Guns N' Roses; Rock in Rio 2011

It's the wee hours of Monday morning and I'm at a Guns N' Roses concert in Rio.

This is the wonder of the internet.

There's a live feed of the Guns N' Roses ROCK IN RIO show on YOUTUBE right now and I'm enjoying it here in New York City without having to suffer the rain, crowds or the costs of plane/concert tickets.

They're playing a cover of U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday right now. Regardless of what the shit-talkers whine about, the band sounds brilliant. Axl doesn't look so great and his voice has seen better days (said the biggest Axl-defender you'll ever know) -- but those songs are hard to sing and he's had to learn different ways to sing them over the years.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt was on Jimmy Fallon last week and apparently JGL likes to sing karaoke with an Axl voice. He performed a bit of his impersonation on the show. JGL is a great actor but his Axl does not compare favorably next to mine. This, you should know. I will prove it in person if you need me to.

Hey look: Guns N' Roses are my band. I don't care what you say, I stand by the current incarnation. It'd be nice if the original band could be the get-along gang but if you hear the new band, you can't say they aren't a cohesive rock outfit. They kick serious ass live. Though it may not be consistent, Axl's voice can still sound brilliant. Right now, he's singing the fuck out of "Knockin on Heaven's Door". On an icon level, I wish he looked as well-preserved as David Bowie, Mick Jagger or Slash... but hey, genetics.

If you don't have your heroes... well then, what do you have?