Watch Guns N' Roses play 'new' song Absurd at Boston gig

After dusting off the hits and some awesome covers (including, for the first time, a rendition of The Stooges' I Wanna Be Your Dog), Guns N' Roses kept the surprises coming on the second date of their huge U.S. tour.

At Boston’s Fenway Park on August 3, the Los Angeles hard rock legends pulled out the bag a newly revamped version of a song that hasn't been played live since 2001: Silkworms. The track – which is officially taken from 2008's Chinese Democracy album – was renamed Absurd on the night, with Axl Rose announcing onstage: “Some of you might have heard this under another name, but this is really kind of absurd to try this…

"Wasn’t that funny?" the frontman joked. "And they don’t even know the joke yet. Okay, this is called Absurd.”

Read this: The 20 greatest Guns N’ Roses songs – ranked

Elsewhere, on the 21-song setlist, Guns performed covers of Slither, Live And Let Die, I Wanna Be Your Dog and Knockin' On Heaven's Door, plus classics such as Welcome To The Jungle, Sweet Child O' Mine, November Rain and Paradise City. Big.

See GN'R performing Absurd / Silkworms below (via Gabriel Toscano on YouTube):

Could this be a potential sign of things to come from actual new GN'R material? In April 2020, bassist Duff McKagan​’s wife, Susan Holmes McKagan, teased: "I will say Guns N’ Roses have been working fastidiously on some killer new stuff.

"I can’t say much, but I’ve heard bits and bobs and it’s pretty epic. I do want to spread good news, but not detailed news, I guess. Hopefully that’ll put a spring in your step!"

Check out the full setlist from Boston:

1. It's So Easy
2. Mr. Brownstone
3. Chinese Democracy
4. Welcome To The Jungle
5. Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
6. Double Talkin' Jive
7. Estranged
8. Live And Let Die (Wings cover)
9. You're Crazy (slow version)
10. Better
11. Rocket Queen
12. You Could Be Mine
13. I Wanna Be Your Dog (The Stooges cover; Duff on lead vocals)
14. Absurd (aka Silkworms; first time since 2001)
15. Civil War
16. Dead Horse
17. Sweet Child O' Mine
18. November Rain
19. Knockin' On Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan cover)
20. Nightrain
21. Paradise City

And catch GN'R live at the following upcoming tour dates:

August 2021

5 East Rutherford, NJ – MetLife Stadium
8 Detroit, MI – Comerica Park
11 Fargo, ND – FargoDome
13 Missoula, MT – Washington-Grizzly Stadium
16 Commerce City, CO – DICK’S Sporting Goods Park
19 Los Angeles, CA – Banc of California Stadium
22 Portland, OR – Moda Center
25 San Jose, CA – SAP Center at San Jose
27 Las Vegas, NV – Allegiant Stadium
30 Phoenix, AZ – Phoenix Suns Arena

September 2021

1 Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
4 Napa, CA – BottleRock Napa Valley
8 Indianapolis, IN – Lucas Oil Stadium
11 Atlantic City, NJ – Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
12 Atlantic City, NJ – Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
16 Chicago, IL – Wrigley Field
18 Milwaukee, WI – American Family Insurance Amphitheater | Summerfest
21 St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
23 Columbus, OH – Schottenstein Center
26 Baltimore, MD – Royal Farms Arena
29 Raleigh, NC – PNC Arena

October 2021

2 Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live Arena
3 Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live Arena

Read this: Every song on Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite For Destruction, ranked from worst to best