Guns N' Roses
2021-09-04
Bottlerock Festival
Jam Cellar Stage
Napa, CA
SOURCE:
SP-CMC-8 (w/Mods) > Sony PCM-M10 > Sandisk Mini-SD Card (32gb - Class 10)
TRANSFER:
.WAV (24 Bit) > Adobe Audition 2021 CC (normalize/amplify/tracking/downsampling/dithering) > .WAV (16 Bit) > Trader's Little Helper > FLAC (Level 8)
SETLIST:
01. Intro
02. It's So Easy
03. Mr. Brownstone
04. Chinese Democracy
05. Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
06. Double Talkin' Jive
07. Welcome to the Jungle
08. Better
09. Estranged
10. Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
11. You're Crazy (slow version)
12. Rocket Queen
13. You Could Be Mine
14. I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges cover) ^
15. Absurd
16. Civil War
17. (band intros)
18. (Slash solo)
19. Sweet Child o' Mine
20. November Rain
21. Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
22. Knockin' on Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan cover)
23. Nightrain
24. (encore break)
25. Patience (featuring Pink)
26. Paradise City (featuring Dave Grohl)
^ Duff on lead vocals
NOTES:
Well it was Saturday night at Bottlerock, the most crowded day/night by far, and it was either catch Guns N Roses on the main stage, or Miley Cyrus on the second/Verizon stage. And as much as I would like to have caught Miley, weirdly enough, I decided to stick with GnR, even though I had seen them twice before in this incarnation (meaning with Slash) back at Coachella 2016. The catch though, if you remember, is at Coachella 2016, Axl was recovering from a broken leg and had to be confined to the chair/throne, so he wasn't running around dancing, making out with the microphone stands, and (from what I saw during this night) changing shirts/costumes every two songs. So knowing he had no broken leg and would be doing all that, I had to see them again, so I could at least say I saw Axl at full speed (well "full speed" for these days).
We were about 20 feet in front of the soundboard, so we had a pretty prime spot, but of course, it got real crowded and really packed pretty fast. Everyone and their mother (actually, yes, literally my own mother was in the crowd - though she was sitting down in the VIP area, tickets which she had won the year before) were coming to see these guys. They started on time (I guess not so much of a shock these days) and kicked things off just as they had at Coachella, with "It's So Easy" and then "Mr. Brownstone". In fact, this was pretty much the Coachella set, give or take a few different songs (which I expected). Coachella had "Coma", and tonight we got "Patience", among a few other minor changes. Coachella saw Angus Young come out, and tonight we had Pink and Dave Grohl (more on the latter dude in a moment).
My friend ended up leaving me about an hour into the set to go catch Miley, so I was left to fend for myself, and this was when things started getting really rowdy and annoying in the crowd. Right when they kicked into the Stooges cover of "I Wanna Be Your Dog", this annoying (and of course, drunk) couple showed up and started screaming the lyrics to the song, and then afterwards started yelling something along the lines of "Who the fuck doesn't know Iggy Pop!?". Cool dude, you recognized the band that they were covering. You and about 85% of the rest of the crowd. You want a high five? How about you fuck off instead? He just wouldn't shut up, so I had to move out of there. Of course the next spot wasn't any better, as that quickly filled with more drunk assholes. Seriously, what was up with the annoying crowd? Are all GnR fans this fucking obnoxious? Like even before the set started, they were being annoying. This one guy, while we were all waiting for the band to take the stage, kept mentioning to people that if you looked up over at the stage and at the drum set, you could see the logo on the bass/kick drum, and he kept saying he had a friend who was working back stage and was told a "special tidbit" about the drum setup, which was that the "silver circle" on the band's logo (printed onto the kick drum) was supposed to be a bullet casing. I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP. He was so proud of this "fact" that he literally told about 10-15 people about this. I was ready to start pulling my hair out hearing this over and over. Like honestly, what the fuck? That's your fact? That's what is so important to tell people, that the logo has a bullet within the image? I'm pretty sure anyone who as looked at the logo any time in the last thirty fucking years, even if it was just once, has recogonized that. God damn, I'm getting angry all over again, just writing about this.
Move ahead to the end of set, after fighting annoying crowds, yellers, screamers, and assholes all night long, the finale finally starts, but I notice there is less than 10 minutes left until 10pm. Ut oh, this isn't good. Pink comes out for "Patience" and honestly, I didn't even recognize her. Wasn't impressed. Next. Well next, was none other than Dave Grohl, joining the band for the finale of "Paradeise City". Now of course, right when he comes out and starts to play, my phone starts blowing up. But not for anything worthwhile in all honestly. First my Mom is asking where to meet up after the show, so I give her the spot we had all agreed upon earlier in the day. But then my friend texts me and says that since they're at Miley, how about we just meet at the second exit instead? Hmm, well now I have to text my Mom and let her know of a different spot, or do I meet up with my Mom first and then onto the second spot? Right when I'm about to text my Mom that, my friend texts me again and says instead of meeting at the exit, they will just exit and meet up at the pick up spot downtown like we had the night before. Well then my sister (who is picking us all up) texts me and asks me where is she meeting us? I tell her the spot from yesterday, but my Mom can't walk that far and she needs to be picked up out front of the venue. Well if my sister is going to be out front, do I text my friend back and say don't meet up at the spot from yesterday but instead go back to the front entrance and meet there? Then I have to text my Mom that my sister is picking her up and not to meet at the initial spot? HOLY FUCK, I can't take it anymore. Dave Grohl is on stage, "Paradise City" just started, and I'm supposed to use game theory to come up with a solution for where and how everyone is getting home??? I said "fuck this" and put the phone back in my pocket and said "fuck everyone, they can all just walk and I'll find them later" and I left it at that.
Now with that drama over, what happens next? Well the same thing that happened back to the Cure in 2014 (though that was planned, as playing until the power is turned off is sort of their trademark), the Foo Fighters in 2017, and Neil Young in 2019....Bottlerock cuts the power to the PA during the last song, as the clock hit 10:00pm. Yup, the 10:00pm curfew strikes again (thanks Napa). The crowd was in shock at first (not sure why, this should have been expected) but eventually everyone just starts singing the lyrics to "Paradise City" together as the band finishes. Honestly, it was actually a cool moment. I had always heard stories of the crowd singing along to "Boys Don't Cry" when Coachella cut the power to the Cure back in 2009 (missed that set), and it was sort of cool to be in the middle of it. I would have preferred the power stay on, but that wasn't going to happen, no fucking way.
It was a helluva night with lots of drama, memories and moments to remember, and I'm happy to have been a part of it all and recorded to relive for years to come. Enjoy!
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