BST 2023 / Guns N' Roses

Words by Pav Salgado

19:20 sharp as the mighty Guns N’ Roses take to the Great Oak Stage in Hyde Park and as the opening bass riff of It’s So Easy kicks in the crowd goes mental, no surprise here as most of the days pass holders are here for the headline act. The 2023 lineup of the American rockers are in top form and are just what is needed to heat up a slightly chilled British summer afternoon.

Since their 2016 reunion they have been impressing audiences all over the world but it is today, live in London’s most famous park that they have come back with a vengeance. Last year Axl Rose was hit by vocal issues so his delivery on certain tracks has been below par for a few of the more recent gigs as the ‘Big Press’ seems to have rejoiced of late. Clearly his delivery has improved so it’s possible the best specialists that money can buy have done the trick. On this tour the band deliver a three hour set so if tonight was anything to go by he’s been taking better care of his vocal chords. No sign then of the dreaded ‘augmented vocals’ this time around and with that it’s a Guns N’ Roses that delivers. Granted as vocalists age so does their vocal range. Tonight however Mr Rose delivers difficult parts with aplomb, not letting the falsetto falter his performances. All in all it was pretty damn good and not the disaster the Nostradamus press on board at Glastonbury predicted.

This time around the band have dusted off a few fan favourites that haven’t been performed in quite a while. Bad Obsession gives way to Chinese Democracy and then the old Velvet Revolver tune Slither. Even though his delivery is nothing like the late Scott Weyland’s version Axl does deliver a refreshing take on this classic.

Other classics like Mr. Brownstone and Welcome to the Jungle keep the crowd in a static state even the new Hard Skool and Absurd are embraced by the fans in a state of defiance to the naysayers of the new, angry in your face hard rock. Excellent!

Not even halfway there and with so much going on the crowd is loving it, full blasted singalongs to Estranged, Live and Let Die the excellent UK Subs cover Down on the Farm and the terminator infused You Could Be Mine.

Duff Mckagan gets his singing slot but this time is a cover by The Stooges, T.V. Eye is met with a little surprised look but by the end of the song the catchy hook is sang by all.

Slash’s solo slot elevates his presence to the heavens, he is not just the Les Paul man, the Marshall guy, the top hat man, he is The myth The man The legend.

And there is still more, the one that everybody knows, the one that made them a household name, Sweet Child o’ Mine, quickly followed by a no piano intro November Rain, and no acoustic intro Patience. They basically didn’t waste time they just gave us the goods, no killer all filler.

Coma is probably one of the hardest song to sing out of their catalogue and it is here that we saw the only chink in Axl’s armour the fast delivery of words at the end of this lengthy track gives his falsetto a beating, but somehow he recovers in time to give us a magnificent sing along with Knocking on Heavens Door, the Bob Dylan cover that is more GNR this days that the man himself. This is where the train starts to leave the station and Nightrain is one of those must tracks of all time, quickly followed by a refreshing Don’t Cry that is rarely played, leaving the track ready for the send off with Paradise City, the sensory experience that this gig delivers is something else, the screens size and quality, paired by one of the best hard rock bands of all time send us in ecstasy, and just like that 3 hours to the dot pass, absolutely incredible.

If you love hard rock this is a band still at the top of their powers, go see them again and again. Rock on!

Full set list here!

Robert Corich1 July 2023