Slash loves a good stage, but the top-hat-wearing, Les Paul-slinging legend isn’t so sure the biggest, flashiest, most futuristic one in Las Vegas is the right fit for Guns N’ Roses.
The guitarist stopped by Trunk Nation on SiriusXM recently and didn’t hold back when asked about the possibility of Guns N’ Roses playing the ultra-tech wonder that is The Sphere, the massive 18,000-seat orb of LED insanity that’s been hosting next-level shows by U2, Dead & Company, and Phish.
His take? Let’s just say he’s a little skeptical. “Everything I’ve seen looks amazing,” Slash told host Eddie Trunk. “But I’m real trepidatious about playing there, because… it’s a great visual show. I think in almost every case for a band, it becomes a visual show as opposed to seeing a rock and roll show.”
Translation: if your stage is literally a glowing planet of CGI, even “Sweet Child O’ Mine” might struggle to compete.
Guns N’ Roses’ Slash: The Sphere Is a Vibe, But Maybe Not a Rock One
If you’ve seen the Sphere, from space, probably, you know it’s built for spectacle. We’re talking 580,000 square feet of wrap-around screen, 160,000 speakers, and an entire sensory takeover. It’s less “arena” and more “you’re inside a Pixar movie that took acid.”
But Slash? He’s old-school. Plug in, turn up, and let the amps do the talking. “It’s not really sort of rock-and-roll friendly, the way that it’s set up,” he said.
He’s not wrong. Guns N’ Roses shows thrive on sweat, chaos, and sheer muscle, not digital backdrops of exploding suns. The Sphere is for perfectly choreographed, multi-media, don’t-spill-your-drink type experiences. GNR is for beer-in-the-air, guitars-in-the-face type experiences. And that contrast? It’s huge.
Slash Isn’t Completely Saying No
Still, Slash isn’t slamming the door on The Sphere entirely. He just knows that playing there means changing what a band like GNR is. “You have to prepare your mind to put on not just a band performance, but 50 percent of what you’re doing is going to be the projection and what you’re putting on as content,” he explained.
Basically, to play The Sphere, you have to think like a film director, not a riff machine. And while Slash admits that might not be his band’s vibe, he can totally see other heavy hitters giving it a go. “I could see Metallica doing it,” he added with a chuckle. “We’ll see. Maybe down the road.”
Translation: If the metal gods want to melt some pixels, go for it. GNR will be in the corner setting fire to an actual amp.
In the meantime, Guns N’ Roses are staying busy the old-fashioned way, by touring their faces off. They’re currently finishing up a run through South America, wrapping Nov. 8 in Mexico City.
No Sphere dates have been announced, and from the sound of things, fans shouldn’t hold their breath for a GNR-in-4K experience anytime soon.
Slash’s hesitation points to a bigger question facing rock right now: where does the live experience go next? For decades, the power of a rock show has been its rawness, the sweat, the noise, the unpredictable energy of a band barely holding it together. It’s about the moment, not the pixels.
But the Sphere represents a new frontier, immersive, visual storytelling that turns concerts into multimedia art projects. It’s a different kind of magic, but it’s also a kind of control. Every flicker, every image, every sound is curated.
For a band like Guns N’ Roses, whose brand was literally built on chaos, that can feel like a cage, even if the cage happens to cost $2.3 billion and glows like the sun.
Slash didn’t say never, he just said maybe not now, maybe not here. If Guns N’ Roses ever do tackle The Sphere, you can bet it won’t be with polite lighting cues and tidy transitions. It’ll be loud, dirty, and probably break a few rules, which, honestly, would be the most Guns N’ Roses thing possible.
Until then, Slash is happy keeping his rock raw and his visuals analog: leather, Les Pauls, and sweat instead of screens. And that, my friends, might just be the most refreshing take in an era where every show tries to out-laser the last one. Because no matter how many LEDs you wrap around a stage, nothing beats the sight, or the sound, of a guitar god in a top hat, shredding under real, imperfect, glorious light.
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