When Guns N’ Roses announced their N. American Tour but didn’t have any Denver dates, I was pretty bummed out. I immediately started looking at the cities that were close by that I could possibly travel to. After looking at all the options I decided that going to see them at After Shock was my best option so that I could see them and Tool. Well just about a month before our trip to the festival they announced a Denver show that was added. I knew I was also going to be going to that show as well. I of course bought the VIP early entrance package thinking last time we saw them there was only 1 person who bought the package above that. Not to mention the package I bought was already pretty spendy. For 2 tickets it came out to $1,300, however as I said I thought this would be good enough to get me a spot on the rail. On the day of the show not only were there a lot of people who bought the same package as me but there were a lot of people who bought the package above mine. I was worried while we stood in line that we might not get that spot on the rail that I wanted. At this point there was nothing I could do but wait it out and see what spot we ended up getting. Before I get to that I should mention that as we stood in line, we had some friends show up and hang out with us. One of them was a friend that Jess and I made in Texas when we saw Metallica. He was out here for another show and ended up buying a cheap $20 nosebleed ticket. He hung out with us the whole time. I told him at one point there is a chance I might be able to get him on the floor with us, but we would have to see how things played out. I was hoping I might know someone there working that would let him sneak in after we got in but before that happened, we had another opportunity to get him in. After they let the VIPs above us in, they let us in, and they weren’t paying attention to who had VIP or GA tickets. I messaged my friend outside and told him to just walk in. He did and then got in line behind us. The lady who was giving out the GA band didn’t even look at our tickets, so she gave us all one. After standing there for maybe 45 to an hour they let us down to the GA floor. There were 4 people in front of me as we made our way down. Once it opened, we all took off running. I was initially trying to get on Slash’s side but at first glance I didn’t see any openings, so I made to Duff’s side and got a spot for Jess and I. Thought this wasn’t the initial spot I wanted we still got a really good spot and most importantly it was on the rail.
The opening band was Ayron Jones. Jess and I have seen him and his band before at a festival. It was early in the day, and I remember after his set he walked along the rail and gave out picks and autographs. He spent a lot of time with his fans that day. That was not the case this time, but I also understand why. The set itself that he put on was good. I knew 2 of the songs he played from the radio. The other songs he did had a similar sound, and he got the crowd pumped up. The bassist was really going throughout the set jumping and dancing all over the stage. Though they were good I honestly wish they had some of the other bands they had listed as potential. Alice in Chain was one of the bands and had they played that would have been great, as I know every song they play live. The Pretenders are another band I have listened to as a kid, and it would have been cool to see them again. Even Carrie Underwood would have cool to see only because she’s kind of iconic and I even know a couple of her songs. Either way I was there for really only 1 band and that was Guns N’ Roses.
Thankfully unlike when we saw them at After Shock, they weren’t late. They hit the stage just before 9 and played for a full 3 hours. They played 32 songs, which was amazing! They of course played all their hits, their newest songs and even a couple of deep cuts. Not to mention the guitar solo that Slash played. The entire band had a lot of energy. They were all over the stage. Axl may not have sounded like he used to back in the day, but he put on a great set all and all! I even managed to get a played guitar pick from Slash. At the end of their set when he was playing the solo to Paradise City, which was right in front of me, I was jamming the air guitar with him and when he finished, he threw his pick at me which of course I got. I wish I could have also got a Duff pick but I’m just glad I got a pick. All and all it was a great night. There was a little drama but thankfully it didn’t amount to much. At one point our friend was trying to get on the rail next to us and the girl that was next to Jess called security and said something to security. The next thing you know security is in the crowd and they pull him and ask him about him groping some girls. He wasn’t and after talking to him they let him come back to his spot. The only other thing was at some point the girl behind me got upset because I bumped into her a couple of times. I certainly wasn’t trying to, but I was also enjoying myself and jumping to the music. She ended up backing up a little and that was pretty much the end of that.
After the show we ended up hanging out with some of our friends. Later that night we ended up at another bar and we ran into the guitarist of Love Stallion. That was kind of cool. All and all I can’t wait to see Guns N’ Roses again and I’m hoping it will be in 2024.
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