Axl Rose embarrasses himself further at Reading Festival

Axl Rose embarrasses himself further at Reading Festival

By Asher Kenton

Type of Article: Festival Gig Review

Although not the same as the original line-up, Axl Rose and co. were a much anticipated headline act at Reading Festival. They of course have loads of classic tunes and a very competent group of musicians. However, despite putting on a good show, great in moments, they were ultimately let down by Axl Rose’s ego. Although he is notorious for his his unprofessionalism, the festival organiser, Melvin Benn assured fans before the event that Axl and friends could not turn up late, otherwise they would not be allowed to play past the 11.30pm curfew. However, this didn’t stop them, Axl Rose, dressed like a cowboy and botoxed to within an inch of his life finally decided to walk on stage a full hour late, after many fans had already given up. Despite delivering a competent effort, their unprofessionalism and childishness undermined the whole performance.

Okay, so before I go into the details of Axl Rose’s behaviour let’s talk about the gig itself. Opening with “Chinese Democracy”, although not their finest work, set the scene nicely for the storming “Welcome to the Jungle”, a real classic which was a pleasure to hear live, despite some slight mis-timed pyrotechnics. Stellar classics “It’s So Easy” and “Mr Brownstone” came next; however as the gig wore on, one couldn’t help feeling that the elaborate stage show and pyrotechnics were compensating for, rather than adding to Axl Rose’s vocal performance. Although he still has one of the great Rock n’ roll screams, he appeared breathless a number of times throughout and often missed the opening syllables to vocal lines, as he just about managed to keep up. Furthermore, the endless guitar solos, although impressive, seemed a bit over the top, which is acceptable, nay encouraged if you’re Slash, not quite so much if you’re a hired session guitarist. Also the multiple-minute long piano solo before “November Rain” was just unnecessary. Therefore, the Guns N’ Roses show was pretty good, in fact classics like “Sweet Child o’ Mine” and “Nighttrain” were fantastic to hear live. However, one is ultimately left with the feeling that it’s not quite the Guns N’ Roses we know and love, as all but two of the original members have left, and Axl’s voice is fading.

Therefore, while the concert itself was enjoyable, Axl Rose’s attitude was not. The band finally arrived on stage at 10.30pm, an hour late, and a full one hour forty minutes after sub-headliners Queens of the Stone Age had departed. They give no apology, or even reason as to why they were late. Thus seemingly, Axl Rose just likes to keep his fans waiting, because he sees himself as that important. He has the ego of a man who has been told that he was a god, has had unlimited money thrown at him since he was nineteen years old and he certainly hasn’t grown up. As GnR came back to play an encore, the time reached midnight, the final sound curfew for bands at Reading Festival (the original curfew is actually 11.30pm). Thus, unsurprisingly the power was cut. This threw Axl into a tantrum, who staged a sit-down protest, swore about the organisers and promptly refused to play Leeds Festival (he ultimately backed down after he was faced with a massive lawsuit for breach of contract). Now, in an ideal world, bands would continue to play all through the night. However, this is England, and sound curfews for festivals have to be adhered to. If they are not, this could result in a festival being treated less favourable by local councils, and ultimately could result in losing its license. Therefore, the organisers were given no choice but to pull the plug, being forced into a difficult position due to a band deciding to come on extremely late for their performance. Axl Rose personally claimed on his Twitter page, “we feel at the very least the fans deserve an apology from those responsible for the nonsense” (implying the organisers). However, the only person responsible for this “nonsense” is Axl himself and his refusal to treat his fans with the respect that they deserve, and it is him who should be apologising.

In summary, while the gig itself was enjoyable, the whole thing was tainted by off-stage events. So much so that the whole thing seemed like a total shambles. These events, coupled with being boo-ed offstage at their own gig in Dublin just days afterwards, should signal the end of Axl Rose and support group shaming the bands tremendous legacy. However, Axl’s inability to sort his attitude out, and still wanting to exploit the band-name for every penny means that no doubt Axl will continue to embarrass himself and blemish anyone associated with him. Now we now why Slash and the other original band members won’t go anywhere near him.