GnR • Heaven's door

fortyfour [FINALE] *extra long chapter

A spotlight turned on and it was Debbie!

She was in the same corporate pantsuit as this morning and leaned into the microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, and every rock fan...
Here is...
Guns... and... Rosesss!"

After she announced the band the crowd went crazy and applauded loudly.

I could hear a couple testing sounds of soft bass riffs and banging on drums.
Then the music started.
I recognized the song as It's so Easy.
I knew it because a couple nights ago Axl had insisted on showing me a bunch of their songs.

Gradually the stage lit up and after the intro, when the song got a lot louder, the five musicians jumped from the  shadows.

Steven in the back on drums.
Duff on the left side with his bass with Izzy on guitar beside him.
Axl was standing in the middle and was now singing.

"I see your sister in her sunday dress..."

There, on the right I saw Slash. I couldn't take my eyes off him for a second.
He was in dark clothes as usual but for the show he had dressed up a little more with his favorite tanktop, earrings and a big tophat with silver details.
His focus was completely on his guitar as he took a wide stance and played with a lot of passion. A cigarette between his lips.
A spotlight tried to follow him around but he was jumping and running energetically whenever he got the chance.

The five of them were electric.
I could feel how they had to crowd in the palm of their hands with their hardrock sound.
Axl had his attention directed at the audience and at one point I could've sworn he recognized me, but it was hard to see from a distance.

They transitioned into the next song, one with a pounding beat. The people around me started jumping and I joined in as the guys gave us everything they had. The energy in the venue was insane.

At one point in the song Axl backed off to go stand near Stevie. Slash took the center spot with a wailing guitar solo.
I stopped jumping when the sounds hit me.
Slash was completely wrapped up in his playing. Manipulating the string into a deep and captivating melody.

He played with such emotion that I felt a whole new understanding of him.
Right now I was hearing all the feelings that he had been struggling to put into words.
I watched him until Axl stepped up and they changed songs again.

Axl screamed for the intro of Welcome to the Jungle. One of my favorites!

I danced and jump just like the other screaming fans.

While singing, Axl walked to Slash and they leaned on eachothers backs. They got even closer when Slash yelled some words into the mic.
After Axl walked off again Slash took the opportunity to rip off his shirt. His body glistened from the heat of the stage lights.
I watched him closely.

Then I noticed that Duff had definitely spotted me. He nudged Izz and tried to wave at me. But Izzy quickly pointed out that Duff still had to use both hands to play.
Duff quickly went back to his bass and Izzy and I exchanged funny looks.

The song had ended and Izzy was strumming more softly as Axl took to mic to talk to the crowd.

"Welcome motherfuckers!"