Guns n’ Roses are notoriously late for their own shows. I remember going to Donnington one year and the joke doing the rounds was that the promotor had told the band their ‘take to the stage time’ was several hours earlier than they were due to go on, to try and minimise the complaints.
Main doors were 1530 hours yesterday, but for a yet-to-be-disclosed reason, fans were still locked out at 1730 hours. Talk of sound issues has been mooted on social media, but surely that wouldn’t have prevented letting people in to take their seats, eat drink, and buy merch?
Axl Rose interrompeu a música Estranged para falar com o público sobre os problemas técnicos no som agora a pouco no Estádio Tottenham Hotspur, Londres, Inglaterra 🏴
— gunsnroses (eterno) (@gnreternobr) July 1, 2022
🎥 LNDNGNFR / Gnrvault #GunsNRoses #GnFnR #Estranged #London #slash #axlrose #duffmckagan pic.twitter.com/KlKaSNSYqe
As per this fan cam clip, Axel Rose was forced to stop the show (twice) because the sound was a mess.
Michael Monroe’s entire set was pulled, which will have been a kick in the teeth for ageing Hanoi Rocks heads such as my good self. Also, the Guns’ set list was cut to 22 songs, which was less metal than headbangers overseas got for their price of admission. The full repercussions will ultimately only begin on Monday, as many fans walked out, fatigued with the whole experience.
Whoever/whatever was to blame, the venue will need to ensure that things improve dramatically because the ultimate responsibility lies with the venue. If the venue doesn’t step up to the plate, then people will go and watch artists perform in places that can open their doors on time and can make sure that the billed artists actually play, and that the sound is fit for purpose.
🎼 It’s so easy…
The promoters generally don’t give a ****; it’s all about ticket sales.
I went to Wembley to watch Fleetwood Mac a couple of years ago which was the worst gig I’ve ever been to acoustically.
Funnily enough, that was a Live Nation gig too.
I was with a mate a little further back and came up with the plan to move sideways. Pretty scary as we had to put our arms up in front of our chests in order to breath 😑
Nice one. I was right down at the front but managed to fight my way out (so to speak) a few minutes before the crush.
I am actually a Tottenham Hotspur supporter and used to sit in the old east stand upper block G. This was my first visit to the new stadium.
I was at the gig last night and the sound was great, athough 2 pints of Kronenberg in the Bricklayers before probably helped. We were standing adjacent to the VIP stage so fair way back; maybe different areas had variable reception????
Several Slash solos and they threw in Blackbird when all 3 guitarists played acoustic – brilliant.
The one major down side for me was they left out my favourite, November Rain. Ironic since it p1ssed down towards the end when the song was scheduled to have been played!
p.s. how do those guys find the right notes (cue EM joke) over the fret board? Just something you are born with I guess that no amount of tuition can solve
We were down at the BeeHive pub when we decided to leave to get in, When we turned up the outside queues were massive. Fortunately for us we were gate 21 and went straight in. No issues with ordering drinks and food. The amount of staff working was insane ! Yet alot of confusion.
Forgot to say
Guns and roses were an hour late, wasn’t surprised though. Axel used to be notorious for not showing up or being 4 hours late.
I was there with 3 friends Friday evening.
We had a great time. My first rock concert.
Yes, Axels voice is not the same but it was a great performance by the whole band. Would happily go see them again.
We missed the warm up acts because of the abysmal lack of merchandise stalls. The queue was massive. My friend wanted 2 tops and it took an hour to get to the front.
We had tickets for General area but decided to stay in the seated area we found ourselves in because it was a great view. Turned out it was a Premier seated area with the luxury bar and services. No idea how we got in. No one checked us ? Didn’t say anything.
Fair play to Axel about addressing the sound issue’s alot of people were complaining about, Listened to the crowd and got it sorted. It did make a difference though.
I had a great time. 👍
I attended the Friday show. I can confirm that we were queuing outside until 5.30pm. The lines were so long that people were confused which one to join for their particular entrance number. My seat was in East Lower at entrance 11, the queue went back and wrapped around Northumberland Park. The stewards had to bellow out updates and give directions to the right queue. People were having trouble getting their paper ticket QR codes read at the entry system which lead to more frustration and delays getting in. Once inside I missed the support act that did play because the queue at the Shelf Bar was so long. Incredibly slow service, no sign of speedy beer delivery taps, actually the taps were pouring out so much foam that the staff had to pre-pour them. So I got a £6.75 pint of neck oil that had gone flat. Axl had to consult with the front rows about sound between songs, then as the twitter video shows actually stopped ‘Estranged’ to sort the sound out again. Slash’s guitar volumes then went up really high and the mix got even more unbalanced.
I loved Guns n Roses as a teen and Slash is an all time guitar hero of mine, so I didn’t want to let all this fiasco ruin my first live concert of theirs, I still really enjoyed it. Getting back to Herts was a pain too, yet more queues in compressed crowds trying to get back on the tube at Seven Sisters.
FACK UP FC
I bet GnR (as a spent force) wanted less of a fee than some other artists. The Killers play big venues and are going the rounds this summer and are also still good enough and young enough to do themselves justice, and provide value for money to the punters.
Just like ENIC’s transfer ‘policy’, they opted for the low cost option…
”hard fish n’ chips anyone? Only a tenner!!” 😂
Yep, reports are of another poor and underwhelming show. Axl Rose can’t sing anymore and needs the help of a female ‘vocal assistant’ to hit the high notes of his youth. The sound was poor again, only Levy could conspire the first concerts at the place to be riddled with issues. Why get a band on who are obviously not fit to grace a stage anymore? The Stones are over 20 years older than GnR and by all accounts still kick their *ss.
Know when it’s time to hang up the microphone, would be the sensible conclusion here…
Fair point. Which is why stadium gigs are often hit and miss with the sound.
Another bad sound show last night, and set list ‘slashed’.
Bring back the football…
Why on earth are you seeking to push your ‘feelings’ being more reliable than facts?
You’re wrong, there were fewer songs and it’s not up for debate!
I was at that show.
😂
Like Dean says, Tottenham are only providing the building here. The act is wholly responsible for all aspects of the show, including sound (quality, loudness etc) and lighting.
On a separate note, what a snowflake generation we’re becoming. I saw GnR at Donington in ’88. People died and there was less complaining lol.
Clearly not 😂
Multi Events Arena…
That certainly seems like whoever was mixing the sound wasn’t doing their job properly. I’m staggered sometimes at how poor they mix sound at gigs abd how excellent it can be at other times. The technology is there to get a decent sound these days, let’s be clear…
Just a polite reminder…. It’s supposed to be a football stadium not a concert venue…
You can read ….some stadium gigs have no problems I was suggesting where this had worked at other large stadiums advice or assistance should’ve been dragged in..to oversea a better event ,.
Deflecting blame offers nothing offering solutions just might..
Looks like dearly departed Auntie..oh hold on ..couldn’t be ..
NO. You are wrong. This isn’t based on what people thought, it’s based upon set lists.
And endless social media posts.
You sound like the match commentator from Escape To Victory.
Thank you, Donna
On the subject of the short running order, we thought they carried on after they should have ended based on resent concerts timings and assumed local noise regs. Again just based on my observations and watching the clock because of driving home.
The length of the G & R set did not seem short.
I was there last night with 3 friends, we had no problem getting in and ours were were only average seats. There was a big que formed at the corner of Park lane/Worcester ave but it looked like people were getting in a que with out knowing why, as people were walking around it.
The volume was to low early on and credit to Axle for stopping and trying to resolve the issue. When the volume was increased it was much better. Personally and with no relevant experience, I thought the issue was there was to much back ground sound from the Hammond/piano guy, the girl on the synth and the rhythm guitar. This made it hard to distinguish the vocals and Slash (apart from the solo’s).
We have been to many stadium gigs recently and the London stadium is much worse.
We enjoyed the concert, my only complaint was my fish and chips were over-cooked and hard, Mr Levy take note!
Ha – great reply 🤣 🍻
Completely agree
I saw them at Donnington mate, and they were late then!
As a former sound engineer, the location of the stage at a far end of the pitch could easily be one of the problems… Concerts in large outdoor stadiums like this should have the stage in the middle facing to the side so the acoustics will be closer to a theater and not bouncing around a cavernous stadium.
And who are the THS sound engineers? Do you not know anything about sound engineering…. THS has nothing to do with the sound, it is the engineers that are hired by and travel with each band that are responsible!
A somebody who works in the industry of international artists, albeit in South Africa, the venue cannot be held responsible for anything, unless they were also the promoter/promotions company that organised the show, or purchased the show/event and contractually agreed to doing the sound and lighting etc. With any big touring artist they provide a technical rider which states the bare minimum expectations when it comes to sound, lighting and backline gear, and in most cases this is not a negotiable, you have to use what they request. They will also travel with their own sound engineers who will handle their sounchecks and sound on the night. Whoever is to blame for the issues have sadly dodged a bullet it seems and Spurs stadium as a venue is going to be the ones getting their name tarnished. This isnt the first live act to play at the stadium either.
New admiration for you Harry, apart from agreeing with almost everything you usually write now I found out you like the same music as me, love G & R but I admit I would never go and watch my heroes today, they would be too much of a disappointment , would rather remember them when I last saw them 1991 Wembley stadium.
The Council always set limits for music in residential areas, eg pubs, but it doesn’t stop it going ahead.
As for not letting people in, the groundsman, daft twat, probably forgot the keys.
I have it on good authority that predators will never get Iinto the stadium as Levy personally puts down Johnsons anti lion powder.
If there’s a council limit, then nobody has any business putting live music on at the venue.
Have no idea why people were left queueing outside.
I can answer that because they weren’t allowed in.
If it wasn’t loose lions and tigers, then all eyes are on the venue.
I’ll repeat, the set lists in previous recent gigs at Marley Park in Dublin were longer as there weren’t any interruptions.
Perhaps, unhappy punters should seek reparations from the UK Met Office for the English air?
Axel Rose has morphed into an aging Cybill Shephard by the looks of it.
As Mike J correctly states, who I presume has a connection with the music world, its the responsibility of the sound engineer to get it right, end of. Who’s legally responsible is another matter and I would assume any refunds demanded from ENIC could in turn be passed onto the band’s organisation.
Aside: My mate who was a founder member of The Babies said that volume level is dictated by the council. Lets say for example GnR play at 800 decibels but the council’s limit is 400, as soon as they step over that the guy from the council who would be in attendance with a meter, would literally pull the plug. However, on this occasion it would appear GnR completely messed up.
Have no idea why people were left queueing outside.
I hate ENIC with a vengeance for the suffering they have put us through over the last 20 years while accumulating tangible and future wealth, but I think they are off the hook this time.
Hope GnR get their act together, in all respects, as I’m going along this afternoon myself – won’t bother with my lovely orange custom built ear plugs 😉
Testing 1-2-3
I was there last night and the sound was a hot mess. The volume was so low for the first hour that you could have a perfectly audible conversation with the person next to you. Axel’s vocals were inaudible. And even when they turned the volume up the mix was still a mess. The band were also all over the place. 4th time I’ve seen gnr and this was no comparison to other 3. Very disappointing.
Apologies for posting this hoax video in order to disingenuously smear all those involved.
What a sad little man I am.
Well, whatever went on, people should have been let in 2 hours sooner than they were, surely you don’t contest that, or do you suspect there were lions or tigers loose in the stadium?
Equally, why weren’t people walking out of other shows?
Facts are causing so many problems at the moment.
Stadiums that have successful concerts…Wembley ..Anfield ..The Etihad ..there are probably others ..yes cock ups do occur but you would think given it was first time around for the THS sound engineers from one of the above would have been drafted in to make sure it was all tip top.
Just hope next time it is perfect.
Not the case in law https://www.resolver.co.uk/consumer-rights/ticket-sales-poor-sound-quality-complaints
Quality of the Venue
If when you attend an event you have trouble seeing or hearing the performance, you should consider whether reasonable care and skill have gone into the presentation of the sound and/or vision. If the sound is below that which you would normally experience at an event, you could argue that it has not been presented with reasonable care or skill.
If you feel that reasonable care or skill were not taken, you should contact the venue or organiser to make a complaint and ask for a partial or full refund.
Seat location
If the seats allocated to you were not what you expected, you should raise the issue immediately before the event or during an interval.
If you were sold the tickets on the basis that you might have a partial view, and this is the case, it is not reasonable to complain. However, if you were sold front-row seats and your allocated seats are at the back, you do have a reason to complain. You can ask for a partial or full refund, depending on the situation.
Event was shorter than expected
Not all tickets will state the ending time of the event; unless an ending time is stated, it is difficult to argue than an event was shorter than you expected. If there was a set ending time and the event finished early, you should consider whether there was a good reason, such as the onset of poor weather.
If there was no good reason for an event ending earlier that you expected, you could make a claim for loss of enjoyment, because the event was not as described or as expected.
Expected act did not appear
If you booked an event and a certain act did not appear as you had expected, you are unlikely to be able to get a refund. You could explain there has been a loss of enjoyment, but the ticket terms and conditions will usually mention the organiser’s or venue’s ability to change or amend acts with little or no notice.
Hmm – heard from few that attended that thought it was amazing
BRAVO!
Spot on. The responsibility is with the bands chosen sound technician who is supposed to perform full sound checks within the venue prior to tha gig starting. This is done whether it’s a stadium, arena or parklands
Bravo!
Don’t know what went on but the pretty well paid sound engineers for Gun’s and Roses do the set up.
Welcome to the Bungle..
The room dominates, but sound techs need to work diligently with the space and equipment in front of them.
Sports arenas are awful for music. Huge rectangular boxes with hard reflective surfaces echo and ring like crazy. If any thought was given to acoustics it was likely for the purpose of maximizing exactly those properties so that crowd noise is loud and exciting.
It’s incumbent on the Band, and their own sound engineer, when testing, to get everything right…. because that’s who you paid to see.