80’s Flashback: Guns N’ Roses
The year was 1987. I was 17 years-old, and a massive rock fan! I watched MTV daily, and rarely missed an episode of MTV’s “Headbanger’s Ball” on Saturday nights. One Saturday night, I saw a video for a song called “Welcome To The Jungle” and my world changed.
There are bands that give you chills the first time you hear them. That’s what happened to me the first time I heard Guns N’ Roses. Axl Rose’s wild voice and Slash’s wailing riffs were a hell of a combination! Just the first few riffs of “Welcome To The Jungle” had me! The following week, I went out and purchased the band’s Appetite for Destruction cassette. I wore that thing out! The whole album was solid….and still is!
I saw the first GNR major tour when it came to Charlotte. The band opened up for Motley Crue on November 11, 1987 at the “old” Charlotte Coliseum on Independence Blvd. I can still see the show in my head! My friends and I sat on the right side of the stage, if you were looking at it, and we were all in awe of GNR.
My memory is fuzzy as it was a long time ago, but I still remember things about that night. I remember GNR taking the stage, I remember the chills I got, and I remember the band was like no other that I’d seen before.
Tomorrow night at the Spectrum Center, Guns N’ Roses will once again rock Charlotte. I’ve heard the show is incredible! Tickets are still available and details about the show can be found here.
I won’t be going to the show this year. Honestly, I don’t want to blur the memory I have of seeing GNR in the 80’s. Also, the show is on a “school night” and I get up at 3 am weekdays. I’m just too old to rock and roll to work the next day.
IF you go, take pics and rock out for me!
