Guns N' Roses delivered a three-hour singalong at Commonwealth Stadium under a full moon

Guns N' Roses earned their ticket price Wednesday night at Commonwealth Stadium, nearly three hours of classic rock under a full moon that had the crowd singing along almost from the opening howls of "Welcome to the Jungle."

The band leaned hard on 1987's "Appetite for Destruction," walking through "Bad Obsession," "It's So Easy," "Mr. Brownstone," and others in that album's vein. They wove in covers of Black Sabbath's "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" and "Junior's Eyes," The Damned's "New Rose" (with bassist Duff McKagan taking lead vocals), and Wings' "Live and Let Die" — a moment that really woke up the performance, with drummer Isaac Carpenter driving the rhythm with visible energy.

The night's central question was whether 64-year-old Axl Rose could push his voice up the mountain. He gave his all, even when the highest notes stayed out of reach. Slash, as always, was worth the ticket alone — switching between his Les Paul Goldtop and various Gibsons and Fenders almost every song, gnawing on note bends with such intensity the whole room felt it.

Rose held the mic stand over his head after making it through the "Live and Let Die" cover, grinning at having landed it in a lowered octave. The band touched "Estranged," "Double Talkin' Jive," and "Yesterdays" from the "Use Your Illusion" era, with pianist Dizzy Reed layering sweet sounds throughout (the band's classically trained keyboardist Melissa Reese sat out the tour for unforeseen personal reasons).

Rose joked between songs, describing the first time he heard Black Sabbath while high — "seeing colours and s—" — which led into "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" and what he called the night's total banger. The singalong finale, "Rocket Queen," had the stadium in it fully, and Slash made a handstand at the very end — a fitting flourish after nearly three hours of rock.