The first indication that the Guns N’ Roses playing Coachella was not your parents’ Guns N’ Roses was when singer Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan started their headlining set on time.
The second set of clues? No, it wasn’t that Rose performed the entire show sitting down or that AC/DC’s Angus Young stormed the stage at one point. It was, when in all sincerity, Rose referred to the audience and evening as “lovely.”
FULL COVERAGE: COACHELLA 2016
The no-shows, temper tantrums, audience provocation and clear disdain for one another that contributed to Guns N’ Roses’ reputation as one of the last dangerous rock groups were absent Saturday night as the L.A. band’s three original members plowed through a two-hour-plus set on Coachella’s main stage.
With little to no interaction between sworn enemies Rose and Slash, they performed most of the hits (“Paradise City,” “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine”) and many of the misses (anything from “Chinese Democracy”) with a determined, jaw-clenching patience that has no place in the dysfunctional lore of Guns N’ Roses.
But the relatively young audience was willing to go anywhere with GNR for a piece of ‘80s rock nostalgia, and it was that suspension of disbelief, coupled with Slash’s talent for making songs you’ve heard a billion times feel vital again, that carried the night.
The band (which included several additional players including keyboardist Dizzy Reed) kicked off with “It’s So Easy” and “Mr. Brownstone” — songs from an era when punk rock collided with metal on the Sunset Strip — sending the most distinctive hard-rock riffs in Coachella memory across a field now mostly devoted to electronic dance music.
A stationary Rose kept up in the beginning of the set, delivering the acerbic, high-pitched battle cry now associated with a time when hair was big and pants were leather.
He soon struggled, however, to hit those high notes from his elevated “throne,” which was really a chair adorned by a halo of guitar necks. The gift from Foo Fighter Dave Grohl resembled the seat from “Game of Thrones,” which seemed fitting for a man with at least half as much drama in his life as the Westeros crowd.
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Axl Rose onstage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Vince Staples performs in the Sahara tent at the Coachella Arts and Music Festival.
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Two women wear lights on their bodies as they listen to a performance at Coachella.
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Festival-goers take photos of the Katrina Chairs art installation at Coachella.
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Zhu performs in the Sahara tent at Coachella.
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Zhu performs in the Sahara tent at Coachella.
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Grimes performs in the Mojave tent at the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival.
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An artwork image of Bernie Sanders is projected on the screens during a performance by Grimes at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Art installations and the ferris wheel light up the horizon at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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The “Tower of Twelve Stories” and the ferris wheel light up the night at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Vince Staples jumped off the stage and stood near the crowd as his last song ended in the Sahara tent.
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A worker at Backyard Bowls dances to Ice Cube performing in the distance as he makes smoothies and acai bowls in the VIP food section at Coachella.
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Fans watch Ice Cube’s performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Girls enjoy slices of watermelon in late afternoon at the Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival.
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Brian Sneed, 27, and Claudia Jerez, 27, jump for a photo being taken by a friend in front of the Katrina Chairs art installation at Coachella.
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A young man plays in the light being tested between performances in the Sahara tent at Coachella.
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Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose onstage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Axl Rose and Slash with their band Guns N’ Roses onstage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Guns N’ Roses’ Slash onstage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Guns N’ Roses’ Slash onstage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Guns N’ Roses onstage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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A young woman swings lighted balls as she dances to music coming from the Gobi Tent at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Kaila Lehr, 20, of Santa Barbara poses for a friend at Phillip K. Smith III’s “Portals” at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Smoke from an effects machine creates a gauzy scene at the Gobi Tent during the Coachella Music and Arts Festival.
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Victor Montoya, 27, of San Diego rests against Jimenez Lai’s “Tower of Twelve Stories” at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Ice Cube on stage.
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Ice Cube on stage.
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Ice Cube, right, on stage with Dub-C, left.
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Ice Cube on stage.
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Electropop singer Halsey performs.
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Electropop singer Halsey performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival on Saturday.
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Roadies prepare the Outdoor Stage for a performance by electropop singer Halsey at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival.
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Fans of electropop singer Halsey wait for a performance.
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Fans wait for a performance by the electropop singer JHalsey.
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Australian singer and songwriter Courtney Barnett performs.
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Australian singer and songwriter Courtney Barnett performs.
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A dancer performs with electropop singer Halsey.
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A couple pause to rest as night falls on the festival.
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Bat for Lashes performs.
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Misting fans provide some relief from the heat.
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Misting fans provide some relief from the heat.
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Coachellans head toward the headliners as the sun sets at the festival.
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Fans watch Chvrches perform.
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Lion Babe joins Disclosure on stage.
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Lorde joins Disclosure on stage.
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Sunset draws near.
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A young woman photobombs the photographer.
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Lion Babe joins Disclosure on stage.
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Disclosure on stage.
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Lion Babe joins Disclosure on stage.
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Lorde joins Disclosure on stage.
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Lorde joins Disclosure on stage.
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The lights of the Sahara tent are reflected in a woman’s sunglasses as she dances to Vanic’s performance at Coachella.
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Matthew Brinkley, 26, and Kari Calhoun, 25, both from L.A., at Coachella.
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Fans dance as Vanic performs at Coachella.
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A girl hoisted onto someone’s shoulders talks on the phone during Vanic’s performance.
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Festivalgoers chill out as Black Madonna performs.
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Festivalgoers rest as Black Madonna performs at Coachella.
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Fans cheer, dance and sing along to Vanic’s set at Coachella.
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Fans cheer, dance and sing along as Vanic performs at Coachella.
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Fans ride on people’s shoulders as Vanic performs at Coachella.
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Fans ride on other people’s shoulders for a better view of Vanic.
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Jack U performs at Coachella.
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A woman holds a flag as Vanic performs at Coachella.
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Fans cheer, dance and sing along as Vanic performs at Coachella.
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A couple listens as Algiers performs on day two of Coachella.
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Algiers performs at Coachella.
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Black Madonna performs at Coachella.
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Umbrellas are a cool accessory on a hot day at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival.
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A group of girls keeps cool with wedges of watermelon as they watch a performance by Jamaican reggae artist Chronixx at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival.
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Colors and styles of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival.
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Coachella goers dance at the Heineken House during the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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DMA’s vocalist Tommy O’Dell performs in the Gobi tent at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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A backup vocalist works some dance moves as Proteje performs his style of contemporary reggae at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Chantelle Garrett, 25, of Sherman Oaks see-saws and charges her phone at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Oje Ken Ollivierre, better known Proteje performs his style of contemporary reggae at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Jamaican reggae artist Chronixx performs at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
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Members of Proteje’s band back up the contemporary reggae singer at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.
(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times) In pure Rose fashion, he’d messed things up for Guns N’ Roses weeks before Coachella by breaking his foot at a secret Troubadour club gig meant to kick off their “Not in This Lifetime” reunion tour.
But without the trademark slithery, serpentine dance and frenetic stage pacing at Coachella, Rose had to rely on his voice, which isn’t the kindest way for rock’s last megastar, at 54, to reenter the atmosphere.
The singer did rise to the occasion when AC/DC’s Young made his surprise guest appearance, skipping onto the stage in a schoolboy uniform for the Axl-fronted rendition of “Whole Lotta Rosie.”
The guest appearance served as a run-through for their upcoming collaboration: It was announced hours earlier that Rose would be joining the Australian band on its “Rock or Bust” tour, taking the place of Brian Johnson, who’s retiring because of hearing issues.
But when Rose switched back again to singing with Guns N’ Roses (“Paradise City,” “Knocking on Heaven’s Door”), the little light that was left in his eyes seemed to dim, despite his showmanship effort in the form of changing headgear — a worn fedora, a wilted cowboy hat, and yes, The Bandana.
The set wasn’t a disaster à la Stone Roses, which headlined a few years before, or the predictable blast only a precision touring machine like AC/DC can pull off (it carried the main stage last year).
It was instead a valiant effort to achieve the impossible: relive a breakthrough moment when this mess of a band made one of the best rock albums ever. But some things are best left broken, and Guns N’ Roses is one of them.
lorraine.ali@latimes.com
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