"The Charbor Chronicles": Concert Review: Guns 'n Roses at MetLife Stadium

Okay, so another GNR show. As mentioned earlier in the review of the Public Enemy set (they were the opening acts), this came about as a result of a friend who wanted to catch a show. I mentioned this one as a possibility, because the prices were pretty decent. And so we went.

Here's the thing: I always liked Guns 'n Roses music. I remember first hearing it back during the 1988 football season, when it became an anthem for Bengals home games during their Super Bowl season. Also, I remember hearing this one song which I really enjoyed. Something about a Paradise City. At the time, i did not know that these two songs were from the same band.

In fact, the entire "Appetite for Destruction" album is incredibly good. Great songs, and not one bad song in the bunch. Some of the tunes have become almost immortal. Modern day classics, truly. So the band really has some great work. That entire first album could almost count as a "Greatest Hits" album, that's how loaded it is with solid music.

The thing that prevented me from being more of a fan, actually, was the band's antics. In particular, it was the conduct of Axl Rose, although sometimes some of the other band members would do unimpressive things. But Axl took the fame and fortune and allowed it to completely get to his head. He became one of those guys who I could say the more I heard about him, the less I wanted to hear about him. By the time when I first saw them (during the second 1992 show at the original Giants Stadium show, with Metallica and Faith No More), they really seemed like prima donnas. Axl would show up for concerts hours late, and he would cut shows short, as well. Often as not, he would blame a member of the audience. He did that in our show.

Worse, however, was that his conduct actually incited some ugly incidents during that tour. There was a riot in St. Louis and Montreal. Throughout the tour, Axl Rose complained that the audience seemed lifeless, low on energy. But that is what happens after an over two hour set of Metallica back in those peak intensity days for Metallica. In Montreal, however, Guns 'n Roses were presented a chance to save the day and show the metal world what they were made of. James Hatfield had gotten fairly severely burned from a pyrotechnics mishap. This was GNR's chance to shine.

Instead, Axl cut the show short. There was a riot outside. I remember hearing Jason Newsted saying that they had visited GNR backstage after the show to see what had happened. In between puffs on his cigarette and sips from a heavy drink in his hand, Axl claimed that his voice was really bothering him. Newsted then pointed out that it probably was not a good idea to be smoking and drinking so heavily, although this fell on deaf ears.

Back then, Axl Rose seemed to make a point of pissing off other musicians. This band had some problems with a whole bunch of other bands who toured with them, and even some who did not. That included (but is not necessarily limited to) Nirvana and Courtney Love, Soundgarden, Metallica, and Faith No More. For the most part, all of those bands seemed to have the same problem: that GNR took themselves a bit too seriously, generally speaking.

Still, I always liked the music. They always had a solid body of music to fall back on. And when I took my son to see them a few years ago, they put on a good show. Axl finally seemed to have matured, to have calmed, which was good. Focus on the music, which is what got you fans in the first place.

For this last show, it was incredible. They were out there for over three hours, which is quite impressive. They did covers of other bands, including teases. One cover was in honor of the late Ozzy, and it was a killer cover of "Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath."

Three hours of a solid rock show in this day and age. And the prices were fairly reasonable, at that. This is how good Guns 'n Roses can be when they are at their best and, again, focus on the music. I had a problem with their attitude back in the early nineties, but I never denied that they had an impressive body of work. Frankly, I enjoyed all of their albums so far, even "Chinese Democracy," which many fans never seemed to appreciate.

This was a solid show and an enjoyable night. Unlike in 1992, when the band was pretty much at their peak, this version of GNR really gave it their all, and put on a long and great show. A night of great rock music, which is what you hope to see.

Below is the setlist for the show, as taken from setlist.fm (see link below):

Aug 12 2026 Guns N’ Roses Setlist at MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ, USA

Tour: World Tour 2026 Tour statistics Setlist

Welcome to the Jungle

Bad Obsession

It's So Easy

Mr. Brownstone

Hard Skool

Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)

Chinese Democracy Play Video Live and Let Die (Wings cover)

Estranged

Nice Boys (Rose Tattoo cover)