Back in 1992 when Houston embraced the Astrodome, the Republican National Convention had just wrapped up weeks before, and on September 4, the Eighth Wonder of the World was home to the mighty Metallica and Guns N' Roses tour with opener Faith No More!
I believe the 1992 Astrodome show was the last one "the original" GNR played in Houston.
I believe the 1992 Astrodome show was the last one "the original" GNR played in Houston.
Dayna Steele of 101 KLOL was there introducing the bands!
This was a time when the media covered rock music (outside of Eddie Trunk) and KTRK abc13 was on the case. Then anchor Shara Fryer tossed to a live report from Chris Adams at the scene for a story on all of the rock and roll mayhem and excess.
"In the audience, it looks like a riot, but it's just dancing," Adams reported. "All in all, a headbangers paradise."
According to the channel 13 story, 45,000 people attended the seven-and-a-half-hour show. More than 50 concertgoers were treated for "health-related problems" and about two dozen were arrested.
"The bulk of the arrests made were for public intoxication," Adams said. "A number of people had to be treated or even carried out, but it was not as bad as it might have been."
I remember sitting at Lamar High School that day and seeing a much emptier campus than normal. Faith No More went on in the afternoon so fans, including my school-mates, had to get there early.
My mom wouldn't let me go back then even though I was obsessed with Axl Rose and crew. She also wouldn't let me go to the last Houston Nirvana show in 1993 at the Astro Arena, God rest her and Kurt Cobain's souls.
In the early 90s, I studied GNR lyrics, read books and magazines about them, and taped photos from them on my closet door. Has that obsession really waned? Is anyone still reading this blog from the early days when practically every other post was about Guns N' Roses and the upcoming Chinese Democracy?
I was attracted to the music. After all, Appetite for Destruction is considered one of the best rock albums ever by many music fans, and think, that was the debut album! And the band certainly knew how to cultivate that dangerous edge. Although even I needed a break from them by the time the Sympathy for the Devil cover was released.
While I never saw an original era Guns N' Roses show, I would later go on to see an Axl Rose only fronted version in 2006 at the Hard Rock Hotel's The Joint in Las Vegas. Saw most of the same lineup later in Houston at The Toyota Center in 2011. Then witnessed one of the alleged best shows (Axl's vocals) on the 2016 tour at NRG Stadium with the reunited Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan.
This was a time when the media covered rock music (outside of Eddie Trunk) and KTRK abc13 was on the case. Then anchor Shara Fryer tossed to a live report from Chris Adams at the scene for a story on all of the rock and roll mayhem and excess.
"In the audience, it looks like a riot, but it's just dancing," Adams reported. "All in all, a headbangers paradise."
According to the channel 13 story, 45,000 people attended the seven-and-a-half-hour show. More than 50 concertgoers were treated for "health-related problems" and about two dozen were arrested.
"The bulk of the arrests made were for public intoxication," Adams said. "A number of people had to be treated or even carried out, but it was not as bad as it might have been."
I remember sitting at Lamar High School that day and seeing a much emptier campus than normal. Faith No More went on in the afternoon so fans, including my school-mates, had to get there early.
My mom wouldn't let me go back then even though I was obsessed with Axl Rose and crew. She also wouldn't let me go to the last Houston Nirvana show in 1993 at the Astro Arena, God rest her and Kurt Cobain's souls.
In the early 90s, I studied GNR lyrics, read books and magazines about them, and taped photos from them on my closet door. Has that obsession really waned? Is anyone still reading this blog from the early days when practically every other post was about Guns N' Roses and the upcoming Chinese Democracy?
I was attracted to the music. After all, Appetite for Destruction is considered one of the best rock albums ever by many music fans, and think, that was the debut album! And the band certainly knew how to cultivate that dangerous edge. Although even I needed a break from them by the time the Sympathy for the Devil cover was released.
While I never saw an original era Guns N' Roses show, I would later go on to see an Axl Rose only fronted version in 2006 at the Hard Rock Hotel's The Joint in Las Vegas. Saw most of the same lineup later in Houston at The Toyota Center in 2011. Then witnessed one of the alleged best shows (Axl's vocals) on the 2016 tour at NRG Stadium with the reunited Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan.
Here is the Guns N' Roses setlist from the Houston Astrodome show according to Wikipedia:
(Taken from the Houston, Texas Astrodome show on September 4, 1992)
"Welcome to the Jungle"
"Mr. Brownstone"
"Live and Let Die" (originally performed by Paul McCartney)
"Attitude" (originally performed by the Misfits)
"Nightrain"
"Bad Obsession"
"It's So Easy"
"Wild Horses" (originally performed by The Rolling Stones)
"Patience"
"Double Talkin' Jive"
"Civil War"
"It's Alright" (originally performed by Black Sabbath)
"November Rain"
"You Could Be Mine"
"Sweet Child o' Mine"
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" (originally performed by Bob Dylan)
"Don't Cry" (Original)
"Paradise City"
Here was the Metallica setlist from the Houston Astrodome show according to Wikipedia:
(Taken from the Houston, Texas Astrodome show on September 4, 1992)
"Creeping Death"
"Harvester of Sorrow"
"Welcome Home (Sanitarium)"
"Sad but True"
"Wherever I May Roam"
"Of Wolf and Man"
"For Whom the Bell Tolls"
"The Unforgiven"
"The Shortest Straw"
"Fade to Black"
"Master of Puppets"
"Seek & Destroy"
"Whiplash"
"Nothing Else Matters"
"Am I Evil?" (originally performed by Diamond Head)
"Last Caress" (originally performed by the Misfits)
"One"
"Enter Sandman"
*Post updated after Guns N' Roses lineup with Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan reunited.
