His left foot, again. Apparently, it's the fragile one, so the years got back at Uncle Axl there. Back then, Axl used a custom-made brace to actually move around the stage. The nature of the injury was probably a bit different and required less operating / recuperating, as he's hardly letting it get in his way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08nif-97TMs

This time, we get the Iron Throne, courtesy of Dave Grohl. The Foo Fighters crew had a bit of a laugh putting it together, apparently, with the oval of lights and the guitar-necks on the sides. I noticed Axl pushes a button on his right to change his mic channel, to talk to the band / crew. He does a lot of talk during a song. The Iron Throne is a good way to circumvent the obvious issue, but where does it leave the band?

Slash is now the main attraction. He moves around at ease, with the limelight following him. Duff and Fortus, ever so enthusiastic, are providing him with back-up, without stepping on his toes. Fortunately, Slash has the chops to pull it through, he's had 20-odd years to fine-tune his stage presence. Axl's fortunate to have the contemporary Guitar Hero taking the heat off him. Imagine had this happening a few years back.

Axl's omnipresent. Less costume changes, more time to witness the show. I remember seeing him in '06. The band was late. Axl was still en route to the country(!). Jungle opened and Axl literally warped into the front, all poise. I took it as nerves, that bee-line he wanted to make straight on to the stage. To his credit, he did put out a hell of a show.

Now, he's there all the time. During his downtime, he has the opportunity to soak it all up. Looking left, there's Slash. On his right, Duff. Here and there is his made man Fortus, the ultimate Izzy replacement. I'd imagine he'd be placated by this sight. I'd say Fortus is a better showman than Izzy, to be honest. I love Izzy for being Izzy, but Fortus covers the big stages better.

The Iron Throne changes the on-stage dynamics in an interesting way. It can actually be beneficial for Ax himself, to be able to live in the moment and adjusting to the situation. Slash can and will do his own thing, reclaiming his old space. Meanwhile, you can tell that Ax is itching to get up and running again, as it's obvious he likes what he sees in front of him.

Axl's voice. Shall we say, 2010 again, or shall we wait until Coachella for that verdict? I was positively surprised. There was that certain tone there, he really sounded excited to be there and sing. Stick with the process and recover mobility by the summer and we could see him going after his 2006 powerhouse performances.

Axl/DC. I doubt they want to do the Iron Throne thing. However, given the prognosis of a one-month cast, he should be fine by the time Angus wants him, if he does. Maybe a bit standing-still, but fine nevertheless. If they give him a pass, he loses squat, because they can always explain it away with the injury and allowing him to keep healing and Guns a priority. Publicity gained.

In the final analysis, I think Axl's enjoying the role of the underdog again. The fortunate bit is that this thing happened early enough to affect only the warm-up shows - but does anyone find it slightly eerie that history repeats itself?