So, it's a day after the Guns N' Roses show at the Harbor and my facebook feed is buzzing. Everyone seems to be talking about this show; some of it good, some of it bad, depending on which camp you fall in. The audience is, and always has, been pretty divided when it comes to the NEW Guns N' Roses. You're either of the "GNR is the best thing since sliced bread, they can do no wrong and they KILLED it last night" variety or the "Axl is fat, out of tune, and his band sucks" variety. Truth be told, praise for the show last night seems to be over-inflated, and the criticisms aren't entirely justified, or even accurate. Here's my opinion of the show.

Got there as Monster Truck were hitting their stride. Their set was kind of meh. Like alot of Canadian bands they rock, but never hard enough. You've seen this band a thousand times. A few memorable, bluesy licks but too much contrived rock star nonsense, and a singer who tries to "belt" but inevitably sounds like that guy from Seven Mary Three. I have becuuuuuuuuuume cumbersome...and so has this music.

GNR is noteworthy for their late start times. I was worried that it would be well after midnight by the time they began. As a guy who gets up early for work, this is a very serious concern, especially considering the fact that they typically play 2-4 hour shows. Fortunately, the band started on time, right around 10pm.

After opening with a shredding version of "Chinese Democracy", the band transitioned into some of their older material including "Welcome to the Jungle," "It's So Easy," and "Rocket Queen." All of the essentials were, in fact, covered during this set including epic versions of "Civil War," and "Knocking on Heaven's Door." The band sounded tight...pretty heavily locked from the get-go. I could have done without all the solos, and those two songs by Bumblefoot and Tommy, but I give them props for not endlessly shredding for 10 minutes like most guitar players. At least they played songs. The only "shredding" came by way of Richard Fortus, and I like when he shreds. Quite the underappreciated guitar player in my book...especially if you like old time rock'n'roll and finger picking.

And Axl? I'd say Axl sounded alright. In recent times, he's been knocked for his voice, but, aside from some minor pitch problems, it sounded like plain old Axl Rose, which, if you're a fan, is a good thing. He didn't sound UNBELIEVABLE mind you, but when you play a 3 hour show outdoors in the cold, you have to cut a guy some slack. I thought he delivered the goods, even if there were some pitch issues here and there. His voice has kind of morphed in recent years and he's becoming more of a baritone. I don't mind this. He's certainly no 2013 Dylan (Youtube some of his more recent performances and prepare to cringe).

There were the usual explosions, and costume changes you'd expect to see at a rock show like this and some interesting visual elements including a screen depicting some overtly sexualized dancing from beautiful women and GNR attempting to make the occasional serious "statement", whatever that was all about. I always laugh at that stuff because no one ever takes it seriously. And no one ever knows what the artist is trying to say when making said statement.

The crowd was overwhelmingly lame. I thought there would be more participation. People seemed almost apathetic during the course of the show, which kinda bummed me out. Very little dancing, very controlled... too tame. 20 years ago, this was a band that would incite an almost feverish response, on the verge of riotous behavior. Time has unfortunately moved beyond Guns N' Roses. I guess everyone's just getting old.

This was not the best show I have ever seen but, all told, it was still pretty fantastic. It's what I expected to be honest. I've seen this band in its new incarnation three times and I'm beginning to get comfortable with what it is that they do. And what they do is put on long sets, cover most of their best material, and still seem to genuinely enjoy it. GNR isn't phoning it in, like so many other bands of their era. Something about them is still authentically real. And for that I tip my hat. I am a supporter for life.