What it was like watching Guns N' Roses live, united after all these years

Music is a great unifier. And when that music involves the gravelly high notes of one of the greatest and most notorious rock legends, underscored by an equally celebrated guitarist whose strumming is beyond compare, then it’s magic. In the throes of that melody all differences are washed away into irrelevance. Guns N’ Roses did that and more for me last weekend.

Friends, who I had been bickering and banging heads with, over politics and parenting, were happily headbanging with me in unison. Japanese friends, who I find difficult to cross a line of intimacy with, because of language and cultural barriers, were mouthing every syllable of every song in sync with me. Suddenly their English was word perfect. The husband, whom I’d been too busy to connect with, was swaying to the same rhythm, hugging and kissing and feeling the joy. This is the power of music.

With the ever-present danger that Axl may not show, we had nevertheless booked tickets to see Guns N’ Roses in Tokyo six months in advance, and if you know what a last-minute kind of gal I am, then you’d know that I must have really wanted to see them. It wasn’t just because I was crazy about them and their music back in the day (which I was), or that I would finally know most of the songs at a concert (which I did), it was the fact that they were, nay, are defying the odds (and so am I).

The on-again-off-again band has been at it for over three decades and no one would’ve believed that they would tour together again after all these wasted years of abuse and fighting. Going by the name of the tour — “Not in this lifetime” — I don’t think they themselves believed they would. But now it’s actually happening.

Beautiful bad boy Axl looks more like fatso sad boy but when he opens his mouth to sing that sound is still there — full of pain and promise, embellished with whisky and cigarettes (and anything else he’s inhaled and snorted along the way) and it doesn’t fail to take you right to paradise city.

Slash still looks like Slash — the hair, the hat, the nose ring, the toned arms, the epic attitude and the humongous talent. When he strikes the first chords of Sweet Child O Mine, there is a crush in the mosh pit I’m lucky enough to have tickets for. I’m never one to be left behind and apparently nor is my Japanese buddy. He grabs my hand and we elbow our way right to the front. Nothing and no one but the bouncers in the gap between us and the badass rock-stars.

Except they’re not that dangerous anymore and nor is the crowd. No one is throwing bottles and for all his costume changes Axl is still singing with his pants on. No smashing of the mic, no thrashing of fans, no screaming at security and definitely no stomping off in his underwear. This is when you know that we’ve all finally grown the f@*k up.

To start with, Guns N’ Roses begin almost on time — unheard of for a band that would show up a day late for a concert if they could. When you have only half your life (or less) left when time is of immense importance and finally given the respect it deserves. No time was wasted on chat — they performed for over two and a half hours without pause. You could see them giving every bit of what they have and then some to the performance.

There was none of the usual smoking and drinking on stage and apart from a few pot-bellied attempts at the serpentine dance, a couple of cringy jumps and awkward, choreographed runs across, the band was entirely focused and immersed in the songs. Because at this point in your life what can be a bigger high than getting to do what you love and know that you are killing it in front of thousands of screaming fans? This is their way of sticking their finger up at the world — not by walking away and raging off stage, but by staying on and pelting it out. The truth is they are still at is because they’ve still got it.

The people, the audience are no different. There wasn’t a single person under 30. Many had dusted off their original GNR T-shirts and squeezed into their faded, treasured possessions. These were joy seekers who were far from giving up or giving into the pressures of abandoning the crazy in them. Yes, we are a mellower lot today, but letting go of the anger and just grabbing the moment is our finger to the world. In a world that is being divided up like a too-small birthday cake by greedy kids, we can do with anything that unifies. I’d take singing at the top of our lungs in unison over shouting out our differences any day.

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