Guns N’ Roses prove their mettle with three-hour Hyde Park concert — review

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“You’re in the jungle, baby!” shrilled Axl Rose, Joker-red locks fluttering in the London wind and drizzle, “You’re gonna die!” Much of the crowd in Hyde Park were, in fact, shuffling off to the toilets, a regular sight over the next three hours. In a far cry from their heyday, Guns N’ Roses had turned up 10 minutes early, a mark of newfound professionalism since their 2016 reunion.

Dwarfed by screens magnifying every detail — HD shots of Slash’s nose hair as well as his shredding — the “most dangerous band in the world” took a stand against the dying of the light and won, avoiding the technical woes of their recent Glastonbury set. Their continued ability and the immense effort behind it were equally evident as they strained to recreate the devil-may-care sound of their 1987 breakout album Appetite for Destruction. “I think I have a couple more ya-ya’s in me if I dig a little deeper,” mused Rose, perhaps more to himself than to his audience. 

With the exception of aptly named 2021 single “Absurd” — a well-earned chance to scream obscenities at the golden circle enclosure — the band chugged through crowd-pleasers with puppyish enthusiasm. Two songs in, Rose tumbled over a speaker, gamely popping up again without losing his place in “Bad Obsession”. Bobbing away behind him, bassist Duff McKagan and keyboard player Dizzy Reed of the “classic” line-up seemed equally chuffed to be back; Slash, sphinxlike under top hat and shades, was joined by drummer Frank Ferrer and recent addition Melissa Reese. The band brought a manic energy to favourites such as “Live and Let Die” and “Welcome to the Jungle”, Rose’s arteries a-bulge as he squeezed out the high notes.

Despite their status as karaoke favourites — “Sweet Child O’ Mine” alone has more than 1.5bn streams on Spotify — the band couldn’t resist a political statement, turning power ballad “Civil War” into a Ukraine solidarity anthem. “Look at the blood we’re spilling, look at the world we’re killing,” thundered Rose as Slash buried himself in his guitar. The nauseating CGI swoop-throughs of a bombed-out city onscreen were a reminder that subtlety and gravitas have never been Guns N’ Roses’ strong suit. Barely had the yellow and blue faded away when Slash was segueing into “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”. The 10-minute solo that followed was accompanied by the squeak of expensive activewear as people made for the Aperol stand.

With the sun setting, the crowd warmed to a barrage of classics, Rose flexing his strangled-Elmo vocals in singalongs to “November Rain” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”. The galumphing cowbell and choo-choo sound effects in “Nightrain” roused both parents and children sitting atop Barbour-jacketed shoulders. Sprawled against the barrier, characters straight out of Hogarth’s “Beer Street” — tinny in one hand, ciggy in the other — swayed misty-eyed to “Don’t Cry”.

Rose’s tongue-in-cheek sign-off, “We’re Lloyd’s of London”, was the only reference to the hell-raising past; the insurance underwriters sued them in 1992 after the band sparked a riot in Missouri and claimed compensation for gigs cancelled as a result. It seems the man who described himself as “a screaming two-year-old” has finally grown up. 

★★★★☆

gunsnroses.com