Apparently, this whole being-a-rock-star business is like riding a bike. Axl Rose has been gone for a while — as you may know — but during his show Wednesday night at 
the Forum in Tampa it was as if he hadn’t forgotten a thing. The edgy charisma, the watchability, the gobbling up of the stage, the pushing of the audience’s buttons — all there, just like it was 1988.
The show was billed as Guns N’ Roses, and I’ll spare you the gripe that the other original members have not re-enlisted. But this was unmistakably Axl’s show. He brought along a small army of guitarists — OK, three of ’em — and they did their level best to sip a bit of the spotlight, each one throwing down major histrionics during solos. Axl accommodated them by slipping off stage a few times. Ultimately, though, they were the worker bees, as were the bassist, drummer and two keyboardists, on hand to provide a sturdy musical backdrop for the star.
— Eric Snider
This article appears in Oct 25-31, 2006.
