Guns N' Roses perform reworked version of rare, unreleased song, Silkworms

Guns N' Roses
(Image credit: Gary Miller/Getty Images)

Guns N' Roses are back on tour, and aside from all the classics from their sprawling catalogue – you know, stuff like Sweet Child O' Mine, Paradise City and Welcome to the Jungle – the hard rock titans are adding some newer and lesser-known cuts to their setlist.

Over the weekend, Axl Rose and co took to the stage at Hersheypark Stadium in Pennsylvania, during which they debuted a raucous cover of The Stooges' 1969 debut single, I Wanna Be Your Dog.

And during their August 3 show at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the band resurfaced Silkworms – now known as Absurd – an unreleased track that came from the sessions for 2008's Chinese Democracy.

Introducing the song, Axl Rose said: “Some of you might have heard this under another name, but this is really kind of absurd to try this.” Check out the performance below.

Chinese Democracy was notable for the introduction of more electronic influences to GNR's sound, though said influences were largely absent from the recent performance of Absurd.

Supporting GNR on the current tour are Mammoth WVH, who recently released their self-titled debut album. With only a handful of live performances under their belts prior to the tour, this marks a pretty stratospheric touring debut for the Wolfgang Van Halen-fronted outfit.

Following the first show of the tour at Pennsylvania's Hersheypark Stadium, Wolfgang wrote: “Thanks to everyone in the Guns N' Roses camp for having us out. It's an absolute honor to be here.”

Guns N' Roses' tour continues tomorrow (August 5) at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and runs until October 3 with a double show at Hollywood, Florida's Hard Rock Live Arena. Check out the full list of dates below:

  • Sat Jul 31 – Hershey, PA – Hersheypark Stadium* 
  • Tue Aug 03 – Boston, MA – Fenway Park 
  • Thu Aug 05 – East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium 
  • Sun Aug 08 – Detroit, MI – Comerica Park 
  • Wed Aug 11 – Fargo, ND – FargoDome 
  • Fri Aug 13 – Missoula, MT – Washington-Grizzly Stadium 
  • Mon Aug 16 – Commerce City, CO – DICK'S Sporting Goods Park
  • Thu Aug 19 – Los Angeles, CA – Banc of California Stadium
  • Sun Aug 22 – Portland, OR – Moda Center*
  • Wed Aug 25 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center at San Jose*
  • Fri Aug 27 – Las Vegas, NV – Venue to be announced*
  • Mon Aug 30 – Phoenix, AZ – Phoenix Suns Arena*
  • Wed Sep 01 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center*
  • Sat Sep 04 – Napa, CA – BottleRock Napa Valley^
  • Wed Sep 08 – Indianapolis, IN – Lucas Oil Stadium
  • Sat Sep 11 – Atlantic City, NJ – Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena*
  • Sun Sep 12 – Atlantic City, NJ – Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena*
  • Thu Sep 16 – Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field
  • Sat Sep 18 – Milwaukee, WI – American Family Insurance Amphitheater | Summerfest
  • Tue Sep 21 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center*
  • Thu Sep 23 – Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center*
  • Sun Sep 26 – Baltimore, MD – Royal Farms Arena*
  • Wed Sep 29 – Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena*
  • Sat Oct 02 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live Arena*
  • Sun Oct 03 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live Arena*

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**

Join now for unlimited access

US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year

UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year 

Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Prices from £2.99/$3.99/€3.49

Sam Roche

Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.