Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 31, 1993 TAG: 9401050170
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Mark Morrison
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
\ Guns N' Roses (11,000) - Sweaty, general-admission free-for-all. Tattoos. A sea of black clothes and teased hair. The city there monitoring decibel levels. A true rock concert with all the trimmings. But how did Slash manage to smoke all those cigarettes without catching his hair on fire?
Alabama (10,755) - So what if a recent lack of hit records and cheesy TV spots promoting greatest-hit packages indicate the band has seen its day as country music's top group? Roanoke will always love Alabama.
Neil Diamond (10,474) - He pointed, he sweated, he pumped his fist, thumped his chest, swiveled his hips and let loose that gravel-throated voice all at the right moments, and all from a circular, rotating stage. Love in the Round. That's what Neil Diamond called it. That's what Neil Diamond did.
Aerosmith (9,750) - "This is not MTV. This is in your face kicka-- rock 'n' roll," howled lead singer Steve Tyler. Sorry Guns N' Roses, head-to-head Aerosmith was the clear winner. America's consummate hard-rock band.
he best:
Lyle Lovett and His Acoustic Quartet - Nobody seemed to miss the Large Band. Nobody knew yet about Julia. His towering pompadour was as tall as ever and in the intimate setting of the Roanoke Civic Center auditorium, he was perhaps the year's highlight.
Vince Gill - Those sweet soaring harmonies. Country's Entertainer of the Year.
Alan Jackson - Crazy 'bout a Mercury.
Willie Nelson with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra - The essence of eloquent simplicity. To hear him include "Stardust" in the same set with "Bobbie McGee" is to understand why Willie is a true original.
Roberta Flack with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra - "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face." Tears in the eyes and a clinic in the soft and mellow singing that is Roberta Flack's trademark.
he worst:
Damn Yankees - Pure loudness is no substitute for music, even rock music.
Toad the Wet Sprocket - Upstaged by its unsigned, unknown opening act, Everything.
Hank Williams Jr. - You can always count on Hank to change the words to his songs as the notion hits him, play a rambling acoustic set and expose his hairy chest and bare belly. All this, plus the worst singer in country music as an opener, Aaron Tippin.
Bob Dylan - The mumble of a man who lost interest years ago.
The last:
Conway Twitty - "Hello Darlin'." It just won't be the same without Conway Twitty here in April. Not to everyone's taste, but a perennial favorite nonetheless.
\ The Axl: At the beginning of the Guns N' Roses concert, lead singer Axl Rose issued a stern, profanity-laced warning about throwing stuff on stage. Do it and the show's over. "It's that simple," he said. Later, ignoring his own threat, he hurtled his cordless microphone the length of the Roanoke Civic Center. It landed with a resounding thud, but apparently not on anyone's head.
Meanwhile, backstage he had waiting for him in his dressing room a rib-eye steak, cooked just before he arrived offstage, Wonder Bread, Hellman's mayonnaise, two large pepperoni pizzas, three cans of assorted Pringle's, two bottles of Dom Perignon, four candy bars, an assortment of adult magazines, and two jars of Sue Bee honey, plus five lemons (quartered and stored on ice), to soothe his singing voice.
Keywords:
YEAR 1993
by CNB