with Velvet Revolver, it’s the band that features Duff McKagan, Slash, and former Guns N’ Roses drummer, Matt Sorum along with Dave Kushner from Wasted Youth and Stone Temple Pilots lead singer Scott Weiland.

Guns N’ Roses left their hearts out on the stage, each band member’s shirt was soaked from running around the stage for three hours. In fact, Rose had to change his shirt a few times due to it being so damp.

Some people thought their performance was poor but that’s only because they compare it to their records and when they were in their prime during the late1980s and 90s. The band isn’t in their youth anymore but they still are such a force to be reckoned with.

I thought Rose was on top of his game, he sang amazingly and when he tried to do his famous screeches, it sent chills down my spine.

Slash as always was a monster on the guitar. Slash is like fine wine, he only gets better with age. I’ve now seen Slash four separate times whether it’s with Guns N’ Roses or his solo project with Alter Bridge lead singer Myles Kennedy, Slash just keeps amazing me.

McKagan of course is still keeping the grooves down on bass guitar and even sang lead on The Stooges “T.V. Eye” which was pretty cool to me.

The rest of Guns N’ Roses includes Richard Fortus who has been on rhythm guitar since 2002, Melissa Reese on the synthesizers, Dizzy Reed who has been on the piano since 1990, and drummer Frank Ferrer who has been drumming for Guns N’ Roses since 2006.

Guns N’ Roses 30 song setlist went like this:

1. It’s So Easy
2. Bad Obsession
3. Chinese Democracy
4. Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
5. Hard Skool
6. Mr. Brownstone
7. Welcome to the Jungle
8. Pretty Tied Up
9. Absurd
10. Double Talkin’ Jive
11. Estranged
12. Down on the Farm
13. Live and Let Die
14. Rocket Queen
15. Reckless Life
16. You Could Be Mine
17. T.V. Eye (The Stooges cover)
18. Anything Goes
19. Civil War (Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” outro)
20. Slash Guitar Solo
21. Sweet Child O’ Mine
22. November Rain
23. Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
24. Catcher in the Rye
25. Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
26. Nightrain
27. Coma (The Impressions’ “People Get Ready” intro)
28. Walk All Over You (AC/DC cover)
29. Patience
30. Paradise City

Guns N’ Roses are definitely giving their fans their money’s worth with each and every show. It’s all real with no lip syncing, backtracks, or anything. It’s as pure as rock and roll gets and you should see them on this tour before it’s too late.

It took me six years in between shows to see them, don’t wait, go buy that ticket.