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The legendary circus showman P.T. Barnum is credited with coining the phrase 'always leave them wanting more'. Barnum has been dead for over 130 years now, but you can bet that if he was alive to see Guns N’ Roses headline the Apex Stage on Download’s Saturday night, he’d have a few choice words for them.
Gn'R are one of the greatest rock and roll bands of all time; no matter what they do, that reputation is set in stone. But here in 2026, their live shows are a patience-testing exercise. Ironically given their historic reputation for lateness, they arrive early, and for a giddy 20 minutes look every inch the legends that they are.
Welcome to the Jungle, Bad Obsession and It’s So Easy all sound incredible. Despite their vintage, they’re snarling, strutting bangers with the bite of a viper. Crucial to their success is Axl Rose; the lower-register tunes are ones that he’s able to successfully recreate, but when we get to You Could Be Mine, you can hear him straining to hit those high notes. He’s doing his best, but his struggles certainly dampen the overall impact.
Axl never really recovers from there, but it would be unfair to completely blame him for the set's problems. Firstly, there is a crowd which is arguably smaller than Trivium played in front of just prior, something that would have been unthinkable in the past, but a clear indication that Download’s audience is evolving.
Those that are still here are happy to go mad for the likes of Mr Brownstone, Live and Let Die and Sweet Child O’ Mine, but many either drift away or stand looking disinterested during a dragging middle of the set. Occasional highs such as a cover of Velvet Revolver’s Slither or the irresistible Rocket Queen stand out, but soon it all starts to feel like a slog when Guns are ruining Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, sounding like a pub band covering Sex Pistols' Black Leather or letting Slash solo for what feels like forever.
Guns N’ Roses could have shaved off an hour, crammed their slot with all killer, no filler gold and have everyone in the palm of their hand: when we get that final run of Don’t Cry, November Rain, Night Train and Paradise City it’s so good that you can almost forgive and forget those sluggish low points.
Ultimately, it all means that tonight's highs were still sky high, but this was far from a classic Guns N’ Roses show. Less would definitely have been more.
