Editor's note: This concert review was originally published July 4, 1991, from the night (July 2, 1991) that Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses incited a riot at Riverport Amphitheatre in St. Louis.
There is never, and I mean NEVER, a dull moment when the rock group Guns N' Roses hits town. Tuesday night at Riverport Amphitheatre, the Hollywood-based rockers performed a ferociously powerful set while adding another inglorious footnote to their ever-growing legend. After a fight between lead singer W. Axl Rose and a member of the audience, the concert moved from music spectacle to riot. People were arrested and injured, and the new Riverport Amphitheatre was damaged in the worst mess in St. Louis rock history.
If you are one of those people who just don't get the Guns N' Roses phenomenon, the band's live act - on another night, in another venue - would probably clear up the mystery. The music (like the five musicians that make it) is raw, rebellious and raunchy, but performed with undeniable power. In the end, the music the band offered was terrific; Rose's lack of judgment was pathetic.
It all started well enough, with an impressive opening set by Skid Row. The band tackled a few numbers from its latest album, ''Slave to the Grind, '' including ''Riot A ct, '' ''Monkey Business'' and ''Psycho Love.'' There were also a couple of the group's earlier songs, such as ''18 and Life.''
After an almost-hourlong set change, Guns N' Roses took the stage to thundering applause. The band was in top form, with the display of musical force that characterizes its best showings.
The first surprise of the set was a recklessly brilliant arrangement of Paul McCartney's ''Live and Let Die.'' The band revved up the bottom end of the song just short of the breaking point, while lead guitarist Slash bludgeoned the song's familiar riff into unfused dynamite.
Vocalist Rose was as crude and charismatic as ever. Dressed in a tartan kilt, an umpire's vest and baseball cap, Rose strutted and vocalized in his screechy tenor wail.
However, he made it abundantly clear in one of his spoken introductions that he believes at least some of his fans are missing the point of his songs. Because of an interview he gave to Rolling Stone magazine last year, Rose has been accused of being racist. On Tuesday night, he came across as earnest and cocky, but the cockiness was about to backfire.
The Guns N' Roses set continued to pick up steam with the addition of new material, such as ''You Could Be Mine'' from the ''Terminator II'' soundtrack. The band works without a conventional song list, choosing numbers at random. Consequently, not even the musicians know which songs will be played on any given night.
There were some other unexpected moments, with guitarist Izzy Stradlin as lead vocalist on ''Dust and Bones'' and ''14 Years.'' Most unusual of all was the sight of Rose at the grand piano, offering a keyboard showcase that was more than vaguely Beatlesque in nature.
Then came a monologue that included homophobic material concerning one of Rose's own experiences as a teen-age runaway in the St. Louis area (he said he was nearly raped by a truck driver, and muttered something about almost cutting the man's throat with a straight razor). After that, the white-hot intensity of ''Welcome to the Jungle'' kicked both band and audience into overdrive.
Drummer Matt Sorum's featured spot then segued into Slash's solo guitar break. It is hard to imagine a guitar solo blasting at 110-plus decibels as the ''calm before the storm, '' but it was.
As the rest of the band once again took the stage, the opening chords to ''Rocket Queen'' kicked off another barrage of sound.
At that point, about 80 minutes into the group's set, Rose began screaming to security guards, ''Get that away from him, '' referring to a man with a camera. As the band kept playing at a full-tilt boogie, the singer jumped into the crowd and exchanged blows with the man. It almost looked like part of the act. Even from my vantage point several rows away, it was difficult to say what else ensued.
After a half-minute or so, Rose was helped back onstage by security people. He then shouted something to the effect of ''We are out of here, '' threw his cordless microphone to the floor and stormed offstage. Slash appeared bewildered and shook his head, mumbling, ''I guess we're going home.''
With that, the musical portion of the Guns N' Roses concert came to a resoundingly abrupt conclusion.
