GUNS N’ ROSES/THE PRETENDERS – LIVE @ METLIFE STADIUM

By Marisa Torrieri Bloom

On August 15th, Guns N’ Roses and The Pretenders brought their Gen X fury and gigantic presence to MetLife Stadium in Rutherford, N.J., for a five-hour ‘80s-rock-heavy show that featured a surprise guest that no one would have seen coming.

The pregaming began in the parking lot around 2, where fans cracked open High Noons while streaming GNR’s best — and most beloved — tunes spanning more than a decade.

At about 6, The Pretenders took the stage to the delight of everyone with floor seats, as the band, led by founding vocalist Chrissie Hynde, launched into their funky rock hit “My City Was Gone,” followed by the shimmery fan favorite “Talk of The Town.” While Hynde is the only member of The Pretenders’ original lineup, the younger players did their part, bringing a rockabilly vibe to classic new wave rock songs.

Perhaps my favorite moment of the entire set came during “I’ll Stand by You,” an epic ballad that highlights Hynde’s uniquely recognizable vocals, which don’t sound like they’ve aged bit in her 71 years. Other highlights of the 90-minute set included the catchy “Chain Gang” and radio staple “Middle of the Road.”

But just as I was feeling bummed that I didn’t bring my children to this show — which was full of dads and young daughters, metal moms, and tattooed teen sons — the loudspeaker announced that a comedian who’d sold out Madison Square Garden was about to hit the stage! Immediately, it dawned on us that this could only mean one thing: Andrew Dice Clay!

While his stage time was just a quickie, the leather-jacket-and-white-haired Clay held nothing back, with his lewd signature live comedy act. After cracking a few slightly cringeworthy jokes about “pandemonium” life and how great sex is in the “Me Too” era, he did his “hickory dickory dock” nursery rhyme bit, throwing his arm over his head and sucking in smoke from his cigarette. I don’t know if I’ll ever see him live again, so it was kind of cool to see, firsthand, what all the commotion was about, if only for a 10-minute romp.

Soon after, the lights dimmed and the gigantic video screen behind the stage blasted blue lasers, cartoon sexy lips, and techno sounds, cueing GN’R to run onstage and launch into “It’s So Easy,” the second track off Appetite for Destruction and the same tune that opened their Madison Square Garden 2017 set in NYC.

Legacy band members Axl Rose, Duff McKagan, and Slash wielded their instruments like old pros in the front, while keyboardist Dizzy Reed, second guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboard player/backup singer Melissa Reese, the only woman in the band, held down the back.

The first hour brought us the title track from Chinese Democracy, lots of B-sides from the Use Your Illusion albums and a cover I didn’t recognize, while surrealist video montages played in the background. The most poignant video came during “Civil War,” which broadcast an image of the tattered Ukraine flag waving in the backdrop of a destroyed urban landscape, as Rose sung about young men dying, and the rich burying the poor.

There were almost too many instances of musical greatness to count, between the jacked-up Appetite staples like “Night Train” and “Anything Goes” to a cutting rendition of “You Could Be Mine.” GN’R mined the heck out of its Appetite and Illusion catalogues, coming out especially strong on “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” — with stunning backup vocals, per Reese and McKagan — and “November Rain,” featuring Rose on the grand piano. At one point it sounded like every single person in the audience, including those who were not even born when those albums came out, was singing along.

It needs to be said that Slash, one of the world’s finest guitarists, is deserving of all the accolades. He slayed every single song, bending the bejesus out of his strings, and not missing a single searing note of GN’R’s most popular classics, like “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” and “Welcome to the Jungle.” It was a pleasure watching him rotate between about two dozen different guitars, including a double neck axe he used during a couple of songs, including (I think) “Live and Let Die.”

Apparently, he owns more than 400 of them, which is probably why his guitar solos are so sweltering. But equal credit must be given to his right-hand man Fortus, who’s been with the band for some time now, in shaping the evolved GNR sound.

Another unexpected pleasure was watching McKagan take on lead vocals during a cover of the Stooges’ “Slay,” while Rose rested. While McKagan isn’t known for his vocal prowess, in any other band with lesser-talented players, he would be. And given how hard it is for Rose to belt out three hours of music, the audience was better off for it.

I knew the night would eventually end with “Paradise City,” but before then, Slash, Fortus, and McKagen showed off their acoustic-guitar skills during “Patience.” However, it needs to be said that while 61-year-old Rose is in killer shape and can pace the stage like a 25-year-old, he is struggling to hit his highest, most nasal high notes. While his low register is as strong as it’s ever been, it seemed, at times, that Rose was truly strained to get sound out of his throat. My heart went out to him. Being a singer is a special kind of difficult.

But overall, I hope he and the rest of the band keep this up for another decade, at least. Like fine wine, the GN’R show seems to truly get better with age.

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