Guns N’ Roses concert: ‘Paradise City’ at Philippine Arena

Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan province, will be “Paradise City” for a night, with some 43,000 fans of Guns N’ Roses (GNR), all looking forward to an ecstatic experience watching the American hard rock band for the first time in a concert on Nov. 11.

Part of a world tour dubbed “Not In This Lifetime,” the concert marks the first time that original members, lead singer Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan, are playing together since the band’s “Use Your Illusion” tour in 1991.

A current member, Melissa Reese, has Filipino blood.

The event stands to be the biggest ticket-selling concert to feature an international artist in the country. Philippine Arena has a 55,000-seating capacity, but a part of it, the backstage, will be blocked off.

At press time, tickets are still available (smtickets.com, ticketworld.com.ph) but in limited numbers, according to the producers, MMI Live and Prestige Worldwide.

ROCKERS REUNITE Axl Rose, lead singer of Guns N’ Roses, reunites with Slash, for a rock concert at Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan province, on Nov. 11. —AFP

Chart-toppers

GNR drew global attention with the release of its debut album, “Appetite For Destruction” (1987), which topped the Billboard 200 chart, riding high on the single “Sweet Child o’ Mine.”

Succeeding albums, “G ’N R Lies” (1988), “Use Your Illusion I” (1991) and “Use Your Illusion II” (1991), were chart-toppers as well.

Band members, including Slash and McKagan, either quit or were fired in the mid-1990s, leaving only lead singer Rose and keyboardist Dizzy Reed.

Along with new members and session musicians, Rose and Reed worked on “Chinese Democracy” — the most expensive rock album ever produced, with costs reportedly exceeding $13 million.

It was completely rerecorded, delaying its release by almost 10 years.

But all’s good these days for GNR. “Not In This Lifetime” has become the fourth highest-grossing concert tour of all time, posting over $480 million by December 2017.

P2P buses have been hired to take ticket holders to and from Philippine Arena.