Guns N' Roses kick off world tour in Abu Dhabi with live rarities and deep cuts

2 June 2023, 14:18

The Welcome To The Jungle legends played the Etihad Arena in United Arab Emirates and performed tracks for the first time in 30 years.

Guns N' Roses played the first gig of their world tour this Thursday (1st June) with a date at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi.

The gig, which saw them take to the stage in United Arab Emirates, saw Axl Rose, Duff McKagan, Slash, Dizzy Reed and co treat fans to an epic 32-song set, which included tracks they hadn't played for decades.

After kicking off their set with live favourite It's So Easy, the LA rockers played Use Your Illusion I track Bad Obsession, which they hadn't played since 1993.

After playing Velvet Revolver favourite Slither, the band went on to perform Pretty Tied Up, a single taken from Use Your Illusion II, giving the track its first live outing since 1992.

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Axl Rose and co proved that Anything Goes on their new dates, playing the Appetite For Destruction track of of the same name, which hadn't been performed since 1988.

Despite the deep cuts and rarities (plus a cover of The Stooges T.V. Eye, which saw Duff McKagan on vocals), GNR made sure they didn't disappoint, treating the crowd to all their classic tracks, including Welcome To The Jungle, Mr, Brownstone, Nightrain, Sweet Child Of Mine, November Rain, Patience and Paradise City.

See their full setlist below.

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See Guns N' Roses setlist at Etihad Arena ind Abu Dhabi on 1st June 2023:

1. It's So Easy

2. Bad Obsession (First time performed since February 6, 1993)

3. Chinese Democracy

4. Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)

5. Pretty Tied Up (First time since April 6, 1992)

6. Welcome to the Jungle

7. Mr. Brownstone

8. Hard Skool

9. Double Talkin' Jive

10. Reckless Life

11. Absurd

12. You Could Be Mine

13. Down on the Farm (UK Subs cover) (First time performed since December 20, 2006)

14. Rocket Queen

15. T.V. Eye (The Stooges cover) (Duff McKagan on vocals, Live debut)

16. Anything Goes (First time since August 1, 1988)

17. Civil War (Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child" outro)

18. This I Love (First time since November 14, 2018)

19. Live and Let Die (Wings cover)

20. Estranged(followed by band introductions)

21. Slash Guitar Solo

22. Sweet Child o' Mine

23. November Rain

24. Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)

25. Street of Dreams

26. Nice Boys(Rose Tattoo cover) (First time since February 11, 2017)

27. Knockin' on Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan cover)

28. Nightrain

Encore:

29. Patience

30. Don't Cry

31. My Michelle (First performance since November 29, 2017)

32. Paradise City

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Guns N' Roses will play their next headline show at Hayarkon Park in Tel Aviv, Israel before heading to Europe for dates, which include a headline spot at Glastonbury Festival on 24th June, a rescheduled date at Glasgow's Bellahouston Park on 27th June and a headline show in London on 30th June for BST Hyde Park.

See Guns N' Roses full live dates here.

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