Having already conquered Paris two nights earlier, Guns N' Roses returns to the Accor Arena to bring the European leg of the tour to a close. Anyone expecting a radically different show will be disappointed. The overall structure remains largely unchanged, as it should. There is only so much one can do with a catalogue that demands the inclusion of "Welcome to the Jungle," "Sweet Child O' Mine," "November Rain" and the rest. But there are enough setlist variations to reward those attending both evenings. A few songs come and go, others trade places, and the result is a performance that feels less over-produced than many of the band's recent tours.
Perhaps the biggest change is one that goes largely unnoticed. Longtime keyboardist Melissa Reese, who had been part of the live lineup since 2016, sits out this tour and is not replaced. Whether by design or circumstance, the band sounds leaner and more organic than it has in years. There are undoubtedly still samples and backing tracks tucked beneath the surface, but the harder-rocking material once again resembles six musicians playing together in a room rather than a meticulously synchronized arena production. That stripped-back approach also exposes Axl Rose's increasingly fragile upper register, but it is a trade-off worth making. The imperfections make the performance feel more human.
The same philosophy seems to extend to the production as a whole. The pyrotechnics have disappeared, the hydraulic piano lift is gone, and even Axl's famous mid-show wardrobe changes have been scaled back. Budgetary decision or artistic choice? It hardly matters. Guns N' Roses has never needed elaborate stagecraft to hold an audience's attention. The songs have always done the heavy lifting.
Yes, three hours is probably pushing it. Not everyone can be Bruce Springsteen. There are moments when Slash appears almost casual, but that's partly because he possesses that rare ability to make the difficult seem routine. Axl's voice has undeniably seen better days. Haven't we all? Yet several times over the course of the evening, everything clicks into place. The band locks in, the audience takes over the chorus, Slash tears into another solo and, for a few glorious minutes, the years simply disappear. That's when the thought inevitably returns: what a catalogue. What a band.
SETLIST:
Check out these related articles from the Electric Eye archives:
