Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Hey all
Most of you don't know who I am because I don't post here much but I am a frequent flyer to keep up to date with things.  Anyway, after the negative vibes following the cancellation last night I thought I might share something with everyone.

I went to the Huntington, WV show last Friday and saw more than just a great show.  After the show, there was me and another woman waiting by the tour busses hoping to meet Axl.  I had met the band before the show minus Axl who went in through a side door just before they took the stage.  It was FUCKING FREEZING out.  At about 2:30 am an older woman (mid sixties?) pulled up in a red minivan and asked "Is that Axl Rose's bus?".  We told her that we thought it was and she explained that she was hoping to get a picture of him for her daughter.  Her daughter, who was a GnR fan, couldn't make the show because she was too weak from chemotherapy that day.  Here, the woman's daughter had battled cancer since infancy and was never expected to live past 3 years but is now in her forties.

Robin came out with a crew member and I thanked him for a great show.  The woman asked for his picture and the crew guy said "Why don't you give me the camera so I can take the picture of the both of you?".  The woman then explained her story and that she was there for he daughter and Robin asked "Is that your daughter in the van?" and the woman said yes.  Robin went around the barricade, into the street, and greeted the woman in her van which was parked by the curb with its flashers on.  They talked for a few minutes and then Robin boarded the bus. 

The crew guy with Robin spread the word to the other guys inside and next he escorted Dizzy out of the arena and straight to the van to greet the woman as well.  Dizzy boarded the bus after spending a few minutes talking to the woman and at about 3 am Axl came out of the arena with his bodyguard.  I waived and yelled his name to see if he would come over to us and he waived back and boarded the bus which was about 50 yards away.  "Shit!" I thought.  "I froze my ass off all day and it isn't going to happen!"  Then about 2 minutes later, Axl got off the bus and came over to us.  He greeted me and the other woman that were waiting and also went over to the van to greet the woman with cancer.  It was FUCKING FANTASTIC.  I was SO HAPPY to meet my favorite musician who I have been the biggest fan of since I was 10.  I got to tell you though how special it was to see those guys greet the woman in the van.

These guys went around the barricade and into the street to greet a minivan which was parked next to the frigid Ohio River in a small midwest town when it was 20 degrees out.  Anyone who says these guys don't care about their fans can GO FUCK THEMSELVES.  It was one of the most class act things I have ever seen.  It was just awesome on so many levels.  To meet Axl was unbelievable yes, but to see the guys do what they did - come around the barricade and stand in the street to meet a fan under those circumstances at 3 am.  Just awesome.  I thought it was the true definition of fan appreciation.

Thanks for reading.  Sorry this was so long but I thought you guys might enjoy it.  Just another couple of quick things about the experience:

1) Robin said that the show was one of the best the band has EVER played.  I exchanged e-mails with him the next day and said that I saw one of their best shows ever and that the entire band felt really good about it.

2)Axl said "Down on the Farm" was totally the band's idea and he did NOT reherse it.  He said it was totally off the cuff.

3)After Robin greeted the woman in the van her mother, who obviously had NO IDEA of who he was except that he was in one of the bands asked him "Are you in Papa's Roach?"  It was hilarious.  She didn't say "Papa Roach" but "Papa's Roach".  Robin threw his hands up in the air, clapped, and laughed his ass off.  So did I!  The woman started to laugh too.

Great story dude!  :peace:

Thanks for sharing!! :beer:

Ah, I should've been out there waiting, too.
You could definitely tell it was one of their best shows.

Thanks for posting! Good to see something posted that's not bickering.  :peace:

That's pretty fuckin' cool man :beer:

And I say you're right, to do something like that for the fans shows that you really care.

But I must say, I think you were pretty lucky that a women and her sick daugther was there, or else Axl wouldn't bother :hihi:

that is really cool. ?nice post Gunner2. ? :beer:

Great story man! Robin is such a nice person.. I wish I could meet him someday with my gf (she loves him too). :)

Great story - thanks for sharing!

Excellent story and a really nice thing for the guys to do. Must have been a great experience for you all ?:peace:

good story. nice to see a positive thread lately.

That is a fantastic story. ?I'm really glad that they did that for the woman's daughter. ?No doubt the band showed some class on that frigid night!

Great thread, thank you very much for posting it.

-PEACE-

Great story! Nice to hear something positive for a change ?:)

That was a great share, made the hair on my arms stand up!! Obviously made someone elses day alot more than we all know, God bless that lady, and to her mother for all of that, see miracles do happen and it sound like she has experienced two already, one by winning her sickness over by years, and two by meeting Axl Rose. 8)

This band is fucking awesome...what else is there to say? :)

 :crying: so cute :P

You're right about the thread title  :yes: this forum needs stories like this.

Nice to hear, thanx for posting.

it's such a shame stories like this will NEVER appear on tv news... like the other stupid story showing old footage.

War, death, famine, homeless, depression, recession......to quote Bill Hicks. That's what sells and that's what they care about. Sadly.

Coolest... fucking... thing... ever!

That was a very cool story!

Sounds like you had a great time & thanks for sharing some good news.

you never hear enough good news these days. But its out there.  :peace:

Great story. But sonofabitch.. I stood out there until 2:20am and gave up on waiting. Dammit! lol

Cool story, for sure. It is nice to hear something good today.

that was a good story...proves that guns to care about ppl!

thanks for sharing! : ok:

Thanks great story.  : ok:

Thankyou for that beautiful story! What a great MOM!!!!

Thank you for sharing...it's great to hear the good along with the bad for a change...

what a nice story, thanks for sharing :)

Great story man! Thanks for sharing it with us.

This is truly great...shows that this band is indeed very positiv, whatever people say

Awesome!!!!!!! thank you for sharing!!!!

it's really cool to hear stuff like this...especially since we rarely get to hear personal stories about the characters of the band.  really awesome stuff  : ok:

Very cool.. between that and my backstage pass, I feel like the band really appreciates the fans and wants them to have a good time.

This story is awesome! Great read, even greater that it happened and axl showed up too. NICE!

Unfortunatley Bad and Bitter and ANGRY stories travel faster than this kind.

awesome though. Being at the right place right time!

I always think about how cool it would be to meet Axl..
..but that was just amazing. Seriously, eye watering.
I am so happy to hear a story like that.. Axl and the band have big hearts.
Obviously Robin is a nice guy, and I've grown to know BBF as humble and caring.
THEY DO care about their fans.. and like you said, the negative ones can FUCK OFF.  :hihi:

Thanks for posting!

I really enjoyed reading that.  :) 

Thank you for taking the time to post something wonderful and positive.  :yes:

Cheers,
W.R.

Hello, to start, Axl did not know that the woman and her daughter were there and had not spoken with Robin, he went there on his own.

It is this type of pessimism or when posters are so sure, convinced even and go out of their way to post and convince others of their cynical views that don't have any reality or personal experience with Axl to base their comments on that if you actually knew him you would realize that they (like with this comment) and in most cases in general do not apply to him.

I think what polluxlm meant was that Axl wouldn't have gotten off the bus to meet the poster of this thread had the woman and her daughter not been there.

And what Beta is telling him is that Axl didn't know there was a woman and her daughter there when he walked over.  I don't see how this is not clear to you?

He got off the bus to greet to the 2 or 3 people who were standing out there? And there just *happened* to be a sick woman who, I guess, had a dying wish to meet him?

How come it seems like all the personal stories we're hearing about Axl over the past few months are nothing but incredibly sincere incidents?  But yet, everything we hear in the media is about how crazy Axl is?  How come the news never posts anything about how generous Axl is or how much he goes out of his way for his fans?  It would have been really easy for Axl to drop the GNR moniker and go off and form the Axl Rose band?  He would draw equally strong crowds doing all the same songs...but instead, he's keeping the GNR name alive all on his own.  How come that never accounts for anything?

The last I checked there were 7 other excellent musicians helping to keep this band alive.  And unfortunately, being nice isn't a news maker, although sometimes it should be.

Well, actually, the fact that he uses the GNR name is something the non-message board fans bitch about.

The reason why things like the incident in Huntington aren't reported is because a singer signing an autograph isn't exactly headline news.

The media doesn't report good news because it doesn't grab a person's attention. More people would care to know that Axl got into a fight with Tommy Hilfiger than if he signed an autograph after a show.

Obviously the media has basically become nothing more than a Reality Show (which are ironically scripted).  What ever is the most scandalous and outrageous is the most newsworthy.  I know it's a fault of the media outlets as well as the morons out there who tune to watch the latest Paris Hilton or Lindsey lohan news.  But this post is probably one of the best threads I've read in a long time.  And it wasn't "top secret" nor scandulous...I just don't think the media gives the general public enough credit.

And who Says That the band dont care for there fans??

From gunner2

Hey all
Most of you don't know who I am because I don't post here much but I am a frequent flyer to keep up to date with things. Anyway, after the negative vibes following the cancellation last night I thought I might share something with everyone.

I went to the Huntington, WV show last Friday and saw more than just a great show. After the show, there was me and another woman waiting by the tour busses hoping to meet Axl. I had met the band before the show minus Axl who went in through a side door just before they took the stage. It was FUCKING FREEZING out. At about 2:30 am an older woman (mid sixties?) pulled up in a red minivan and asked "Is that Axl Rose's bus?". We told her that we thought it was and she explained that she was hoping to get a picture of him for her daughter. Her daughter, who was a GnR fan, couldn't make the show because she was too weak from chemotherapy that day. Here, the woman's daughter had battled cancer since infancy and was never expected to live past 3 years but is now in her forties.

Robin came out with a crew member and I thanked him for a great show. The woman asked for his picture and the crew guy said "Why don't you give me the camera so I can take the picture of the both of you?". The woman then explained her story and that she was there for he daughter and Robin asked "Is that your daughter in the van?" and the woman said yes. Robin went around the barricade, into the street, and greeted the woman in her van which was parked by the curb with its flashers on. They talked for a few minutes and then Robin boarded the bus.

The crew guy with Robin spread the word to the other guys inside and next he escorted Dizzy out of the arena and straight to the van to greet the woman as well. Dizzy boarded the bus after spending a few minutes talking to the woman and at about 3 am Axl came out of the arena with his bodyguard. I waived and yelled his name to see if he would come over to us and he waived back and boarded the bus which was about 50 yards away. "Shit!" I thought. "I froze my ass off all day and it isn't going to happen!" Then about 2 minutes later, Axl got off the bus and came over to us. He greeted me and the other woman that were waiting and also went over to the van to greet the woman with cancer. It was FUCKING FANTASTIC. I was SO HAPPY to meet my favorite musician who I have been the biggest fan of since I was 10. I got to tell you though how special it was to see those guys greet the woman in the van.

These guys went around the barricade and into the street to greet a minivan which was parked next to the frigid Ohio River in a small midwest town when it was 20 degrees out. Anyone who says these guys don't care about their fans can GO FUCK THEMSELVES. It was one of the most class act things I have ever seen. It was just awesome on so many levels. To meet Axl was unbelievable yes, but to see the guys do what they did - come around the barricade and stand in the street to meet a fan under those circumstances at 3 am. Just awesome. I thought it was the true definition of fan appreciation.

Thanks for reading. Sorry this was so long but I thought you guys might enjoy it. Just another couple of quick things about the experience:

1) Robin said that the show was one of the best the band has EVER played. I exchanged e-mails with him the next day and said that I saw one of their best shows ever and that the entire band felt really good about it.

2)Axl said "Down on the Farm" was totally the band's idea and he did NOT reherse it. He said it was totally off the cuff.

3)After Robin greeted the woman in the van her mother, who obviously had NO IDEA of who he was except that he was in one of the bands asked him "Are you in Papa's Roach?" It was hilarious. She didn't say "Papa Roach" but "Papa's Roach". Robin threw his hands up in the air, clapped, and laughed his ass off. So did I! The woman started to laugh too.

That was a sweet story.

I'm pretty sure the person who was there (not the woman with the daughter, the person who posted that) posted this here intially, but thanks for bringing it to attention again, these things really do have a threat of being overlooked and unacknowledged. And hey, I tell you what, a shitload better than the same post everyday about show cancellations or low ticket sales or other negative unjustified bitching (note unjustified, because people do have a right to comment as long as it is within reason)

it's a great story, but already posted:
http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/board/index.php?topic=38777.0

errr. thats a copy paste from the post on this site ...

and too make things worse, they'll scalp message boards like this too fill in the spaces.

That was an amazing story literally brought tears to my eyes. This absolutely proves these guys really do care. Its great to see them go out of there way to do this.

Yep.

But still, was a heart-warming story. Some days you just gotta know when to put your Guns down...  : ok:

Thanks for sharing real feelings, cause that was amazing , and very nice to read

Thank you very much for sharing this with us.

i really enjoyed reading that - apart from some of it being spoiled by certain comments.  Great that the sick girl was able to meet GnR - I hope that gave her a huge lift as am sure it did.  It's great that Axl is obviously enjoying meeting fans on this tour.  The whole band are coming across really well, very personable - and yes, the media wont give a damn unless there is SENSATIONAL news to report.  Look how GnR have always been portrayed, the media leopards are unlikely to change their spots now... fk them.
thanks for sharing that story   :peace:

hhahha robin from papa's roach :D thaks that was a nice story :)

Hi all
Yeah, I posted this story - MY STORY - here first.  Blabbermouth is the king of all negativity and I would definatly want to share it all with you guys here first.  Thanks for reading!

Hi again

First of all, I shared this story with you guys here in this board under this thread - not on Blabbermouth.? That site is the KING of all negativity and the fact that someone else on that board poached my story is pretty ridiculous.? People are unbelieveable.

Also, I don't know FOR SURE if Axl knew the woman in the van was out there.? I guess there isn't any way to know for sure.? It could be true that he was just comming over to greet some fans like myself.? Reguardless, he still went out of his way to greet her in freezing temperatures in the middle of the street.? The heart of the story is still the same.? Maybe I shouldn't have speculated that he knew she was there like I did in my original post but please realize that I wasn't trying to make things up or start any kind of gossip.? The way things unfolded just made it seem that way.? Everything else that I wrote was what I saw first hand.? This truly was a great scene to witness.

Thanks for reading.? Take care everyone.

yeah my bad, it got lost in all the posts!

? :hihi:? It's a bit hard for the media to witness something like this.? If they were standing there with cameras, they'd get tossed out on their butts long before ever getting a shot.? And they can't quote anonymous sources on a message board.? Hell, I wasn't even convinced it was true until Beta confirmed it, a lot of shit gets made up on the boards.? And when was the last time they ever confirmed ANYTHING to the media?? But getting into a fight with a security guard or a fashion designer in a public building is pretty friggin' provable.? Of course they'll cover that, they know it's true!? If Axl did something cool like walk through the crowd on his way into the venue, saying hi to fans, betcha that would be covered in a flash.? Donating to charities, sending gifts to the disadvantaged, playing good samaritan on the road... I'm sure all that stuff would be news if the media knew about it.?

Very impressive mate! I enjoyed reading that! Mike

An outbreak of positivity and love for the band is what this board needs! Great post!  : ok:

It looks like he gives you credit for the story

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=61771

SO FUCK EVERYONE WHO SAYS THAT GN'R DOESN'T CARE ABOUT ITS FANS!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL GUYS!

Thanks for reposting. I missed it the first time through... and it's a beautiful story. Well done GN'R. : ok:

that is Guns N' Roses.....

My buddy (Tomi) died a couple weeks ago from cancer. He'd been a pretty big fan of GN'R and was hoping he'd be around to see them in Vancouver some time. He was a musician, and I remember one day he belted out "You're Crazy" almost perfectly to the note. Was awesome, and was a great guy! We're celebrating his life on Decebmer 6th at the Calgary show.

a.

Sorry. Cool to hear he was a big fan.

What a great read !!! Hats off to the band    :love:

Thanks for sharing. impressive.

I feel sorry about the fellow fan suffering from cancer from her childhood and for her mum.
I wish them well.
the greetings from Robin Dizzy and Axl in person must have heartened them up.


my condolences to your friend, a.

yea thats sweet. cheers for posting dude.
i'm sure there are countless stories like this that never get aired - but i also know that it isnt just gnr that have a charitable side.
still, its nice to hear at least one of these reports every now and again to remind us there are people behind the star-power.

WOW!! This makes me happy! Screw all the cynical assholes!

they are people.
what did you expect ? robin spitting at the woman?

it always amaze when people are so amazed when people are nice.
being nice is an normal thing.

cool story tho ;)

that is a great story. we sometimes forget they these guys are human and have feelings and families like we do. This makes me respect them even more. : ok:

What a fucking cool story man! I was at the same show and it was an incredible show, and it's wonderful for the guys in the band to come out appreciate their fans even in the smaller towns. Kinda makes me wish I would have waited around out back.  : ok:

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's not get overly dramatic here. In case you didn't notice the smiley face, I put that there for a reason. It's not slamming Axl, it's making a joke about how he normally isn't the type of guy that greets alot of fans after a show. If that is false, please accept my apologies, but it is common perception and I don't see anything wrong in having a laugh about that.

That was a very nice gesture from the band.  I love storys like that.  Way to go GNR.   : ok:

Very nice story.  I'm glad to hear that girl got her wish!