Welcome to the jungle, the Docklands concrete jungle that is. London Arena is a sanitised American-style venue where vendors wander around trying to flog candyfloss to metal heads - bizarre. The less said about the bandanas and 80s T-shirts the better. We could be in downtown Kansas City but when the lights finally go down we prefer to imagine we're on Sunset Strip circa 1985.
Because, for one very special night, Axl Rose and an extended family of hired hands, these days known as Guns N'Roses, are in town. G N'R without Axl wouldn't be worth contemplating. But, nostalgia value aside, are tonight's absent originals (Slash, Dizzy etc) actually missed? Wouldn't you rather see a masked man with a KFC bucket on this head do a body popping/num-chucks routine then play a guitar solo incorporating the Star Wars theme? Thought so.
No disrespect to the aforementioned ex-members but there's absolutely no difference in the sound whatsoever. Faced with the prospect of never seeing G N'R again or this version, it's clear what the 15,000 souls in attendance would take anytime.
To say the pre-show atmosphere and reception that greets the band is beyond belief would be doing a disservice to the reaction. It's colossal multiplied by ten to the extent that seismologists probably registered a small earthquake in E14. dotmusic hasn't witnessed such a tidal wave of sights and sounds, EVER.
Axl's rumoured obsession with 'Appetite For Destruction' (according to legend he re-recorded the whole thing) is borne out by the majority of the set-list. 'Welcome To Jungle', 'It's So Easy', and 'Mr Brownstone' are dispatched early on by an athletic Axl sporting an obligatory bandana tying back his braided ginger mane. The whole arena is leaping up and down as one, fists punching the air, screaming every word. This is surely too good to be true. And for those of you wondering, yes, he's still in possession of the most terrifying squeal in rock.
This is stadium rock at its finest with lighter-waving moments ('Knocking On Heaven's Door', 'Live And Let Die', 'Patience') and classics ('You Could Be Mine' back to back with 'Sweet Child O' Mine') coming thick and fast. The epic 'November Rain', complete with grand piano, is simply out of this world.
The handful of new songs prove less industrial than we've been led to believe and are given the crowd's full attention if only because they provide a lull between the manic hour just experienced and the imminent finale. It's also the first time Axl speaks to the crowd about the new album 'Chinese Democracy' and even slips into a minor rant but he seems relaxed and hungry to regain what he once discarded. The neurotic recluse we've read about failed to show up tonight.
Delirium reaches new heights during the climax of 'Michelle', 'Nightrain' and 'Paradise City' with flamethrowers and fireworks pushing the temperature even higher. Two hours have flown by. The only question is can Axl go all the way and make Guns N'Roses the biggest band in the world once again? Try telling him he can't.
