The 40 greatest concerts in Boston history: 26

Guns ‘n Roses | the Paradise Rock Club | October 16, 1987
By PHOENIX STAFF  |  October 25, 2006

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Guns n' Roses, not at the Paradise (obviously).
In ’87, G N’ R were just another hair-metal band opening — yes opening — for the Cult. So when they hit the Paradise in October of ’87 it was, as Mark Kates, an ex-Geffen A&R scout, remembers, odd to see all the Boston rock hipsters in the audience. “I started at Geffen like a week after Appetite for Destruction came out, and it really was a whole year before that album became really big. Now, I don’t know what other people will tell you, but heavy metal really wasn’t big here at that point. So it was strange to see all these rock-scene dudes at a Guns N’ Roses show. And it was sold out. Everyone I knew from the Boston rock scene had to be there. I just remember thinking that if Guns could do that well in Boston, then they were going to be huge. They were just really good, and really rocking, and so unrelenting, and you could feel that something special was happening.”
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Related: Indie springs forward, Feel the music, Unauthorized!, More more >
  Topics: Live Reviews , Guns N' Roses, Mark Kates, The Flaming Lips,  More more >
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