This band plays stadiums, had biggest debut album in U.S. history. It’s coming, Boise

After decades float by, and rock groups reach a certain age, concerts tend to evolve from performances into communal celebrations powered by live-band soundtracks.

So let’s treat Guns N’ Roses’ unexpected visit to Idaho as what it will be: a cathartic, nostalgia-driven extravaganza.

Fresh off a world tour that headlined major festivals, stadiums and arenas, Guns N’ Roses will invade the Ford Idaho Center arena on Oct. 22 — yes, just weeks from now. Tickets become available to the general public at 10 a.m. Sept. 20 for $59.50 to $350 through fordidahocenter.com. (Presales kick off Sept. 18.)

Beer-guzzling, gray-haired Idahoans will shout all the lyrics, joyfully aiding Axl Rose’s unenviable stabs at summoning his distinctive shriek of yesteryear. Iconic, shades-sporting guitarist Slash will uncork bluesy, blazing solos.

“It’s going to be a party,” promoter Creston Thornton promised.

Followed by a pulverizing Monday hangover.

So stock up on aspirin and start training with 12-ounce curls, Gramps. This one should be totally worth the head trauma.

‘Appetite’ for fame

A weapon of hard-rock perfection during its early years, Guns N’ Roses burst out of Los Angeles with a debut album, “Appetite for Destruction,” in 1987. A sonic steamroller from start to finish, that record spawned three timeless top 10 hits: “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Paradise City” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” which reached No. 1. To this day, it’s the biggest-selling debut album in the United States.

Swaggering and staggering into the ’90s, Guns N’ Roses became globally infamous both for its musical ferocity and proclivity for drama — typically fueled by the notoriously capricious Rose. Elevated by stardom, the band grew increasingly ambitious with mixed, memorable artistic results. Remember the grandiose, orchestral “November Rain” video on MTV? But things went south steadily. Band members got fired. Slash and bassist Duff McKagan had quit by 1997.

Still, G N’ R’s meteoric impact was undeniable. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Rose rejected the honor, of course, and did not attend the ceremony.

Axl, Slash, Duff reunited

In 2016, Rose, Slash and McKagan reunited for a Not in This Lifetime tour. G N’ R is now an ATM machine on wheels. The band’s concerts this year have averaged 24,000 tickets sold per night, according to Thornton, president of Live Nation’s mountain region.

The Idaho Center, comparatively, is an “intimate venue,” Thornton says. The arena holds about 12,000 fans in an optimal configuration. But Guns N’ Roses’ production “is so massive,” he said, “only 9,300 tickets will be available.”

That’s more than twice the number of fans who showed up the other time G N’ R visited the Boise area. Lacking all original members except its moody singer, a shell of G N’ R headlined a half-empty Idaho Center in 2002. Choruses of boos had erupted by the time Rose and seven hired guns (two still in G N’ R today) finally took the stage — more than an hour late, at around 10:20 p.m. Within a month, that ill-fated “Chinese Democracy” tour was canceled after erratic ticket sales, no-shows by Rose, and peeved, rioting fans.

Just normal G N’ R antics, right?

Rose, 61, is now older and ostensibly wiser. Not so long ago, it didn’t seem likely that G N’ R would ever again include Slash and McKagan. But fans and bank accounts take priority. The rest of the entourage at the Idaho Center will be longtime guitarist Richard Fortus, longtime keyboardist Dizzy Reed, drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboardist Melissa Reese.

Paradise City of Trees

You can bet (OK, hope) that Rose won’t keep concertgoers waiting past bedtime again. The place will be euphoric. Witnessing Rose on stage with Slash and McKagan? Sheer, shuddering hesher bliss.

Most fans will enter the arena fully aware that Rose’s upper-register singing nowadays bears little resemblance to his inimitable, raspy screech of the late 1980s. Time is cruel to even the most gifted rock vocalists.

To understand the evolved relationship between fans and band, check out comments under a YouTube video of Guns N’ Roses performing “Paradise City” at the Glastonbury Festival in England earlier this year. Reviews of the show in the British press ranged from positive to utterly brutal. But true G N’ R diehards are of a singular mindset.

“I don’t care if Axl sounds like an old lady mimicking Mickey Mouse,” an observant commenter wrote. “I love G N’ R, and they STILL put on a great performance. They play the hits, and we all sing along live.”

So if you grew up listening to “Appetite for Destruction” religiously? You almost have to grab tickets to this Boise (er, Nampa) opportunity. It will be like an ’80s-worship event.

Take yourself down to the Paradise City — of Trees. There probably won’t be another chance.