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G N R…for those who are curious, Guns N Roses started their set at the ACC last night at 11.35pm. Unconscionable bastards. By the time they finished, at 2am, on the coldest night of the year thus far, subway service was finished and thousands were left roaming the downtown trying to find a cab or a night bus to squeeze on. The reason for the late start? Axl Rose, who came on stage in a wheelchair, said the band had partied a little too hard after last night’s Montreal show. No, I didn’t attend; though that’s largely due to a course I’m taking on Thursday nights. Little did I know I could have returned from class, slept for a couple of hours, and still made the show. Glad I didn’t. Herewith ends my fascination with Mr Rose. The final indignity? The band didn’t perform Civil War, their best and most enduring song…

CONTRAST..way back in 1979, when Elton John was riding a series of number 1 albums to the very crest of superstardom, I attended, with my sister, one of his concerts at the old CNE grounds. Before the show began Toronto was hit by an absolutely hellacious rain storm, just about the worst downpour I can remember. We were huddled in the stands, absolutely soaked, with the plastic el-cheapo chairs collecting water in freezing cold puddles under your arse. Abominable conditions. Out walked Elton, without his band. He explained his band was delayed because of the weather, but did we mind if he began alone? He said, “I feel so sorry for you poor wet things, that I’d like to begin the show”. At the time I thought it was showmanship, or a ruse, but later interviews confirmed his band had been travelling separately and had been unable to land at the Toronto airport. Man, what an extraordinary show, with Elton working his way through Captain Fantastic solo before his band came running on stage. Decades later, I was astonished to discover Elton had put that show among his top 5 “most memorable ever”…now, I have also seen the worst of Elton. A show I attended in Dublin, again with my sister, was for a time the chart topper among fans in the category of Elton’s “worst show ever”. It was so appallingly bad, with Elton frightening the band to the extent they were literally disappearing off the stage, that it turned, if you know what I mean, into a “good” show, one you were happy to have seen. He was a snarling, angry mess, and loquacious in describing how he “loathed” Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and would never play Ireland again, instead confining future concerts to the grounds at Watford (WTF?!). It was worth every penny to see the “Diva” play his part to the hilt…