Page 20 - IONIndieMagazine Vollume 41 Nov/Dec2017

In my tenure as a concert-goer which spans 45 years, I had never seen Guns N’ Roses perform

live. Now, as a photojournalist since 2014 and while living in New Orleans during 2016, here
was opportunity knocking for me to not only attend the GNR show when they set their sights
on The Smoothie King Arena, but now as a member of the media, if granted access, I would
also have the unique privilege to photograph them on behalf of this publication. Thus, I swiftly
applied, but as fate would have it, I was denied the day of the show at 4:00 p.m. For that
particular show, all media was denied -- which isn’t unusual for bands of this caliber. But still,
it doesn’t take the sting out of that turn-down to shoot such a highly sought-after national
act.

I moved back to El Paso, Texas in January of this year and sure enough, Guns N’ Roses’ “Not
in this Lifetime Tour 2017” listed a stop-off at Sun Bowl Stadium on the campus of The
University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), with the show slated for September 6, 2017. Dare I
dream that this time I would get the nod to photograph these legends of rock? I’ll admit, my
hopes weren’t very high and I was gearing up for another denial. And to wet my appetite for
this particular event, in June of this year it came to light that none other than Texas sons ZZ

Top were opening for GNR here in El Paso. The fact of the matter is that ZZ Top only opened
for GNR on two dates, with both being here in Texas. Could it possibly get any better? I
wanted “bragging rights” for this one!

Although neither one of these bands require an introduction, I’ll provide a brief overview. ZZ
Top hails from Austin, Texas and has been making their own brand of driving rock music since
1969 with 15 albums to their credit. That’s 46 years together -- not to mention, they have
performed with the same lineup from the inception of their band. That’s rare! Guns N’ Roses

-- straight outta Hollywood, California -- has been together since 1985, producing six albums
in 32 years. But we all know the much-publicized turbulent history of GNR -- which includes
feuds, breakups, different projects, Axl Rose, different bands. But all that foolishness has
been put to rest to embark on this tour.

There are only three original members to this iconic band -- Axl, Slash, and Duff -- with this
tour marking the first time since the “Use Your Illusion Tour” in 1993 that the three have

performed together. Richard Fortus has replaced Izzy Stradlin, Frank Ferrer has taken the
place of Steven Adler, and Melissa Reese is on keyboards.

Regarding the choice for the name of this tour, it comes from an often-quoted remark Axl
Rose made about the chances of a GNR reunion. Several years back he was walking out of the
Chateau Marmont with Lana Del Rey and a reporter caught up with him and asked if he was
planning to do a “reunion tour with the whole lineup in the future.” Rose retorted, “Not in
this lifetime!” – a response that was reminiscent of that whole “When Hell Freezes Over”

drama, sparked by The Eagles.