Carolyn Blake's Review

I was very impressed with how much more complex they sounded than their recordings. And I remember Slash went down into the audience and played and was not mobbed too badly. Later Axl was saying how he thought that was really crazy and dangerous for Slash to have done that. It was in a small theater and Grand Rapids is a very conservative town, but the music reviewer in the paper was very sympathetic and respectful.

It was May 3, 1988 At Devos Hall. 2,000 people attended. After the opening band, U.D.O., a German thrash band, was done with their set, we had to wait 50 minutes for GNR to come on. So even back then, they were doing their make-them-wait routine. They didn't show up until 10 pm. But they played a long time, and did a lot of improvisation, showing off their real musical talent. The Grand Rapids Press reviewer stated his opinion that it was really early in their career to be so arrogant, even though they did exhibit such "a perfected sense of stylistic values and flat out talent."(William R. Macklin) I was put out by having to wait so long, and it seems that was to be a continuing pattern, but it was a great concert, and I was just very happy to get to see Axl perform live. He was, and remains, my reason for following GNR.