Wolfgang Van Halen join Guns N’ Roses onstage for show-stopping Paradise City performance

Guns N’ Roses performed the last two shows of their We’re F’N’ Back US tour at the weekend, and signed off their stint round the country in style by bringing on Wolfgang Van Halen for a live rendition of Paradise City during their penultimate live performance.

The show, which took place on Saturday (October 2) at the Hard Rock Live Arena in Hollywood, Florida, saw GNR perform a four-track encore – comprising Coma, Don’t Cry and a cover of The Who’s The Seeker – with Axl Rose inviting Van Halen on to the stage for the gig’s show-stopping finale.

“Wolfgang Van Halen,” observed Rose after Wolfgang had emerged wielding his sunburst Gibson ES-335. “Do you know how cool it is to say that? That’s fucking cool. We’re talking legacy.”

Slash kicked off proceedings by way of his Gibson Les Paul, while bassist Duff McKagan joined Van Halen round the mic to rattle through the track’s vocal hook. Before long, Wolfgang got in on the guitar action, serving up the ringing open chords that precede Paradise City’s gain-heavy riff.

There were fretboard fireworks aplenty during the seven-minute run-out, with Slash diving into his deep pocket of six-string tricks on more than one occasion for some dizzying displays of pentatonic prowess.

Wolfgang Van Halen had embarked on the We’re F’N’ Back tour alongside Guns N’ Roses as the band’s opening support act, which marked a stratospheric touring debut for his Mammoth WVH project.

No mean feat, given that Van Halen and his band performed for the first time ever less than four months ago in July this year at The Bottleneck Nightclub in Lawrence, Kansas.

Van Halen has had a busy 2021 so far with the release of his debut self-titled studio album, which followed appearances on The Today Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live! 

As for Guns N' Roses, the current lineup – comprising Slash, Rose, McKagan, Frank Ferrer, Richard Fortus, Melissa Reese and Dizzy Reed – recently announced their upcoming EP, Hard Skool.

Due February 25 next year, the four-track offering will feature two already released tracks Hard Skool and Absurd, as well as live recordings of Don't Cry and You're Crazy.