Fans flock to Las Vegas to Welcome Back Reunited Guns N' Roses

By: Austin Crafton

It was the concert no one ever believed would happen. But just as mysteriously as they broke-up during the 1990's, they came back together on an April night in Las Vegas. The energy was high, you could feel the anticipation in the desert air. News had spread earlier in the day that front-man Axl Rose had broken his foot an that his motions would be limited, but that didn't slow up any of the 20,000+ who were there to see Rose and guitarist Slash on stage together for the first time in 23 years.

Milling about the crowd before the doors opened - I was looking for the perfect interviews. There were people from all corners of the earth, all walks of life - But when I found Joey Parlato, I knew I had found my guy. I walked up to the merchandise line and asked a HUGE group "Who traveled furthest to be here?" About 15 hands pointed at Joey. With his long hair, impossible to miss Australian accent and a smile wider than I'd ever seen - He lived and breathed rock n' roll.

I later found a young couple who had traveled from Brazil - Dena and Bruce. They were long-time fans who were getting choked up at the very thought of what they were about to witness inside. When I asked her what song she looked forward to hearing, she said "All of it." With tears in her eyes she told me that she didn't believe this would ever happen. The language barrier was big, but we pushed through because music is a universal language.

What made the night even stranger was that it started raining. 365 days out of the year and it may rain in Nevada two of them. As the thousands stood outside in the rain, there was no complaining, no bickering, only smiles. They had waited almost a quarter century to see this, nothing was stopping them now.

Rose, Slash and McKagan on-stage together once again. 

The doors were slow to open because of long-running soundcheck, but there were undeniable screams of joy when the mob started filing in. Alice in Chains warmed the crowd up, but in true GNR fashion - Our heroes didn't take to the stage until after midnight. Instead of a chaotic and charismatic burst onto the scene, Axl was rolled onto center-stage in a familiar looking throne from Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl, who suffered a similar leg injury last year.

"Good evening, hope you don't mind..." Rose eased out with a calm confidence only he possesses. Then the band launched into fan favorite "It's So Easy" with a toughness and precision that I've heard with no other band live. The hits and the tears of joy kept rolling throughout the night. It was truly one of those nights when you knew you were a part of something bigger than yourself or just another rock show. You were somewhere millions of people only wished they could be, you were in the jungle, baby.