Guns N Roses in Ames, IA

I have mixed feelings about this one. I've read a ton of comments to other reviews and it sounds like most people are griping about this show with a few of the "die-hards" defending Axl Rose for everything. This is only my opinion of the Ames show so here goes.

My girlfriend got snowed in and was unable to come up from Missouri to attend this concert with me. I sold my roommate my other floor ticket at just under half the price and we got to the Hilton Coliseum about 6:40pm. There wasn't a huge line at either entrance, so we knew we'd get a decent spot on the floor. The doors opened on time at 7pm and we walked in to get frisked and were let into the floor area. We looked at prices for the merchandise and almost died laughing that key chains were $10 and beanies were $30. They have a great baseball jersey at an outrageous price of $125. It's a shirt that wouldn't cost $50 elsewhere, but since it has a GNR design on it, it must command a higher dollar than sane people are willing to pay.

As we got to the front of the floor, the St. Louis band Modern Day Zero was starting a set long before the 8pm start time. They are a tight band that is still using the dated "nu-metal" sound, but considering that everything is considered dated at a GNR show, this wasn't entirely out of place. I actually enjoyed some of the rhythms of the band and they were very energetic. Everyone seemed to command the stage in that band with the only low point being the singer. The bass player and guitarist on the left hand side of the stage were great players with great presence.

When 8pm rolled around, the Suicide Girls came out with their entertaining and erotic burlesque show. Their whole thing is that they are natural girls with a bit of the gothic look and they look good without the harsh diets and fake parts. They were quite entertaining with their dance numbers on chairs, a ladder, with a flaming hula-hoop, dressed as cop and prisoner, and even as airline stewardesses. They came out again before GNR went on and even used chocolate syrup. It's not a concert type of production, but was entertaining.

Sebastian Bach came out with some great Skid Row tunes from their early days. He did Piece Of Me, I Remember You, Big Guns, and several from Slave To The Grind and Skid Row before closing with Youth Gone Wild. There were even a couple of tunes that I didn't recognize, but seemed to be new. Bas made some cheesy comments to go along with the titles of a few songs. He initially said he couldn't remember his last time in Ames, but before I Remember You he mentioned that he certainly remember us. That was one of the cheesier intros to a song. Bas does deliver, though. He has the vocal chops to hit everything and then some and he certainly gets the crowd into the show. He just has a natural enthusiasm for entertaining. Bas did brag about lying to Ted Nugent about his drinking, but I'm not sure how much of that is an act. The band did a great job playing the tunes, but it would be great for Bas to get a crack band that can keep up with him and look better doing it. Metal Mike looks like a Dimebag fan, but I'm not so sure that's a good thing. At least he has the chops.

Helmet followed Sebastian Bach and got booed loudly and angrily. I like Helmet. I liked their set, but it was out of place and out of pace with this concert. Helmet should have gone on at 8pm and then should have been followed by the Suicide Girls and Sebastian Bach. When you have to follow the crowd singing Youth Gone Wild and you are then put before Guns N Roses, you face the daunting task of keeping that energy up. It wasn't Helmet that had the fans angry, but the pacing of the show and the fact that many didn't even know Helmet was going to be at this show. The fans were expecting Bas and GNR, not Helmet and the Suicide Girls. Helmet got to the point of not even taking much of a break between songs in order to play their set. They were laughing off the crowd a bit, but thankful for the very few that were into them. I'm anxious to see how they perform the rest of the tour, but GNR would be better served to put Helmet on first.

The Suicide Girls came back out for another few dances, but the crowd was even more restless at this point in their anticipation for GNR. Many were unaware that Axl likes to go on after 11pm or even after midnight and that there was some trouble getting through the weather from Chicago to Des Moines. There were many that left at 12:30am angry that they spent their hard earned money on a show that they weren't aware would last over 7 hours.

Axl and his band finally came on about 12:40am. I'm not sure if it was worth the wait, but it was a great show. Axl did sound good and had a lot of energy. They started with Welcome To The Jungle and did the first three tunes from Appetite For Destruction before launching into their cover of Live And Let Die. There were a few new songs sprinkled into the set, but mostly the familiar. Sebastian Bach came out for his duet on My Michelle and both sounded great. There were fireworks, flames, and a great light show to go with the large backdrops and video screens used. The stage was split level with the drums in the center at the top flanked by keyboard setups on either side. Dizzy Reed, the only other member to record on a previous GNR disc was up on the left and he got a solo front and center on a grand piano. Axly used the piano on November Rain, too.

The band looked like they have been playing with Axl for quite some time as they were very tight. I just didn't get the feeling that this was truly a band, though, as it still came across like Axl and his backing band. That could just be my impression. The members have some originality and are very good players. The guitar players do play a little clean for my taste as I'm used to hearing Slash's tastefully sloppy play when hearing these songs.

Overall, there is no way to complain about how much you got for your ticket price. Four bands and a burlesque show for a top price of $77 plus TicketMaster charges isn't a bad value. The bad parts are the advertising for the show being that two bands would be there (some included The Suicide Girls.) and the late hour at which GNR goes on. If people were warned in advance, they could have just shown up later instead of thinking that they'd get a show and be home in time to get their babysitters home. The other bad part was the pacing of the show. As good as Helmet is, they aren't as popular as Sebastian Bach and certainly don't get the crowd going for the headliner when they are being booed.

Hopefully, this review will serve as a warning to some so that all will know what to expect in future shows. See it once, but don't bother a second time unless you have seats or the legs to stand it.