Guns N' Roses @ Stade de France, St Denis

For the first time since the partial reunion of the classic line-up, Guns N' Roses returns to France. Surprisingly, the show struggles to sell out. If there is a reason for that, it may well lie in the band's own history. Decades of cancelled concerts, late starts, internal feuds and self-inflicted chaos have inevitably eroded some of the goodwill they once enjoyed. Rebuilding that trust was never going to happen overnight.

Which is unfortunate, because the current incarnation of Guns N' Roses is operating at a remarkably high level. Whatever one thinks of the band's turbulent past, the group on stage tonight bears little resemblance to the dysfunctional circus that often dominated headlines. Axl Rose appears focused and engaged throughout the evening, and when a minor altercation involving a security guard threatens to escalate, he is the one who defuses the situation. Such a display of restraint would have seemed almost unimaginable not so long ago.

The show itself is enormous. Even longer than last year's performances on the opening leg of the reunion tour, it feels less like a concert than a full retrospective of the band's career. The classics are all present, naturally, but the set also makes room for deeper cuts and newer additions. Most movingly, the band performs "Black Hole Sun" in tribute to the recently departed Chris Cornell, a moment that adds genuine emotion to an evening already heavy with nostalgia.

Axl's voice occasionally shows signs of wear, particularly when compared to the unexpectedly strong form he displayed at the beginning of the reunion. Yet he continues to handle the more aggressive material impressively well, and the sheer commitment of the performance leaves little room for complaint.

Meanwhile, Slash and Duff McKagan remain exactly what they have always been: one of the most formidable guitar-bass combinations in rock music. Seeing the three principal architects of Guns N' Roses share a stage again still carries a certain charge. There is little visible camaraderie between Axl and Slash. No public displays of reconciliation, no sentimental embraces. But that misses the point. They are not here to perform friendship, they are here to perform songs. And they do so magnificently.

What seemed at first like a temporary truce is beginning to look like something more substantial. This reunion has already outlived many expectations, and it now feels less like a nostalgic victory lap than the beginning of a new chapter. One that reconnects the various strands of the band's history instead of pretending some of them never happened. One that gradually restores a reputation squandered through years of dysfunction. Like the closing minutes of "Rocket Queen," it arrives after a long stretch of tension and bitterness, unexpectedly hopeful and surprisingly uplifting.

SETLIST: