Walking into Cleveland, Ohio’s Public Auditorium for the 27th annual
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony last night, it was hard to
not think of the Titanic striking an iceberg on the very same day 100
years ago. In recent days Axl Rose and Rod Stewart, two of the biggest
stars entering the Hall of Fame this year, pulled out of the show, making complete reunion performances by the Faces and Guns N’ Roses impossible. Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante opted not to come, and the Beastie Boys’ Adam Yauch stayed home as he continues to recover from cancer.
One might think that these absences would sink the induction ceremony
somewhere deep into the Atlantic Ocean, but it turns out they didn’t
matter much at all. In fact, it was one of the best Hall of Fame
induction ceremonies in recent memory. “I don’t know that it matters
who’s here tonight, because it’s about the music that these bands
played,” Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan said during his induction
speech. Minutes after making that point, McKagan walked over across to
the stage to play an explosive three-song set of Guns N’ Roses songs
with Slash, guitarist Gilby Clarke, Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy
and drummers Matt Sorum and Steven Adler.
Fans were screaming out “Fuck Axl” through much of the night, but the moment the group launched into “Mr. Brownstone,” Rose and Izzy Stradlin’s decision
to not attend the ceremony was completely forgotten, and this
previously unassembled lineup of the band proved they could revive the
spirit of GNR on their own.
