Let there be Axl!
The Guns N’ Roses frontman took the stage for his first official gig fronting AC/DC in Portugal this weekend and critics are fuk’n rating it.
Axl brought the rock and even more roll as he performed wheelchair-bound, still sporting a broken foot from a GN’R reunion accident.
But that didn’t stop his pipes from firing through a career-spanning Acca Dacca setlist, which featured new Rock Or Bust tunes, greatest hits and even rare performances of Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation and the first performance of Riff Raff since 1996.
Media types who attended the Lisbon event have been heaping praise upon the singer, who put his hand up to replace longtime frontman Brian Johnson for the remainder of the band’s world tour dates.
According to The Guardian ‘s Michael Hann, Rose brought menace and hints of psychopathy to Acca Dacca’s Bon Scott-era anthology with his “brilliant” voice.
“No matter how high, every note is hit, and sustained,” Hann writes in a glowing five-star review. “And he keeps it up for two hours.”
While Classic Rock‘s Fraser Lewry reckoned Rose “nailed” the songs, calling his performance “an astonishing tour-de-force” and adding that Axl “looks like he’s genuinely having fun”.
No der though, he’s up onstage in front of thousands of people performing with his childhood idols.
The real question is: will fans dig it? Or will they still see the fossil rockers’ decision to replace Johnson with Rose as a schoolboy error?
Check out fan (and pro!) shot footage of the concert – alongside the full setlist – below, and decide for yourself.
Watch: AC/DC With Axl Rose – Rock Or Bust Live 2016 (Pro-Shot)
https://youtu.be/NwQYzZZ_O3w
Watch: AC/DC With Axl Rose – Back In Black Live 2016
Watch: AC/DC With Axl Rose – Dirty Deeds Live 2016
Watch: AC/DC With Axl Rose – Shoot To Thrill Live 2016
Watch: AC/DC With Axl Rose – Rock’N’ Roll Damnation Live 2016
Watch: AC/DC With Axl Rose – Riff Raffe Live 2016
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyplzH5nt8s
Setlist:
Rock or Bust
Shoot to Thrill
Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be
Back in Black
Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation (First live performance since 2003)
Thunderstruck
High Voltage
Rock ‘n’ Roll Train
Hells Bells
Given the Dog a Bone
Sin City
You Shook Me All Night Long
Shot Down in Flames
Have a Drink On Me
T.N.T.
Whole Lotta Rosie
Let There Be Rock
Encore:
Highway to Hell
Riff Raff (First live performance since 1996)
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)