By Martin Boulton
For a teenager attending their first big rock 'n' roll show, this was a doozy.
Sixteen-year-old Natalie Pestana was among 75,000 people at Calder Park for the notorious gig that sparked a Victorian Ombudsman report, but left Guns N' Roses fans like Natalie among those who can proudly say "I was there" in 1993.
Natalie Pestana was 16 when she went to the Guns 'N Roses' 1993 Calder Park concert.Credit: Joe Armao
In sweltering heat nudging 40 degrees on the last day of January, Guns N' Roses delayed their arrival on stage by several hours following a torrential downpour that left fans with nowhere to shelter and stage crews scrambling to mop up.
This week, ahead of the band's much-anticipated MCG performance, Ms Pestana told Fairfax Media she clearly recalls standing with her friend "near the sound desk, a huge construction with speakers" and the "stinking hot" weather until an afternoon thunderstorm lashed the crowd.
Guns 'N Roses fans camping out overnight at Calder Raceway for the concert the following day.Credit: Mario Borg
"There was no sun to dry us off so we were damp for the rest of the night," she said, adding "once the 'Gunners' finally came on we forgot our misery and had a brilliant time. It was my first big concert, so not a bad introduction to the world of live music."
Four years after touring Australia on the back of debut album Appetite For Destruction, which has since sold 30 million copies, the infamous LA rock band was at the height of its powers. Two new albums, Use Your Illusion I and II had been released in '91 and two years later fans like Ms Pestana paid $50 each for a general admission ticket to Calder Park.
How was Natalie to know, long before her mum "stood in line for hours to buy the tickets" that more than a thousand people would be treated for heat-related illness, fans would battle dehydration and hypothermia and public transport would fail to get thousands of tired and hungry fans home.
It was the inadequate public transport, over-priced food and drink, too few toilet facilities and overall failure of the site and event staff to adequately deal with conditions on the day that led to the Ombudsman's investigation, which in a positive note found "police dealt with only about half a dozen patrons, all of whom were outside the venue".
Crowds wait for the world's biggest band to take to the stage. Credit: Bruce Postle
Bass player Duff McKagan would recall years later "seeing a f---ing sea of people" as he and longtime bandmates Axl Rose and Slash belted through hits including Welcome to the Jungle, November Rain and Sweet Child O' Mine. "It was a big, huge gig," McKagan said. "You don't really know how to take it all in."
Chris Richards was a day off starting his final year at high school and recalls "a pretty good vibe" among the huge crowd despite enormous queues (some taking more than an hour) for food and drink, for toilets and the outrageously steep prices for bottled water.
An aerial view of Calder Park on the day of the Guns 'N Roses concert. Credit: John Lamb
"It was blast-furnace heat and the heat got worse the closer you got to Calder Park," he said. "It was unbelievably hot and we knew the weather was going to change at some stage, so that was going to make life interesting.
"You could see the weather coming, lightning was going off in the distance and the temperature dropped about 15 degrees in a matter of minutes, it went from people baking in the sun to people shivering and then everything turned to mud ... it was a long day."
Axl Rose (right)) and bass guitarist Duff McKagan during Guns 'N Roses' 1993 tour.Credit: Andrew Meares
Support acts Pearls and Swine, Rose Tattoo and Skid Row all played, the latter "putting on a decent show" according to Ms Pestana, who admits everything was "really just backing music" until Guns N' Roses finally came on stage after a lengthy delay.
Matthew O'Loughlin, then 22, arrived at the venue around 5pm with two friends. He recalls it being "one of the hottest days in the world" and the seemingly constant sound of ambulances, sirens wailing, attending to those suffering from heat and minor injuries. He said Guns N' Roses were "pretty good" and looks back fondly on the day regardless of the tough weather conditions.
"Best on ground was Skid Row's drummer, who jumped over his drum kit when singer Sebastian Bach was saying 'Melbourne you rock, we'll be back again' and dacked him," Mr O'Loughlin said with a chuckle. "I'll take that one to my grave, which I thought I'd see sometime that afternoon."
As the final notes from Slash's guitar rang out and fireworks lit up the sky, Chris Richards and his friend darted to the carpark, where a few buses were quickly filling with fans eager to flee the scene for the relative comfort of a night train.
"Our bus driver had the radio on and a Guns N' Roses song came on, everyone was yelling "turn it up, turn it up" so the driver blasted it," he said. "Everyone was covered in mud and singing along to the song. Heading to that carpark was one of the smarter things we did."
As for starting year 12 the next day, Mr Richards admits "I can't remember any of it" and says he "wouldn't change a thing" about one of the world's greatest rock bands playing one of Victoria's most legendary outdoor shows.
"It was well worth it ... they're showmen with a massive, bloated stage show and they were very, very good."
Guns N' Roses play at Melbourne Cricket Ground on February 14.
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