Guns N’ Roses concert, Villa Park, Birmingham.
WOW!
What a blast we had in Birmingham. The night started with,
RIVAL SONS
Putting on a very energetic set to get everyone in the mood for the evening. This was the first time that I had seen Rival Sons and really enjoyed their kick ass kind of sound. The crowd around us were definitely old fans of the band, as there were plenty of people singing along to all of their tunes.
Set list;
Electric Man
Open My eyes
Nobody Wants To Die
Tied Up
Pressure and Time
Shooting Stars(Jay acoustic)
Do Your Worst
Secret
Jay was bouncing around the stage shoeless as per usual, getting the crowd shouting, clapping and singing along. His stage presence was excellent, as everyone saw, and no one was disappointed with the opening act.
Rival Sons were formed in 2009, in Long Beach, California, as a four-piece band with Jay Buchanan on lead vocals, playing some rhythm guitar and harmonica. Scott Holiday plays the lead guitar and does some backup vocals. Mike Miles is on the drum kit, as well as singing some backup vocals. Robin Everhart was on bass to start with, until 2013 when he was replaced by Dave Beste, who does some backing vocals as well. Todd Ogden joined up on keyboards in 2014 until 2023 when Jesse Nasen replaced him. Since 2009 the band has released 9 studio albums and an EP.
THEN
GUNS AND ROSES
They came out with a bang playing; Welcome to the Jungle, it was heavy metal heaven enjoyed by the 35,000-plus packed into Villa Park.
All of the band members looked great and like they were really enjoying themselves. Axl looks much more like his younger self than he did on the 2023 tour, and his voice was much better this time around. It was great to see. Of course, Slash was mesmerising as usual, knocking out riff after riff and solo after solo with perfection all night long. Duff, Dizzy, Richard and Melissa were all solid. The new drummer, Isaac Carpenter, was relentless and powerful all night.
setlist ;
Welcome to the Jungle
Bad obsession
Mr brownstone
Live and Let Die (Paul McCartney)
Chinese Democracy
Pretty Tied Up ( The Perils of Rock’n’Roll Decadence )
Out Ta Get Me
Slither (Velvet Revolver)
Absurd
Estranged
You Could Be Mine
Coma
Hard Skool
Reckless Life
Knocking on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan)
Double Talkin’ Jive
Civil War
I Wanna Be Your Dog (Iggy Pop and The Stooges)
Catcher in The Rye
Slash Guitar Solo
Sweet Child o’ Mine
It’s So Easy
Perhaps
November Rain
Wichita Lineman(Jimmy Webb)
Patience
Rocket Queen
Better
Down on the farm(UK Subs)
Night Train
Paradise City
The crowd were treated to three hours of fantastic tunes and no doubt went home with no voices left. No one left disappointed, as is always the case with GNR, can’t wait for the next Gig I get to, perhaps 2027? How about it, guys!
