Guns N' Roses' appetite for destruction is unabated

FOXBORO — In this world of uncertainly and doubt, there is always one thing that rings true in rock 'n' roll. Certain singers and guitarists — despite their ego clashes, bad blood and backstage drama — are meant to play together and are better together than they are apart. Axl Rose and Slash are prime example.

While it only took 23 years to get Axl and Slash back on stage together again, in the end, a lot of patience (and frustration) from the fans certainly paid off.

From being "the world's most dangerous band" to becoming the world's most dysfunctional, Guns N' Roses is once again a rock 'n' roll force to reckon with, as evident at Tuesday night's unrelenting and blistering two-hour-and-45-minute set at Gillette Stadium that consisted of nine songs from “Appetite for Destruction,” four songs each from “Use Your Illusion I” and “Use Your Illusion II”; four from “Chinese Democracy”; four full-fledged covers (not recorded or associated with the band) and a single shot from “G N’ R Lies.”

Not only was it everything a G N’ R fan could wish for, if the laws of physics held any weight, there should be nothing more than a crater or a parcel of scorched earth where Gillette Stadium once stood.

Fully cocked and loaded, Guns N’ Roses were fierce and ferocious from the get-go with the one-two punch of “It’s So Easy” and “Mr. Brownstone,” two choice cuts from its 1987 debut, “Appetite for Destruction.”

Although looking a little heavier and puffier, Rose still has his spine-tingling serpentine voice and unabashed swagger intact.

Wearing the first of many black, illustrated T-shirts (My favorite tee of the evening promoted John Carpenter’s “The Thing”), plenty of bling including a pair of silver crucifixes dangling from his neck, plaid shirt strategically tied around his waist, tattered dungarees and black sneakers, the fouled-mouth (but, surprisingly, not fouled-mood) singer made up for lost time and actually showed up on time.

And, in case Slash’s shirt depicting Cenobite leader “Pinhead” wasn’t a dead giveaway, Guns N’ Rose was out to raise some serious hell. Sporting his signature top hat, dark shades and curly long locks, Slash's look is still iconic, but it’s his guitar prowess that makes him a rock legend.

Slash did some serious shredding on the six-string almost immediately and throughout the evening and the audience was in awe of this bonafide Guitar God and the arguably the best rock ‘n’ roll guitarist to emerge out of the '80s. Slash’s scorching riffs were so incendiary, I’m surprised his guitar didn’t burst into flame during the performance.

Wearing a Lemmy Kilmister (of Motorhead fame) shirt and sporting a Prince Hieroglyph symbol on his bass, Guns N' Roses' original bassist Duff McKagan looked like a walking, rock ‘n’ roll “In Memoriam” reel at The Grammys come to life. The only thing that was missing was a David Bowie tattoo on one of his buffed arms.

Rounding out the latest incarnation of Guns N’ Roses are keyboardist Dizzy Reed (who joined G N’ R in 1990), guitarist Richard Fortus (who has been playing with Axl since 2001), drummer Frank Ferrer (who’s been on since 2006) and keyboardist and band newbie Melissa Reed.

The threat of “You’re gonna die” has never sounded so inviting as it did on “Welcome to the Jungle.” Running from one end of the stage to the other and up and down the elaborate set of illuminated stairs, bridges and catwalks, Rose fueled the number with plenty of piercing screams and vintage Sunset Strip sleaze, while Slash and Fortus sonically flattened everything in his path. By the end of this deliciously depraved and decadent opus, the audience forgave Axl for making the original members of Guns N' Roses scatter.

“Live and Let Die” was performed twice in three nights in the Bay State — first, Sir Paul McCartney (who wrote it) Sunday night at Fenway, and, now, Guns N’ Roses Tuesday (and most likely Wednesday night) at Gillette. It’s enough to give a rock 'n' roll lover a swell head and think they’re James Bond. While I prefer Macca’s version, Guns N’ Roses delivered an explosive version in their own right that was certainly a crowd pleaser.

Fortus confidently took over the guitar lead while Slash strummed crunchy guitar riffs that he could play in his sleep on “Rocket Queen,” which also featured Slash using a talk box straight out of Aerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion” and Rose wearing a stupid-looking leather cowboy hat that made him look like a gunslinger in a bad spaghetti western.

McKagan momentarily took over the microphone from Axl, while Slash and Fortus sounded like they were auditioning for the Sex Pistols on the punk mash-up of Johnny Thunder’s “You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory” and The Damned’s “New Rose.”

With the disembodied voice of Strother Martin’s sadistic warden from “Cool Hand Luke” permeating into the arena, the audience knew when Axl came back he wasn’t whistling Dixie but setting the stage for another absolute scorcher, “Civil War.”

Slash gave the crowd a musical opus they couldn’t refuse, “Speak Softly Love (Love Theme From The Godfather).” It was moments like this and the stellar instrumental of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” (with Fortus) that made Slash steal the show, but Axl didn’t seem to care too much. In fact, there was enough positive energy coming from the crowd for all the original and newer members of Guns N’ Roses to bask in the glow.

While Slash’s glorious guitar riffs kicked things off, it was Rose voice that soared out of the stadium on the pristine and pitch-perfect opus, "Sweet Child O' Mine."

Axl showed off his piano prowess while Slash unleashed his inner-Slowhand on the instrumental portion of Derek and the Dominos’ “Layla” that miraculously turned into the nuclear-powered, power ballad, “November Rain.”

Rose belted out Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" with all his might as he led the crowd into a massive sing-along.

For Guns N’ Roses' encore, Slash, McKagan and Fortus transformed the Rolling Stones’ classic “Angie” into a sublime instrumental which seamlessly segued into Rose’s whistling melody line on “Patience.”

Rose delivered a rousing version of the Who’s “The Seeker” before abiding to Foxboro’s silly 11:15 p.m. curfew with the fire-breathing, confetti-raining closer “Paradise City," which was a perfect end to an evening that was truly rock 'n' roll paradise.Email Craig S. Semon at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @CraigSemon.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Guns N' Roses' appetite for destruction is unabated