‘All you need is just a little patience’

(Rio de Janeiro, brpress) - It was fortunate that Axl Rose entered the whistling ballad Patience as an encore when Guns N’ Roses played in Rio Sunday night (04/04). Henrik Jonsson lived to tell.

(Rio de Janeiro, brpress) – It was fortunate that Axl Rose entered the whistling ballad Patience as an encore when Guns N’ Roses played in Rio de Janeiro Sunday night (04/04). Patience is exactly what you need if you intend to follow the band’s world tour Chinese Democracy. Like Chile and Argentina, the very last tour’s concert in Latin America started at least two hours late.

That the first gig in Rio was canceled two weeks ago was not the band’s fault. A tropical rainstorm turned over part of the stage and injured two roadies. But the delay that affected the 30 000 who re-gathered at Praça da Apoteose yesterday was caused by Axl Rose’s own fault. He sat backstage and refused to go on stage.

First, at 01am, local time, he moved up. It annoyed the audience, who had been standing on foot since 7pm. They met him with screaming “filho da puta, filho da puta” (“son of a bitch, son of a bitch”). Not even an apology he was capable to deliver  to the loyal fans who had been waited since Rock in Rio 3, held in 2001, to see the band again.

It’s So (fuc****)  Easy

    But the “Guns power” phenomena is easy to understand. When the classic Welcome to the Jungle came already as second song, all was forgiven. Another 90’s explosive band’s hit, It’s So Easy, would also be a perfect soundtrack for the ecstasy feeling among Rio’s crowd.

With three guitarists, who rushes back and forth on stage, the new Guns N’ Roses has a lot of energy. Axl Roses voice is also still alive, even if he disappears time to time. He has it easier with the quiet songs. His best vocal performance of the night came in the tasteful cover of Pink Floyd’s classic Another Brick in the Wall. Axl Rose rolled out his grand piano and created a magical atmosphere.

DJ Ashba

Roses’s ability to find the right guitarists for the band can either not be underestimated. DJ Ashba, who joined the band exactly one year ago, is the personality such a “brand” as Guns N’ Roses dimensions need. His energetic and tasteful style made the fans, for a moment, forget the cult figure of Slash. Ashba has been proven to be the best alternative. He also wears a hat, leave his Les Paul hanging low and puts a cigarette in his mouth when it’s time for a solo.

The Rio’s concert reached it’s climax when Ashba, together with the rhythm guitarist Richard Fortus, played AC/DC song Whole Lotta Rosie. Guns N’ Roses sounded just as dangerous as they once were. It was also in that song that Axl Rose came back to his proper falsetto mode and got the entire audience to feel that the concert was worth waiting.

Paradise City

Before Guns N ‘Roses left the stage the band took the opportunity to flirt. While Axl Rose and the rest of the band bowed to the audience, the other solo guitarist, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, made a fabulouse over-driven version of the Brazilian national anthem. As an extra encore the band did also a great version of Paradise City, which never sounds as good as then it’s played in Rio de Janeiro.

(Henrik Brandão Jonsson/Especila para brpress)