by Justin K. Hite

@justinhiteart

I waited 23 years for this.

I was around 8 years old when I received my first copy of Guns N’ Roses’ “Appetite For Destruction” on cassette. I remember staying up late at night, watching MTV and seeing “GNR Live from The Ritz.” I remember MTV playing Guns N’ Roses videos every 15 minutes in the early 90’s. I wore GNR t-shirts to elementary school. Teachers, and even some members of my family would regularly confiscate my cassette tapes and GNR comic books, which were thrown in the garbage, only to later be retrieved with ketchup stains and coffee residue. My blank “over-dubbed” Michael Jackson cassettes - you guessed it, those were actually Use Your Illusion I & II.

As you could imagine, no one wanted to take me to see my beloved Guns N’ Roses when they were at the top of the music game. We’re talking early nineties now, and little Me wasn’t yet old enough to venture off the street block without an adult. Only a few short months later, my chances to see GNR would be over. At least for 23 more years.

And then it happened. A reunion was announced, and eventually a tour. 23 major cities listed, and one of them was my hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio - Paul Brown Stadium, to be exact. A stadium I’m usually frequenting during NFL season, rooting for my Cincinnati Bengals! How fitting would this all be? GNR announces a reunion tour, and not only are they stopping in my city (a city notorious for being passed over for major tours), but they’re going to be playing in the stadium we’ve all nicknamed, “The Jungle.”