the August 16, 1988 concert at Giants Stadium, featuring Guns N’ Roses, Aerosmith, and Deep Purple, including the connection to the “Paradise City” video and photographer Marc S Canter.

the August 16, 1988 concert at Giants Stadium, featuring Guns N’ Roses, Aerosmith, and Deep Purple, including the connection to the “Paradise City” video and photographer Marc S Canter.

 

🎸 Rock History Revisited: Guns N’ Roses Opened for Aerosmith & Deep Purple on August 16, 1988

Giants Stadium Show Immortalized in “Paradise City” Video and Rare Photographs

 

July 17, 2025 – Classic Rock Archives

 

On August 16, 1988, one of the most electrifying nights in rock history unfolded at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The lineup: Guns N’ Roses, then one of the fastest-rising bands in the world, opened for two of rock’s most iconic acts—Aerosmith and Deep Purple. The night would go down as a defining moment in Guns N’ Roses’ meteoric rise, and parts of it were forever captured in the band’s iconic “Paradise City” music video.

 

The show came at a pivotal time in the band’s career. Guns N’ Roses had just released their debut album, Appetite for Destruction, a year earlier in 1987, and it was beginning to explode on the charts. With raw energy, unfiltered attitude, and unforgettable stage presence from frontman Axl Rose and lead guitarist Slash, the band was making serious waves in the rock world.

 

Opening for Aerosmith—a band that had survived the storms of fame and drug addiction—was both symbolic and strategic. Aerosmith, then enjoying a successful comeback with Permanent Vacation, personally chose Guns N’ Roses to support them, seeing reflections of their own early days in the band’s chaotic brilliance.

 

But it wasn’t just about the music. That night, photographer Marc S Canter, a close friend of the band and contributor to the Michael Ochs Archives, was on hand to document the performance. His now-iconic photographs from the concert show Slash, shirtless with top hat and Les Paul in hand, and Axl Rose commanding the crowd with his signature swagger and vocals.

 

Even more legendary: parts of this performance were used in the official music video for “Paradise City,” a song that has since become one of Guns N’ Roses’ most celebrated anthems. Scenes from the Giants Stadium show were mixed with footage from the Monsters of Rock tour in Europe, creating a high-octane, crowd-charged visual that captured the essence of late-’80s rock.

 

For fans who were there, the concert was unforgettable—an arena-shaking, guitar-screaming event that united generations of rock lovers under one massive roof. For those who weren’t, the footage and photos have served as a window into a moment when the past, present, and future of rock collided on one stage.

 

As we look back 37 years later, August 16, 1988, stands as a turning point—not only for Guns N’ Roses but for an entire generation of music. It was a night when legends passed the torch, and new icons were born.

 

📸 Explore rare images from Marc Canter and relive the night that rocked Giants Stadium.