Guns N Roses ROCKS Seattle

By Mike Baltierra on August 14, 2016@baltierraphoto

Guns N’ Roses at CenturyLink Field (Photo: Katarina Benzova)

Rock ‘n’ roll bad boys Guns N Roses brought their “Not in This Lifetime” Tour to CenturyLink Field in Seattle last Friday. Many of the 40,000 plus in attendance thought that they would have never had the opportunity to see GN’R again. Much to the amazement and excitement of the crowd, GnR put on a monumental show that included many fan favorites as well as a few cover songs by their favorite musical acts.

With two six siders wrapped with roses illuminated on the stage, the countdown began and Guns N’ Roses hit the stage with “It’s So Easy,” before proceeding into “Mr. Brownstone,” “Chinese Democracy,” and “Welcome to the Jungle.” Guns N Roses (Axl Rose (vocals), Duff McKagan (bass), Slash (lead guitar), Dizzy Reed (keyboard), Richard Fortus (rhythm guitar), Frank Ferrer (drums), and Melissa Reese (keyboard) played like a well-oiled machine, not taking a break or pausing to catch their breath. Rose (through several hat, t-shirt, and flannel changes) sounded great, and ran around the elaborate stage like a man half his age.

What can be said about Slash that hasn’t been said before? His bluesy guitar playing was exceptional and his solos were spot on. Fortus performed some of Slash’s trademark solos on songs such as “Nightrain” and was a great complement to Slash’s style of playing. Homegrown McKagan looked and sounded great, prancing around the stage and running around next to drummer Ferrer, who did an awesome job as the band’s timekeeper with his amazing drumming. Long time keyboardist Reed was entertaining, but newest keyboardist Reese was great to watch as she whipped around her blueish hair, rocking out and genuinely having a great time.

Of course GN’R played many favorites: “Live and Let Die,” “Rocket Queen,” “You Could Be Mine” (which sported a terminator inspired animation of Slash playing on the big screen), “November Rain” (with Axl playing the grand piano front and center with great CGI animation projections) and finally into “Nighttrain.”

One of the main highlights of the evening was Slash’s rendition of the “Love Theme” from The Godfather, with mafia inspired clips projected as Slash played center stage. The band performed a generous two hour plus set that was not disappointing. With awesome lighting, stage show and fireworks, the band was on its A game from start to finish. Hopefully this will not be the last we see of this version of Guns N’ Roses.

Opening the show on this hot and sunny Pacific Northwest evening were The Pinkslips, who consist of GRAVE – Grace McKagan – (vocalist), Trent Peltz (keyboard / backup vocals), Keenan Bevans (drums), Charlie Wood (guitar), and Charlie Anastasis (bass). The band should be commended for putting on a great performance, especially after playing another show earlier in the day!

Next up were Seattle’s own Alice In Chains, who were the direct support act. The band made of up Jerry Cantrell (guitar / vocals), Sean Kinney (drums), Mike Inez (bass) and William DuVall (vocals) performed a blistering hour long set that included “Hollow,” “Them Bones,” “Again,” and “Check My Brain,” as well as fan favorites “We Die Young,” “Man in the Box,” “Would?,” and finishing their set with “Rooster.”

GnR Set List:
It’s So Easy
Mr. Brownstone
Chinese Democracy
Welcome to the Jungle
Double Talkin’ Jive
Estranged
Live and Let Die
Rocket Queen
You Could Be Mine
You Can’t Put Your Arms Around A Memory/Attitude
This I Love
Civil War
Coma
Band intros into Slash solo – Speak Softly Love (Love Theme From The Godfather/Andy Williams)
Sweet Child O’ Mine
Better
Out Ta Get Me
Jam (“Wish You Were Here/Layla”)
November Rain
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
Nightrain