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Monday, November 25, 2002

By Scott Mervis, Post-Gazette Weekend Editor

As usual, Axl Rose was running late.

About 10 years late.

Rose is trotting out an unrecognizable version of Guns N' Roses long past the point where most of his old fans will really care.

As for the ones who do, they were left with a long wait Friday night at Mellon Arena. Guns N' Roses, perhaps stalled because of stormy wea-ther, didn't take the stage until 10:45.

Till then, the crowd occupied itself with promising metal band CKY, the scratching of Mixmaster Mike and the distasteful sport of trying to pressure young women to lift their tops for the camera.

Finally, with a cloud of smoke from the wings, guitarists Robin Finck, Richard Fortus and Buckethead took the stage, teasing the opening riff of "Welcome to the Jungle," then letting it rip in all its retro-metal glory.

The full band kicked in, the pyro went off, Rose jumped out wearing a Jerome Bettis jersey and when he went to sing the opening lines ... not a whole lot came out.

Partly, it was the sound mix failing him, but clearly, after a decade on the sidelines, that feral wail wasn't what it used to be.

Looking like a bloated version of his old self, Rose did his signature wobble and raced around ramps as he led the band through most of GNR's "Appetite for Destruction" and assorted other hits.

Guns N' Roses 2002 doesn't lack for chops, and between the guy with the KFC bucket on his head, industrial-looking Finck and bassist Tommy Stinson (of the late, great Replacements!) in the plaid suit, they are just as much fun to look at.

Buckethead and Finck, doing most of the lead work, played everything with monstrous precision, but you couldn't help but sense that these hired guns are a little removed from the material. And how could they not be when the material is a lot removed from the current reality of the music world?

Even if Rose were still hitting it just right, that screeching vocal sound -- the one where it sounds like your privates are in a vice -- was starting to sound silly about 10 years ago when Guns N' Roses gave up the first time. Needless to say, what once sounded fresh and dangerous was wiped out by the smell of Nirvana's teen spirit and the subsequent wave of nu metal followers.

But as long as GNR was plowing through old favorites -- from "Think About You" to "November Rain," with Rose doing some fancy piano work -- the small crowd at the Arena seemed thrilled. As it dragged on, through a change to a Lemieux shirt and a streak of new songs, about half the crowd seemed about half asleep.

Come to think of it, the most exhilarating moment of the set may have been when Buckethead was left alone for a brief clinic in metal machine music that ended with a humorous version of "Old McDonald."

It's not out of the question that Axl Rose can be relevant again. He's just going to need help from people who are. And a decent vocal coach.