Down to Paradise City? Guns N' Roses are coming to Hong Kong
In association with Live Nation
Images courtesy of Live Nation
Get ready to be brought to your shun-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n knees, knees
Lay out the carpet for rock and roll royalty this November: Guns N' Roses are hitting Asia with their Not In This Lifetime Tour, dubbed by Rolling Stone as 'the triumphant return of one of the most important bands of rock music history'.
Before you get ahead of yourself, unfortunately Beijing isn't one of the stops on the tour. But the legendary rockers will be hitting Hong Kong's AsiaWorld-Expo Arena for two nights on November 20 and 21, and, let's face it, you were already looking for an excuse to get away from Beijing winter anyway. Here are just a few reasons to head on down.
Welcome to the Zhongguo (again)
Guns N’ Roses’ November dates will be the first time the band has performed in China since their 2002 stop in Hong Kong on the Chinese Democracy tour. But, more importantly, it will be their first China outing featuring most of the original line-up: beyond the iconic vocals and onstage antics of Axl Rose, the Not In This Lifetime Tour has seen a return to the fold for founding bassist Duff McKagan and the iconic fret-blazin’ licks – not to mention the iconic locks – of lead guitarist Slash.
Expect a group that’s firing from two years back on the road together – ‘a well-oiled, professional, arena-rock machine’, as LA Weekly put it. That’s not to say they’ve got no more fun and games in the locker, but after such a rollercoaster rock ‘n’ roll ride over the years for GnR, the slick show has finally ‘allowed the band's music to take center stage with no distractions'.
It's not like you'll see November rain in Beijing
The dry northern winter is gonna be coming in pretty fast here in the capital, so a trip south is a guarantee of a shower of ‘November Rain’ – and a truckload of other hits, too, of both the wet ballady sort and the bustin’ stadium rock kind. So far, the tour’s setlist has seen all the classics from 1987’s Appetite for Destruction – still the best-selling US debut album ever, with 30 million copies shipped globally – the Use Your Illusion double and beyond featuring.
There have also been special guest appearances from fellow rock royalty at several shows, including Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl and AC/DC’s Angus Young. Seems unlikely that we’ll get them, but we can always hope.
Because 'Sweet Child O’ Mine', basically
Video: via qq (Sweet Child O' Mine)
Overplayed, over-the-top or overwhelmingly good? Say what you want, but there’s no denying it’s a classic – and it’s not every year you get the opportunity to hear it live is it? Even better to know that Slash is back now, and ready to absolutely melt your face off with that solo. Get listening above, and get those vocals warmed up for the finale.
If you want to see Axl Rose, Slash and their merry crew in the flesh, act quickly as tickets are selling fast for both the Tuesday (Nov 20) and Wednesday (Nov 21) shows in Hong Kong. Tickets are still on sale through Damai, with the remaining seated tickets going for 1,530RMB and 1,160RMB, while the remaining standing tickets will set you back 1,288RMB. Extract the QR code below to purchase.