Oh, Manchester, So Much To Answer For

saw the last hour of the mtv vmas last night. the hives vs. vines "battle" was pointless; the vines are like silverchair with amps that go up to 11, while the hives are iggy and the stooges better-dressed (and with cooler names). that "you are crime/the hives are the law" thing was genius. and then there's g'nr. axl looked okay, I thought, though I'm not sure psuedo-dreads are the best look for him. "welcome to the jungle" was a bit ragged on axl's part; he seemed oddly out of breath. but the new song, "madagascar," was certainly intriguing, and "paradise city"'s finale rocked hard, for the most part. here's what struck me more than anything, though: all of his new players still look just like they did in their old bands. tommy stinson? still a placemat. josh whatever-his-name-is, from the vandals? he looks it. robin finck? like he just walked offstage with trent reznor. and buckethead is his own being, for ever and all time. he did quite a nice job replicating slash's parts, too. and axl was clever and completely non-belligerent when (briefly) interviewed by loder. rumors abound of a fall tour of the u.s. start saving your money now. whatever their shortcomings on a televised awards show, you know they're gonna fuck shit up live on stage. and say what you will, w. axl rose is one of the last true rock stars.