Where the Bands Are (Guns n’ Roses 12 July 2025, Warsaw)

It’s been just a week since Bruce Springsteen played his final show of the tour, and already the road has called again – this time to Warsaw for Guns N’ Roses. In between, life has been a bit hectic: I celebrated Christopher Street Day 🏳️‍🌈 in Cologne on Saturday, followed by my birthday 🎈on Sunday with Oliver and four friends over dinner at Lizbät. On Monday I flew back to Gothenburg, and by Tuesday I had both clean laundry and a bronchitis diagnosis from a digital doctor (!). It seems impossible to get a physical appointment these days, at least in Sweden.

Feeling better on Thursday, I caught a really good live act from Tom Jones at the amusement park Liseberg with my friend Ann-Sofie and by 6:00 Friday morning, I was in the air again: Gothenburg–Stockholm–Warsaw. Let’s go!

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Warsaw

We left behind the sunshine and 25°C warmth of Germany and Sweden for a chilly 16°C and heavy clouds in Warsaw. Still, we wanted to explore and already on our first day we ventured out into the city. Our hotel was conveniently located right next to a metro station and just two stops from what could be called “downtown”. The area itself wasn’t much to write home about, a modern business district with tall buildings and that kind of soulless architecture that could be anywhere.

We took the metro to the station Centrum Nauki Kopernik, located near the Visła River and just across the bridge from the stadium, PGE Narodowy. There’s a big science centre there. However, we were not in the mood for that, but it looked well done and it was clearly popular. The surrounding area had plenty of restaurants, but we wanted to avoid obvious tourist traps, so we kept walking until we reached Nowy Świat, a long street full of bars and restaurants, often referred to as “Warsaw’s longest restaurant”.

We stayed there (even though it was also a bit of a tourist trap) and found a place serving local food called Specjały Regionalne. I had pierogi (Polish dumplings), which I think are delicious.

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On show day (Saturday), we had planned to visit the Old Town, but the weather turned worse, so we headed straight to the stadium instead. If you’re going to Warsaw and have better luck with the weather, the Old Town might be worth checking out. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Around 85% of Warsaw was destroyed during World War II, and the Old Town was rebuilt afterward, following the original medieval layout. It stands today as a powerful symbol of resilience and recovery.

Another place I’d recommend, even though we didn’t go there this time, is the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising. I’ve visited it on earlier trips, and it’s definitely worth seeing, especially if you’re interested in World War II and the Holocaust. It’s a beautifully designed museum that manages to be both informative and moving.

The Show

PGE Narodowy is Warsaw’s modern national stadium, built in 2012 with a retractable PVC roof, which, thankfully, was closed during the concert, as rain was on the way. Visually, it’s an impressive venue: polished and wrapped in red and silver mesh that mirrors the Polish flag. That night, the band’s name was even projected onto the exterior, though we didn’t see it ourselves. We had “early entry” tickets and were already inside by 4 p.m.

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Speaking of early entry: it literally just meant getting in 30 minutes before everyone else. Once inside, there was no further sign or benefit of having bought a more expensive ticket. We had assumed it would be something like a front-of-stage (FOS) ticket, but the area near the stage wasn’t sealed off, no one checked who went in or out, and there didn’t seem to be any limit to how many people entered. We found that very strange. We’re used to very different setups. However, we found our usual spot on the rails in the back of the ”pit”.

The sound in the arena was quite bad and we had been warned about it. Before the show we talked to a local fan who was standing next to us. He told us that the last time he saw Guns N’ Roses at this venue, he had seats and could barely hear anything, especially not the lyrics. He was right. There was this strange echo, like a delayed reverb that hit you from behind, which sometimes made it feel more like you were watching a concert while also having a football crowd cheering for their team behind you.

It was also weird how Axl’s voice was fluctuating, sometimes words just fell out and I don’t know if it was because him or of the mix. It was both a blessing and a curse that he kept singing with his characteristic falsetto voice. Once he lowered his voice and put some power behind his words they came through clearly.

The show itself? It was okay. Not really my kind of music. The video clips on the big screens were more annoying and distracting than entertaining. Still, there were positives: they actually played all the big songs, kicking off strong with Welcome to the Jungle Highlights also included Live and Let Die, It’s So Easy, Sweet Child o’ Mine, November Rain, Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door and Paradise City

A surprise was So Fine with Duff McKagan on vocals, a song I hadn’t heard before but really liked. His voice was strong, and you could hear every word, which kind of contradicted the whole theory about the sound mix being the issue with Axl’s vocals. All three guitarists were great (not just Slash) and each of them had their moment in the spotlight.

The band, as it stands in 2025, features original members Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan. They are joined by a few longtime collaborators; guitarist Richard Fortus and keyboardist Dizzy Reed. They’ve also added a second keyboardist, Melissa Reese, who handles everything from synths and sub-bass to programming, percussion, and backing vocals. The drummer on this tour is Isaac Carpenter, stepping in for Frank Ferrer.

The audience definitely had a certain look. Most people wore black Guns N’ Roses t-shirts (some old school, some brand new) and black bottoms. Many also wore a black or red bandana. It felt almost like a uniform. Oliver thought I should’ve worn a Springsteen t-shirt to show my preference, but I hadn’t packed one, mostly because I think it feels a bit weird to wear another band’s shirt to a show. Maybe I’m wrong.

What didn’t fit at all was the support act: Public Enemy. They gave it their all, but the crowd wasn’t into it, probably a giant genre mismatch (hard rock and hip-hop don’t mix easily), and/or because many in the Polish audience aren’t that good in English and Public Enemy’s lyrics are quite politically charged.

It was my second Guns N’ Roses show, and Oliver’s first. My first one (in Gothenburg in 2018) had been terrible, which definitely helped set my expectations somewhere between low and nonexistent. The fact that the show lasted three hours was both good and bad: great because they managed to include all the hits but, for us who didn’t know that many songs, the middle was a bit boring. There were also a lot of guitar solos, more than we really needed. Good to have seen the band, but we agreed we don’t need to see them again.

Now, with two weeks between shows, we’re looking ahead to Munich and Robbie Williams. Excited to see what that one brings! Stay tuned

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Setlist

• Welcome to the Jungle
• Mr. Brownstone
• Bad Obsession
• Chinese Democracy
• Live and Let Die
• It’s So Easy
• Pretty Tied Up
• Slither
• Yesterdays Junior’s Eyes
• You Could Be Mine
• Estranged
• Hard Skool
• Double Talkin’ Jive
• Absurd
• This I Love
• Coma
• Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
• So Fine (Duff on lead vocals)
• Down on the Farm
• Rocket Queen
• Civil War
• Slash Guitar Solo
• Sweet Child o’ Mine
• November Rain
• Witicha Lineman
• Don’t Cry
• Nightrain
• Paradise City