Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Here's my little story about the eleven shows and several pre-show meetings I had the privilege of witnessing across Europe this summer.

Thanks to everybody who made it possible, everybody who made it a very special summer, everybody who took part in the board meetings and everybody who just said hello! Sorry if I forgot to mention your name. I met a bunch of people....

Extra special thanks to the bear owner and family.



(http://hem.bredband.net/jarmo/yabb/temp/lisbon_montage.jpg)

May 26: > Travel:

At the airport I spot a bunch of drunk Swedes and wonder where they're going.

In Frankfurt I realize the drunk Swedes are gonna be on the same flight as I am to Lisbon.

One of them sits in the row in front of me and I just hope he doesn't try to talk to me about GN'R (he's been telling everybody about how's he's going to Rock In Rio to see GN'R).

He passes out after just a short while after take off. The flight attendants have to wake him up before they can roll the food cart down the aisle.

I arrive in sunny Lisbon and get the bus to the city centre. Eventually I find my way to the hotel and bump into Christos and the Greeks. They've been told they can't have the rooms they booked.

I go upstairs and find out Graciela has managed to get one of the three rooms our group had booked.

I go and ask the guy in the reception if I can check in and get at least another one of our rooms now and I'm told there's a problem.

So instead of sitting around and trying to figure out what to do there, we go out and have a snack while we wait for Kiki and the rest of the group to arrive. When they do I explain to them that the guy is saying we can't get the rooms she had booked for us. After some "discussions" between Kiki and the hotel manager, we miraculously get our rooms.

Just in time for beers and drinks!

All of us head out to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner and the pre-show party organized by the Portuguese fans.

It's one hell of a pre-show party with Kidnap playing GN'R covers and lots of liquid refreshments.

There's a bunch of people from the board there, too many to mention. People from Argentina, Portugal, Norway, Finland, Greece, UK, USA, Holland, Belgium, Spain and so on.

At one point I somehow end up on stage with Christos to introduce the band. I don't know who/how I was "convinced".

Thanks to everybody for a great night, especially the Kidnap guys!



May 27: > GN'R @ Parque da Bela Vista (Rock In Rio 2006), Lisbon:

Wake up, have breakfast and in the afternoon I get a cab to the park along with the Dutch group.

The Dutch group go inside and we go find the ticket office. I'm not feeling too good in the hot sun.

I also managed to bump into a Finnish TV crew who were there filming.

Eventually Graciela gets her ticket and we go inside. It's hot! So we go and sit in the shade since none of the bands playing interest us.

After a while we go and get some drinks and sandwiches before going down to the main stage area. There we bump into the Norwegians and the only two people wearing The Darkness shirts (as far as I know) that day.

Erose is interviwed by a TV crew from Central America.

During The Darkness set I decide to take a bathroom/water break and on my mission to find the bathrooms, somebody yells "nice shirt!" to me I turn around and a guy asks me what my username is. So I tell him...

I get back and after a while GN'R takes the stage.

It's just so unreal to be in Portugal watching the first GN'R show I've seen in years.

During Robin's first solo it becomes even more unreal because I recognize the song he's playing. Then it hits me, it's "Finlandia".

I look around during the show and there's people all over the park. Must be the biggest show I've been to so far.

After the show I spend time hanging around with some fellow fans who've flown in from various countries. We all agree that it was a great show. We share a cab to the city centre.


May 28: > Sightseeing, Lisbon:

I get up and since this is a day off, I've decided months in advance that I'd use this day to see more of Lisbon.

So Graciela and I head out on the town by foot before taking a tram up the hill to the castle.

We spend most of the afternoon there and return back to the hotel early in the evening.

On the way to the hotel we try to figure out which stop to get of the tram at, both of us are looking and then we spot a guy who looks like Robin.

We jump off the tram at the next stop and walk back a little bit. I go and ask him "Robin?" and he says "yes?". I introuce myself and we have a little chat about last night's show and Lisbon. We say bye and we walk back to the hotel.

In the evening we gather at the Hard Rock Cafe again. I had sent messages to various people in the afternoon and many of the guys from Friday night are back.

I get somewhat drunk and join erose and the Norwegians at some disco somewhere. I get back to the hotel around 6AM.


May 29: > Travel:

Wake up at 10AM. I go outside to buy breakfast and check out at 12.

Make it to the airport and bump into a bunch of "tired" Norwegians at the gate.

After some delays, I get to board the plane to Frankfurt, but instead of taking off, we sit on the runway.

90 minutes later we're on our way to Frankfurt and I've realized there's no way I'm gonna make my flight to Sweden.

Directly after landing in Frankfurt I head to the airline's desk and they tell me to go to another gate where the next flight is scheduled.

The flight is the last one of the day and it's fully booked which means there's no room for me on it. I end up in Frankfurt but the airline gets me a hotel room in a five star hotel just a short drive from the airport.

I eventually get home the next day after a great weekend in sunny Portugal and a day in cold Frankfurt.

---

(http://hem.bredband.net/jarmo/yabb/temp/england_ireland_montage.jpg)


Previously posted part:


June 7: > GN'R @ Hammersmith Apollo, London:

Wake up, have coffee and slowly start realizing this is the day.

Head out to Hammersmith and meet up with ESTRANGED at the Apollo. We go for lunch before going to the Distillers Arms pub.

We get there around 3PM and I order beers. I get asked for ID when I order them. Apparently I don't look 18....

We sit around and after a while other people start arriving.

IanLei, Greg, cyllan, Kiki, Gunnershome and the rest of the Dutch group, AdZ, Buckle, BA, Graciela, fieldsy, Festah_GT, 33, axl_voorhees, BD888 and everybody else I forgot (sorry!).



(http://hem.bredband.net/jarmo/yabb/temp/jarmo_33_adz_buckle_hammersmith.jpg)

Myself, 33, AdZ and Buckle @ the Distillers Arms before the show



We hang around there for a few hours before heading to the Hammersmith Apollo.

When we got in, Avenged Sevenfold was just finishing their set.

We stand there and wait while they're playing records. Pearl Jam's "Alive" gets a big response from the crowd. Which is nice since I'm a PJ fan too....

About two hours later than the scheduled show time, GN'R start their set.

It was so cool to see GN'R play this venue. I never imagined it would actually happen, but after the Hammerstein Ballroom shows I thought there might be a microscopic chance of them playing a similar place in London. Very cool.

After seeing them in Lisbon and thinking it was great, I knew this one would be amazing.

After the show we walk out and I bump into Greg and ESTRANGED again. We both agree that the show was amazing.

Then AdZ, Graciela and myself go outside to see if something's happening by the stage entrance.

We hang around while the security guys are moving barricades around.

After a while Bumblefoot comes out. He poses for photos, signs autographs and dares fans to taste his spicy curry dish.

Later on we head to Soho to have some after show drinks and arrive back home at around 6am.


June 8: > Day off

Meet up with the Dutchies in the morning and rest the rest of the day.


June 9: >? GN'R @ RDS Arena, Dublin:

Our plane to Dublin leaves at 6:30AM which means we leave London in the middle of the night to head to Stansted airport.

Meet up with anythinggoes at the gate. Luckily I manage to get some sleep on the flight over to Dublin.

We arrive in Dublin and head out to have some breakfast before going to the Guinness Storehouse.

One thing I noticed is that the taxi drivers are very nice, but it's not easy to understand what they're saying!

Have a Guinness at bar at the top floor of the Storehouse. Nice view.

We get a taxi back to the city centre and head to the Bruxelles where the first meeting is.

After a while people start arriving. Will and a friend of his arrives as well as IrishFecker.

AdZ arrives later after he's been given better instructions than "look for the church on Dawson Street and walk along the other street". Let's just say there's more than one church in that area....

They're playing the GN'R Tokyo DVDs on the screen at the Bruxelles, but the sound is turned off and instead we get the music from the jukebox.



(http://hem.bredband.net/jarmo/yabb/temp/HTGTH_crew_dublin.jpg)

Will, AdZ, Phil, myself and Graciela outside the Bruxelles in Dublin



After having a few drinks all of us get a taxi to Bellamy's where the second meeting is.

Nightfall and Rockin' Rose arrive there at the same time.

A few drinks later we head out for pizza and then off to the RDS Arena.

Some of the group want to get as close to the stage as possible while the rest of us are happy to stay on the grass.

The show starts in the sunlight at around 8:15. Very interesting to see them play in daylight.

Another great show which was made special due to all the natural light.


June 10: > travel & day off:

Spend the night at Dublin airport. Get no sleep at all. Meet anythingoes at the check in desk.

When we finally get to board the plane I fall asleep almost immediately.

We arrive back in London around 10am.


June 11: > GN'R @ Download Festival, Donington Park:

We take the morning train to Derby which means we arrive at Donington Park around 12.

Watch some football on the big screen. Seems like a better option than watching some of those bands.

Meet Greg and winter_rose from the board.

Arron has set up a board meeting at 5pm so we head to the spot we think is the meeting place.

Turns out we're on the wrong side of the stage.

We walk across the crowd and meet up with Arron and Stoned.



(http://hem.bredband.net/jarmo/yabb/temp/giving_the_admin_the_finger_at_download.jpg)

Arron, Stoned, AdZ, Graciela and anythinggoes misbehaving at the Download Festival



(http://hem.bredband.net/jarmo/yabb/temp/not_exactly_emo_fans_at_download.jpg)

Arron, Stoned, AdZ, myself and anythinggoes behaving at the Download Festival



Sit around and have a beer when all of a sudden Robin walks by. We go and say hello.

We see fieldsy again. He must be stalking me!

ESTRANGED shows up later.

We split up, some go to try to get closer to the stage.

I stay on the hill with AdZ and Graciela.

We're kinda far away from the stage, but the view is pretty good up there.

We all notice there's something wrong with the sound. Then we notice the band being annoyed as well.

Some people around us have no idea about GN'R and what they're playing (the new stuff).

Nobody's booing though, they seem curious about the band and are into the show.

Another amazing show which started in sunlight and ends after the sun has set.

Izzy being there was a nice surprise and I'm happy to see the band overcome the technical difficulties.


June 12: > Travel & day off

Spent the night walking around in Derby. I think I fell asleep while sitting on a bench by the bus station.

Not exactly the highlight of the weekend.

Our bus back to London left at 5:40am which means I was tired but happy on Monday.

---

(http://hem.bredband.net/jarmo/yabb/temp/stockholm_oslo_montage.jpg)

June 26:? > GN'R @ Globen, Stockholm:

Leave home at around 11am with my friends and about five hours later we're in windy Stockholm.

I go to a pub where I heard Rockin' Rose is and sit down to have a drink with him and his friend. I look at the line and wonder how many of them were here the last time GN'R played the Globe (which was my first rock concert in 1991).

After a while, I decide to go and have something to eat with my friends. On our way I see somebody familiar. I can't believe it's cyllan (who I had met in London a few weeks earlier). She's in town for the show and is on her way to her hotel.

We make our way inside and buy some t-shirts. Then we go find our seats and then watch the full sets from both opening acts (for the first and only time on this tour).

GN'R comes onstage and the place goes crazy. I warn my friends of the pyro (I'm starting to learn when the explosions happen).

Axl's in a great mood and the crowd loves it. Dizzy plays ABBA's "S.O.S." as his solo and I guess he's never been more popular anywhere in Europe at the moment.

The show features five new songs and it's just awesome.

After the show we wander outside and bump into a guy wearing a HTGTH shirt. Turns out it's Ericnor!

A five hour car ride later I'm at home.

After a short nap I go to work and read the news...

---

July 8:? > GN'R @ Spektrum, Oslo:

I get home at around 4AM after seeing Depeche Mode play in Stockholm. Wake up at 7:30, have coffee and a shower (not at the same time). Leave home around 9.

Make it to the bus stop, which is in another town, and board the bus to Oslo. Fall asleep and wake up somewhere in Norway. It's just like Sweden except the signs are in Norwegian...

I arrive in Oslo at 13:10 and start walking towards the train station before turning back to the bus station since that's where AdZ and Graciela are waiting.

We study the maps on how to get to the hotel, and then head out. We walk along the main street called Karl Johan and then walk some more.

On the way to the hotel, we buy some Coke in a store for our pre-show drinks.

Eventually we get to the hotel and have some drinks. I'm not sure if mine had any Coke in it or just Jack Daniels.

Once we've had enough drinks, we take off to the Elm Street bar where we are meeting people from the board. Before arriving there, we stop at Burger King across the street for lunch/dinner.

The cashier likes AdZ's hair and she's surprised that I speak Swedish!

We eat our burgers and get AdZ a paper crown to wear. King for a day!

We cross the street and enter the bar. Inside we meet Steve McKagan and his friend.

Order some expensive Norwegian beers and wait for the rest to show up.

First Rainfox shows up with the rest of the Danish group and then later erose, Will and his Belgian friend.

Later on some people from the northern part of Norway show up. I think at least one of them posts here.

We hang around for a few hours before walking to the venue. I go and get our tickets at the box office.

The security confiscates my camera at the door. AdZ makes it inside with his camera, which is way better than mine. Makes no sense.

As we get to our seats, the opening band is finishing. We wait for GN'R.

Eventually GN'R comes on and plays another set featuring five new songs. I love it!

Izzy is there which is a nice surprise!

I feel very happy that I decided to go to Oslo. Great show, the band is on form.

Can't wait for the next show.

We make our way back to the hotel after walking in the wrong direction for a while (thanks erose! :p).

July 10: > Travel:

Wake up, have breakfast and walk to the bus station. There's a tiger outside the station. Wonder why?

At the station I notice there's an earlier bus which I could take instead of waiting two hours. So I say bye to AdZ and Graciela and board the bus.

Make it home in the afternoon after an exciting weekend. Two capitals, two bands and two shows in two days.

---

(http://hem.bredband.net/jarmo/yabb/temp/england_july_montage.jpg)


July 25:? > GN'R @ NEC Arena, Birmingham:

Meet up with AdZ at Victoria Station in London and walk to the coach station. We board the bus to Birmingham and arrive there about three hours later.

I have no idea where we are. All I know is that a certain bus is supposed to take us to our hotel which is located by the airport. Which happens to be kinda close to the NEC Arena.

We find the bus stop and wait. Then we wait some more and then the bus arrives. We manage to get off at the right stop and walk to the hotel.

Time to go to the venue and so we ask the reception to call for a cab. The driver drops us of outside the NEC Arena and we walk inside. There's a line straight through the building, I guess it was the people with standing tickets.

We have sandwiches and then go get our tickets at the box office.

Anythinggoes is running late, so we didn't get to meet him. I guess he wanted to get rid of that stalker label.

I look around and notice that the place is sold out on this hot day. There's people everywhere. Great!

For the first time since Download, I see Sebastian Bach sing My Michelle with the band. He sings IRS before My Michelle and the band actually plays it later.

Izzy is guesting again which is nice. The crowd loves it and I get to hear Used To Love Her for the first time on this UK tour.

Axl stops You Could Be Mine to throw out two security guys who were being too rough on a fan.

Great show and the band is getting better and better.

Afterwards we walk to a nearby hotel and get a cab. The guy at the reception asks us what show we saw and we tell him GN'R. He asks us if they're playing again in Birmingham and we tell him the rest of the tour itinerary.


July 26: > Travel:

Wake up early to catch a bus to the coach station.

Whiile we're waiting for the bus to the station, we see this guy run on a foot bridge.

He runs up the stairs, then across to the other side, down the stairs, up again and across. I guess there's no better places to jog around the airport in Birmingham.

We arrive at the coach station and even have time for breakfast, but can't find any place to eat. So we end up buying snacks at a newsagent.

Healthy breakfast!

Make it to the coach station after asking a police officer for direction. They had closed several streets so finding the station wasn't as easy as it was suppposed to be.

Again we wait and then get to board the bus to London. I don't remember anything of that journey since I fell asleep quite fast.

Arrive in London and get a bus back to HQ. Spent a while at the Internet cafe checking the board, reading e-mails etc. and then took a nap.


July 27:? > GN'R @ Nottingham Arena, Nottingham:

Arrive at St. Pancras station quite early in the morning ready to go to Nottingham.

After about 90 minutes I'm at the train station in Nottingham and walk to the Broadmarsh shopping center. We go to a Starbucks since I want to have some breakfast (coffee). While I'm enjoying my breakfast, I see Frank walk past the place. At 11am in the morning!

Finish breakfast, go walk around and look in the shops. Then I head for the tourist information, which I eventually find. Get a map and walk up to Nottingham Castle. I'm such a tourist!

It's a hot day in Nottingham.

When I've seen most of the castle, I head outside the gates and I pass a Robin Hood statue before ending up at the oldest inn in England. I go inside and have a beer. I hope the beer isn't as old as the place.

After the refreshing cold beer, I make my way back to the train station and meet AdZ.

I stand there waiting and see this guy come walking towards me. I think to myself "that guy doesn't look like all the other youths I've seen today".

When the guy walks past me I see that he has a pass hanging from his waist and realize he's one of the guys in Bullet For My Valentine. If I had realized this earlier, I would've asked for an autograph for a friend (hello anythinggoes!).

AdZ shows up and we walk to the hotel. We drop off our stuff and go outside for dinner. Today's dinner is at the local Subway.

Since I have studied the Nottingham map in detail, we have no problems finding the pre-show pub (the Pit & Pendulum) where we bump into cyllan.

Arron, Graciela and last, but not least the emo fan himself, anythinggoes show up later.

We have a few drinks before going to the arena.

AdZ, cyllan and I head for the box office, while the rest just disappear somewhere.

Cyllan's seat is in another section so we say bye and head inside.

Some of the crowd are getting restless because they think the band is late. But once the intro starts, they seem to have forgotten that.

Another show with Sebastian and Izzy guesting.

Axl stops Think About You because somebody threw an object at him. He warned the crowd that if it happened again, the band would leave.

I hope they caught the guy who did that.

Once again, the band is having a good time onstage and I can't wait to see what surprises they have instore for us in London.


On the way to the hotel, we witness a guy being dragged along the street by his friend. They must've had a great night out...

We arrive at the hotel and meet a bunch of drunk people who ask us where we've been. We tell them we just saw GN'R and they ask us if it was good.

July 28: > Travel:

Check out, walk around in the city centre for a bit before we have breakfast at a coffee place. Do you see a pattern here? Coffee!

Eventually we make it back to the train station and wait for Arron and Graciela.

We board the train and it's not going anywhere! We're told to get off the train and wait for another one. But then we're told to go back to the first one. Nottingham doesn't want to get rid of us!

We get back on the train, but obviously by now there are no seats. We stand and wait. In Leicester we finally find some free seats.

Back in London one hour later than planned. Take a bus back to HQ.

Unpack my stuff and get a bus to Oxford Circus where I'm meeting the Greeks who have arrived in London that day.

We go out for dinner and then to the Intrepid Fox for beers. The place is pretty boring tonight.

The Greeks leave and the rest of us head to Camden after I suggested changing the place. A bus ride later, I'm having drinks at The World's End.


July 29:? > GN'R @ Wembley Arena, London:

Once again I'm meeting the Greeks for a meal. The Greeks, AdZ and I have lunch. Then we go to some record shops and Christos does some shopping. In the afternoon, we leave for Wembley.

Once we get to Wembley, we walk to the Arena and I spot Kiki and Leontien in the box office line. So I go and say hello since they're not coming to the pub.

I leave the Dutchies and walk to the Greyhound pub with the rest. Christos thinks we're lost and is ready to give up. But then we see the building. I was confident we were on the right path. I had studied the map in advance!

At the pub we meet cyllan (who else!) and Leddy among others. Christos spills my beer all over the table.

After a few drinks, we walk back to the Wembley Arena and wait for the box office to sort out the tickets.

We meet tonya_ytzerman who had just arrived in London a few hours earlier.

I go and get our tickets and we walk inside.

Inside the doors, Christos buys some GN'R stuff, AdZ spills his softdrink on me and tonya looks at the Robin shirt at the merchandise stand.

At some point we decide to go to our seats and wait.

The show is the best one so far in my opinion and I think some might agree. We get three "proper English songs" as a surprise.

During the show, Axl announces that they'll be playing a special acoustic show at 3AM. He then reads out names of people who had won tickets.

The show ends and we go outside. It's raining. We walk around the arena and try to figure out where to find a cab.


July 30:? > GN'R @ Cuckoo Club & Wembley Arena, London:

90 minutes later we're in a cab on our way to Soho. We had decided to try to make it to the after show party that we had heard about from fellow fans. What else is there to do? Sleep?

The cab drops us off at Regent Street and we walk a bit before we find the club. They won't let us in. Instead of giving up, we stick around and soon people outside start talking about another club.

That's when we get the messsage from a fellow fan that the show's actually taking place at this place called the Cuckoo Club not too far from where we are. So we rush over there and as soon as we arrive, I'm let in by a guy who recognizes me. Which surprises me.

Christos makes it inside later thanks to a person recognized him too.

We can't believe we're about to witness an acoustic GN'R show in a small club! I feel very fortunate to be there. Meet some fellow fans at the club and they seem pretty excited too.

The band starts the show at around 4AM. Since I had actually used my head before they started, I'm writing down the set list on a piece of paper.

The set ends way too fast and afterwards we hang around watching the whole place have a good time.

When I walk outside, it's daylight. Wow!

A bus ride later I'm back at HQ for some sleep before the last show of the tour.

Time to wake up and go to Wembley, so I send text messages to AdZ and Christos. But get no replies. I decide to go to Wembley on my own and meet them there.

Check the board from an Internet cafe, go and get breakfast before getting the train and tube to Wembley Park.

At the Wembley Arena box office, I meet Velimir and his friend who've flown in for this show. tonya_ytzerman is also in the same line waiting for her tickets.

I hang around and talk to them for a while since AdZ and Christos are still not anywhere even close to the Wembley Arena.

AdZ finally shows up and we walk to The Greyhound. There's a bunch of board members there which is cool. It's like a stalker convention! The usual suspects are there again. ;) Christos shows up later, much later.

I have to leave after a while since I have BA's ticket. It was given to me by a fellow fan who had an extra. I decided to give it to another fan who wanted to go see GN'R.

I make it back to the arena and meet him there.

Make it to my seats and watch the show. The band seems to be in a hurry.

During Nightrain we realize something is wrong. Sebastian takes over on lead vocals and performs Paradise City with the band.

Merck comes out after the song and explains that Axl was told not to perform by doctors.

We repeat the drill from last night, but instead of waiting outside in the rain for a cab, we walk to a hotel.

The cab arrives and we go out for "end of tour drinks" at a bar. Then out for sandwiches and back to HQ for sleep.

---

One hell of a summer. I was originally planning on going to Lisbon, Dublin and Stockholm.

Three shows.

Then they announced the Hammersmith show and also day tickets for Download. So I thought, five shows. That's a lot!

Then the London show in July was announced and I thought I might be able to make it.

That was six shows... After Download I realized Oslo is only three hours away and the second show was on a Saturday.

Some time after Stockholm I started thinking about going outside London and since bus/train tickets to Birmingham and Nottingham weren't too expensive, those were added.

Ten shows in two months. But then they decided to play the acoustic show and luckily I made it there too.

So instead of ten, I made it to eleven. I guess somewhere along the way, I jogged to the left (Spinal Tap reference).



Thanks again to everybody who made this summer so special! You know who you are!? :)





/jarmo

Thank God I left, I met Juliet Lewis...  ;D



Do you have to reveal everything? Thank God you didn't mention the Britney collector's cd I bought...  ;D



We were lost, admit it...  :P



Christos had every right to spill that beer all over the table cause he bought it...  :hihi:



Some? 120 pounds...  ;D




Which I gave you...  >:( You forget all the important details...  :rofl:




What did you expect? I hadn't slept all night...




Yeah, that was a cool moment, everybody was clapping their hands as soon as I got into the Greyhound...  ;D




Can't disagree...  ;D

I know it's a moot point, but care to clarify a bit? Can't remember seeing footage on the Finnish network - then again, I don't watch that much tv.

YLE tends to air RIR in around 3-5 months afterwards, but I can't remember them shooting their own footage...

It was some smaller channel. Maybe cable and they were shooting outside the venue. Stuff like "hello from sunny Lisbon".

The hosts were a guy and a girl...



/jarmo

Possibly Voice, the small channel in the digital network screening music videos.

I was already hoping for a cool little Lisbon report to go with the bands. Oh well.

wow, fantastic story jarmo ?:peace:

Cheers for that, jarmo - great read! ?Fame at last, even if it is as an alkie stalker - :hihi:? -? in your dreams ?:-*

I still can't believe how hard it is to adjust back to reality after such a mind-bogglingly brilliant summer of GNR. ?You never know, maybe I'll even get around to finishing my tour diary before CD is released - and then I can return the favour and make you even more famous than you already are. ?;)

cyllan

sounds like you had an amazing freaking time!

I only got to get to Hammerstein on 5/14...I wish I could have came overseas to get some more shows in. :-\

But.. :beer:!!

Thanks for that jarmo, it was a great read :)

I enjoyed reading your diary Jarmo.  Great stories, great people...I'm just so happy that after all the hard work you've put into this place, it started paying off for you.  :beer:

wow, great story..too bad you didn't come to Finland   :'(

I cant believe you didnt get me that Autograph i so wanted that

can you remember in Ireland while we was sitting on the grass either them or FFAF were standing behind us signing autographs i so wanted to join the queue of 12 people crowding round to get theirs but i thought id be there all day with the huge crowd.

Yeah, I remember how upset you were. You only felt better after I told you there'd be more chances to get their autographs.....

 ;)



/jarmo

wow, amazing story!! : ok:

makes me wish I was there travelling with all of you guys! even if I don't know you, but wow, what an amazing experience that must have been! and in every sense, not only because you had the chance to see your favorite band endless times but all the trip, the meetings, the sightseeings.. wow, I hope someday I get to do some trip as awesome as yours :beer:

that was a great read, so cool you had such an awesome time!

cool diary jarmo and vey cool to meet you... and all others :). see you again next year ;).

Well I hope all you guys return to Portugal one day. Youa re all very welcomed to my city (Lisbon) and I'm glad to know you liked it : ok:

What a good read... (I'm so jealous!) :P

That's one totally insane summer :yes:

Thanks for taking the time to review all that : ok: : ok:

What dodgergirl said.
Must have been a whale of a summer.  You well deserve it. :yes:


:hihi: I can just imagine how awkard the situation was.

More beer!



-International Consultant.

Alcoholic stalker, I thought that was fieldsy's job?  :hihi:



Just make sure the Greek isn't anywhere close when you drink them!




/jarmo

i suppose im emo stalker "sigh" (http://www.fusionlangaming.com/forum/images/smilies/stalker_trench.gif)

Of course. You can't drink on the job.

You have to update the board on what's happening with the opening acts. Remember last time you were drinking Guinness? What a mess....  Passing out before the show ended and blaming it on the phone's battery.... :no:



/jarmo

Thanks what an awesome experience!!

The Greek is everywhere...  :smoking:

ur lucky to have gone to all those shows. and that diary was really interesting. dude ur obbsessed with coffee!  :hihi:

Coffee, good!
Derby, bad!

 ;)


I've overcome my Ribena blackcurrant addiction now. Only because we don't have it in Sweden.? :hihi:




/jarmo

That is so amazing!

A summer I guarantee none of u will forget.


WOW going to all those shows, hanging out with people.... Id love to be able to do that here in the US.

That must be expensive as hell though.

THat was a awesome read, really great expierience you all had, and that so fuckng rocks, and also thanks for the great forum all these yrs!

Rock on!

:beer:

Then it was channel 4, show called pop-icon: on the road special, but they didn't even show any of the bands so nothing interesting.. :-\

(http://images.telkku.com/kuvat/pienet_ven/15029842.jpg)

I really enjoyed reading that - nice tour jarmo!  How fkn wicked - the places, the people, the band THE BAND!

it was nice meeting you briefly a couple of times around jolly old London - hope that there is another monster GnR Euro tour again soon for more of this.  I miss the live updates, the TD's, the funny stories, the marvellous recordings and photos - cant wait to hear all about the US bods and their experiences hopefully very soooon!

 :beer:

Yay!

Great read, Jarmo. Hell of a Summer, eh?

Niec hooking up with you guys in Oslo. And what an incredible show. On a musical level, the best of my three (Budapest, Roskilde and Oslo).

Cheers, mate. Talk to ya.

RF

I would argue with you about calling me an alcoholic stalker but I was too drunk to remember  ???

Yeah, and that was the weekend you were "moving".... ;)




/jarmo

great story jarmo!
glad you had an awesome summer!

now all i'd like to read is cyllan's tour diary ;D

Was this some sorta lame attempt by your G-Mods to drownd you so they can take over the top spot on the site?? :hihi:


Great read!!! Sounds like you had an amazing time.? You deserve it!!!? : ok:

Dude I can't believe you slagged off my home town to my face at Wembley!!

Seriously though awesome account of your travels and it was great hanging out with you guys at Hammersmith, Donnington and Wembley. I dont know if I can wear my HTGTH t-shirt out at gigs anymore though....people get stopping me and asking "Do you know Jarmo?". I can only take so much Jarmo worship? :hihi:


Another point- GNR fans are the best!

-Greg

Great review Mate! It was great to hook up with you and all the other guys at Hammersmith & Wembley! Take it easy! Look forward to catching up with you soon! I think it must be your round at the bar next time! Here's to an amazing European tour, a great American tour and obviously Chinese Democracy in 2006! Mike

A great read  :peace:

Excellent stuff Jarmo. :beer:

cool!!!!!...sounds fun as hell  ;D

When we was on the bus in Dublin one guy going to the show had befriended me and had sat next to me talking, Jarmo on a seat opposite me and the guy goes to me "so are you Jarmo then beacause i see your wearing the shirt" i had to explain that Jarmo was the guy opposite me without the HTGTH (and that in fact i was actually stalking him) i cannot for the life of me remember the comment he made about buckethead i just remember thinkin "are you actually a fan or not"

Really cool diary Jarmo. Very interesting.

I'd love to keep a journal of my trip like that one day. :)

You will...

...soon!  ;)

cyllan

yep Jarmo has a lot of fans out there.

I was slightly worried by the people who stopped me at the Wembley 30th gig asking about him though. I saw some people after the gig who had stopped me inside the venue to ask about him and they were like "so do you know Jarmo or not" and got all confrontational. I was like um Guns N' Roses just played a gig - do you want to talk about them. To which they replied "I bet you dont know Jarmo at all".

I think they say "Whatever" in the States.

Weird.

-Greg

That's just too funny!!!? :rofl:
People:? "so do you know Jarmo or not?"
Greg:? "not really ... but I can introduce you to Axl"
People:? "Axl who?? WE WANNA MEET JARMO!!!"? :rant:


It's pronounced "Whaa ev-va"? and you gotta have the 'tude and do the fingers thing as you say it!!!

(http://gypsysoul.lunarpages.com/what.jpg) (http://gypsysoul.lunarpages.com/evva.jpg)

You can't say we didn't try...  ;D

It's fucking Derby! 

I fell asleep on a bench by the bus station! Sitting!

:nervous:

At least you didn't admit to liking Bon Jovi.  ;D




/jarmo

Jarmo kick ass!! Dude you deserve a great summer with Guns N Roses for everything you do for all of us fans to come to your site! I'm glad you had a amazing time. I hope you have the chance to make it to the states to get to see some of the shows here. Thanks for taking the time to inform us all on how much you enjoyed the summer.

Great Read,sounds like a good time was had.Hopefully this fall i'll be seeing them again.now,i just need to remember the stage door is a good place.  :hihi:

Yeah, yeah I know - Derby sucks.? In my defence I was born in Nottingham. You just caught me off guard. Probably the funniest moment of my Eurotour experience though. Kudos to you man.

Cant be doing with Bon Jovi at all - poor Hollie though. I hope you apologise to her next time you see her for being so mean to her beloved Bon Jovi? :hihi:

-Greg

I guess she's still upset?

She paid to see them in concert!  :no:

 ;) :hihi:




/jarmo

I think more embarrassed than upset. Just because no one defended her (why would they??)

She is a fan though. I know she is registered here- being the Jarmo fan? she is? :hihi:- so will get her to defend herself next time I talk to her.

But I mean..........Bon Jovi.

-Greg

So, cyllan, I guess Axl really rubbed off on you cause obviously soon isn't the word with you either.? :hihi:

I just had a Download flashback. I remember going up to this wall where they had posted the schedule to check who was playing at the moment and how many bands were left before GN'R. 

There was a security guy there and he asked me who I was looking forward to. So I said GN'R and he was telling me they wouldn't be going on on time. He also asked me if I'm German and told me I should change my nationality to British....  :hihi:




/jarmo

wow, sounds like a perfect summer jarmo!  :beer:

glad you had such a great time, was good to read some of your notes from the shows i went to. esp the acoustic one  :hihi:  :hihi:

here's to 2007, gonna be a good year  : ok:

Good read fella, good read.

 : ok:

You are so cute Jarmo! Great read! : ok: I can't believe that I saw 2 GNR shows in NY in May and that I will seeing 2 more shows In las Vegas in 2 weeks and most likely a Chicago show in the fall!

looks like you have your own groupies now, Jarmo   :hihi:

HOLY Crap that was an awesome tour for you!!! thanks for sharing man and hopefully someday i will see you on the road.. i can't wait until the next shows!!!!

It was....

Unbelievable.



/jarmo

Nice read J, what a great run, 11 shows!! wow

Should'nt we start booking plane tickets and hotels around the us now??  :hihi:

I must say that this summer has been the best fuckin' sommer of my life, i only got to see six shows tho but still! ;D

I wish I could......



/jarmo

So Do i Just announce the Dates please management

Going somewhere? I thought you were fully booked with those Uk tours by BFMV and Avenged Sevenfold...

Did you calculate how much your phone bills cost thanks to the tour? All those text messages I sent ended up costing too....  It wasn't "just" tickets, plane tickets, buses, food, drinks, hotels.... :nervous:

 :hihi:


/jarmo

the places that costed me money were Hammersmith at ?15 Dublin at ?40 Download was about ?15 and Greece was ?40 the rest of the tour was free but losing my passport put up my phone bill another ?60 :no: not good

haha tell me about it, after every show i came out of the venue calling everyone i know just yapping at them , esp after the acoustic show, i called about 90% of my phone book contacts!

First Axl thinks you're a Belgiumian now this security guy thinks you're German.? :hihi:
Maybe you should get a tee with this printed on it:

(http://i6.ebayimg.com/04/i/06/0e/fb/27_1.JPG)

That's a good idea......  ;D


I just remembered that the Brazilian band, that played at Rock In Rio in Lisbon on the same day as GN'R, covered a song by Muse. In July I saw Muse opening for Depeche Mode in Stockholm. Then there was a band at Download, on the same day as GN'R, who played a Depeche Mode cover during their set....? ?:confused:



/jarmo

In the bottom right, that's me with Jarmo!  ;D


It was amazing at the preshow at hard rock in lisbon!!!!

I'll never forget that whole night  ;)

that was lacuna coil jarmo.

she is f*ucking fit!!

 :love:

You sober Belgian! Tricked me into drinking alcohol....  :no:


 ;D



/jarmo

Who is!?!   ???

In no way, shape or form was I sober that night hehehe

But I do remember everything!!! :hihi:

(http://www.futurestyle.org/archives/images/s/ScabbiaCristina.jpg)

She is  :drool:

i think i may of mentioned that before

They were the band i missed that i wanted to see so i was gutted