How is it even possible that Guns N’ Roses have never played the Hollywood Bowl before? Well, last night (November 1st,. 2023), GNR took their talents to the world-famous Hollywood Bowl. They just performed for California at Power Trip, but the band was back to take over another venue. If you’ve seen Guns N’ Roses on their recent run after they reunited with Duff McKagan and Slash, this was the typical show. They played for just over three hours, hit basically every hit song you’d want and combined in some new tracks, some deep cuts, and punk rock/country/hard rock covers.

If you’re not in the know about the band, Guns N’ Roses is comprised of Axl Rose (Vocals), Slash (Lead Guitar), Duff McKagan (Bass), Richard Fortus (Rhythm Guitar), Dizzy Reed (Piano), Melissa Reese (Keyboard/Backup Vocals), and Frank Ferrer (Drums). Each member got the chance to shine at various points with Duff McKagan jumping on vocals for a track, Dizzy Reed having a couple of piano solos, Richard Fortus shredding through the interlude in “Rocket Queen”, Frank Ferrer pounding the drums, and Melissa Reese providing the high notes on most tracks.

Here’s the setlist they jammed through courtesy of our friends at Setlist.fm.

Guns N’ Roses Setlist Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, CA, USA, World Tour 2023

But Was Axl Rose Good On Vocals?

That’s always a big question when it comes to modern GNR shows. Axl Rose in recent years, has been better with his vocals and the band tunes to reflect changes in his voice since their heyday. Luckily for the people in attendance, Axl was as good as he’s been in this reunion run last night. Sure, he can’t sing like it’s 1986 anymore. No one can. Expecting the absolutely perfect vocals on some of those Appetite For Destruction tracks is asking too much. He can sing them; sometimes his voice gets a little Mickey Mousey, but the songs still rock as hard as ever.

On the newer tracks, or Chinese Democracy tracks, he sounds magnificent. If they’re not asking him to hit extremely high notes, Axl Rose is still one of the best in the business. Longtime fans of the band or people who appreciate the Chinese Democracy material will get a major kick out of this setlist.

The cool thing about modern Guns N’ Roses setlists is that they don’t play the same concert every night. They might play a lot of the same songs, but they switch around the order, and move songs in and out depending on the night. So if you’re heading to both Hollywood Bowl shows, you won’t get the same set as last night.

3+ Hours, All Killer Tracks, Some Live Firsts

I’ve seen Guns N’ Roses on the “Not In This Lifetime” lineup four times now. They played two tracks I’ve never heard live last night in “Locomotive” and “Perhaps”. They didn’t bust out “Coma”, which is one of my favorite tunes to hear live, but we did get “Locomotive” which is basically the sister “behemoth” track from Use Your Illusion II.

You can complain that three hours is too much for a show, but I don’t see that. Guns N’ Roses has so many hits and other tracks that they want to fit in, just consider some of the songs as places to get up and walk around, hit the bathroom. There’s something for everyone on the setlist, and other tracks that people might not like as much.

It’s kind of insane seeing a show like this, because through 17 songs, you could expect, “oh cool, they’re done, they might not have played some of their biggest hits, but that’s a pretty killer setlist”, but then you have another 14 songs. They have so many great songs, so many excellent deep cuts, these shows are always worth whatever ticket price you pay. These days, Axl might not have as much banter between tracks but you still get some funny moments during the set. For the most part, GNR are all about playing you an excellent show, kicking your ass, and getting you out feeling happy.

My only issues were with the sound of the Hollywood Bowl. At points, it felt like the show wasn’t loud enough. Either the guitars weren’t loud enough or Axl’s vocals weren’t loud enough. The sound quality and fidelity was great though, you could clearly hear every note and tune, they just weren’t loud enough at points.

Guns N’ Roses are still a special band, they might not feel as “dangerous” as they used to in the 80s, but they put on a hell of a show. The best thing is, they always go out on time these days. The Black Keys started almost right at 6:00PM when doors opened, and GNR went on around 7:30PM. Gone are the days of the band being exceptionally late. They might have peaked in the 90s, but they’re in a whole new era of greatness these days.

Get tickets for the rest of Guns N’ Roses on tour here.

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