Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Wow, ok bare with me, this is going to be a while. I want to write this out so I dont forget it years later and hopefully this can provide some value to you guys and insight to this band, and what a fucking band it is!

Ok going back about 6 months ago, I remember driving 60 k an hour in blacktown, sydney whilst surfing the net on my iphone to find out what tickets I can buy that will get me in the G.A section in sydney and adelaide. Fun times, stressing that it might sell out, I was browsing htgth/mygnr simultaneously whilst trying to keep the car on the highway haha.
TORTURE
Before the meet and greet, Bumble decided to hold a torture exhibition competition for 2 tickets and 2 backstage passes to sydney (yes im Pi sstaker  :hihi: )
(http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-ak-snc4/hs458.snc4/50104_100001880215052_5428487_n.jpg)

Unfortunately I didn't win, but I made an ass out of myself, and I think I took the piss out of bumblefoot (hehe). Shacklers revenge is a fucking bitch to sing backwards, trust me :P
fast forward to...
Meet and Greet
Fast forward to  a week or so ago, I decided to drive out to Mona Vale (northern beaches 1 1/2 hour from sydney) for the meet and greet with the band. I thought, fuck it, this will be my only chance to meet these guys, why not do it, it was only an hour away so couldn't resist.

I got there about 3:30 pm and waited in line. Talked to a few people from the forums, all up there would of been roughly a 200 turn out. Which was good for the fans cause we could spend more time with the guys, but a bigger turn out would of happened if it was in a sydney store, as mona vale was on the northern beaches. 

Anyways, waiting in line for about half an hour, I bet up with another forum member from mygnr, he just flew in from the gnr show up in townsville, and caught a taxi straight to monovale from the airport (a quiet expensive cab fair, but it just goes to show you the real dedication and the quality of gunners fans Australia has).
In I walked and saw bumblefoot going down the stairs to greet the fans that were in wheel chairs and spend  some time with them.

When my time came, with Bumble/dizzy/dj sitting on the table, I said hi to all of them and walked straight up to bumble and shook his hand and said 'this fucking pepper turkey is just so fucking great' haha, he got a big kick out of, us aussies love taking the piss after all.
All  3 guys were so cool, signing everything you would throw at them, I was one of the only ones that got the billy hyde poster signed with their names on it (unfortunately though djs name wasn't on it, I hope someone got fired for that shit :P )
I just really want to highlight how all 3 of the band members, dj and bumble especially were so talkative, cool and down to earth. If any of you guys get a chance at meeting anyone from this band, grab the opportunity with both hands!.

Fast forward to Sydney v8s (the very next day),

I got to the v8s at 8:30 in the morning, had a few beers already (vbs nonetheless) and started to lineup at the g.a side of the stadium. Probably about 10 people there at that time. Once again met more forumers in the lineup, and a real cool couple that came all the way up from tasmania just for the show (once again thats australian gnr fans for you :) ).
Fast forward 7 1/2 hours and they finally opened the gay.
the 2 openers weren't that good, spiderbait being the better out of the 2.
Then GnR went on about half an hour after Spiderbaits looong drawn out set. The lights went down and the intro started.
Wow , what a fucking atmosphere the second that happened. The stadium would of been about 70-80% full (not including the section behind the staged that anz had blocked off anyway)
Chinese was awesome, I was on the baracade just right of the stage. Wow the sound was fucking incredible, Axls voice very high up in the mix and all 3 guitars were crisp. Soooooo (x10) much better than the 07 shows I went to. In both terms of Axls voice/sound clarity.

Better and this i love were the highlight for sure, and definately bumbles solo. Dj was definately the crowd pleaser with his onstage antics that got the crowd pumped, and fortus really shook (not stirred ;)) that 007 solo.

The entire show was just non stop in your face energy, Axl seemed to be really in a happy mood and talked quiet a bit early on in the concert.
Another highlight for me was madagascar. You can just imagine the atmosphere and the camera flashes going off whilst that song played in huge stadium. Axls screams in it were better than any other boot ive heard, even better than the album.
I couldn't believe how fucking good he is compared to 07, hes voice control and strength is second to none. I had people to my left that were at the infamous eastern creek 17 years ago, that said to me during the show, Axl sounds so much better now than back then, and trust me, there is no denying it.

Kicked into paradise, and I saw Fernando walking the other side of the baracade. I called out to him and talked to him for a few seconds. Can I just stop here and say how fucking cool this guy is. To talk to a fan during the middle of a song,  and just shoot the shit was really cool. Cheers for that man :)

Fast forward a bit, I went backstage with a forumer from mygnr, and met up with Bumble. He was once again, cool and down to earth backstage. Just shooting the shit, totally relaxed and making sure everyone backstage was being looked after. After a 2 hour show, he was there being hospitable to everyone, how does this guy do it? Fuck pink panther, this guy should do a solo for the energizer bunny. This guy is just way too accommodating for fans (in a good way of course :) . I read online from the last 4 years how cool he is, and I dont want to just come across as a 'fanboy' but I just want to say this guy would give you the shirt off his back and a drink to boot. If mother Teresa could play guitar, than her name would be Bumblefoot. Im serious, this guy is just a class fucking act through and through, and a band member that Guns N Roses are just so fortunate to have.
I met up with the winner of the bumblefoot competition (the soup nazi guy) totally cool guy as well. If I can recall, he drove 6-7 hours from his hometown to be there.
After a few minutes, bumble took us to another area of the stadium, where Dj/tommy/pitman/dizzy/richard/bumble were. I found out Frank had hurt his leg in the sydney show so couldn't get to meet him. (Hopefully hes all good now).
Anyways, after just chilling out with the band members , bumble invited us back to a club in the city.
Cut a long story short, I was wearing shorts and this club is one of the ritziest ones in the city, so no chance in hell was I getting in (sorry bumble, I tried everything, front door weren't barging).

I just want to thank everyone in the sydney show, del/fernando/vanessa/bumble/dj/richard/tommy/chris/frank/axl/dizzy/beta, everyone! Easily the best night of my life,and you are all to thank for it. Everyone should know (if they dont already) that all these people really are a close knit family. All of them are cool with the fans, and after a 2 hour show, they all still are friendly, accommodating and giving to the fans. The world should know this, and thats why I went into some depth to illustrate it. Sure, I loved this band before, but wow, after Sydney show, I just have a new found respect and admiration for each and everyone in the gnr band and the gnr family.

I was the only 1 out of 2 people that got the setlist to this epic fucking show. Nice little keepsake :)
'Undercover brother down under'

Roll on Adelaide

Big thank you to a guy from mygnr (you know who you are) for hooking me up with accommodation down in Adelaide. You made it possible for me to go down there, as I was short on funds at the time, I will never forget it.

Flew down to Adelaide monday night, and grabbed a few crownies and just chilled back at the motel. The next day (tuesday) day of the concert, caught a tram (first time in my life) to the arena. Not many people there, once again ,I met up with father and son that went to the sydney and townsville shows. Cool guys, shouted me some drinks and lunch etc.
Met more forumers in the lineup, and we were sitting watching some nice HD footage of the sydney show on his laptop whilst we were waiting. Cool experience, and about a few hours before the concert, we were making signs.
I made the 'feed us some twat' sign, but to the setlist, no avail :P

Show kicked off in adelaide, and the band were on fire again. Sound quality superb (Just under the sydney show). We constantly did a bumblefoot chant which he loved :) , and I saw Frank had to use crutches right up to the point of sitting in the drum kit. The injured soldier of the Australian tour. Frank had to have medical attention after both shows in sydney and adelaide, so it just goes to show how dedicated the guy is. He played the drums faultless in Adelaide, and you would never of known he was carrying an injury. A true trooper.
Thanks bumble for throwing your guitar pick right at me, appreciate it :)

Went backstage again in Adelaide, a few more people back there than sydney ( sydney backstage had about 10 people which was really fuckin cool) and the band and everyone was awesome once again back there. MOTHEGOOSE MOTHERFUCKIN PITMAN! big shout out to this guy, he came in and hes very fuckin outgoing and a funny bastard in general. I talked to him about a few things and hes just so fuckin funny. The way he describes some things, just a cool motherfuckin mothergoose :)

Backstage, I witnessed Bumble turning a bowl of water into fruit , that was cool ;) and he even turned a tub of water into food for stinston, this guy really is a guitar 'god' .

All  in all, not only have I had the best day/nights in my life, but the people from the forums you meet along the way are really cool. GnR have the best fans in the world, and we, the fans, have the best band in the world. These guys aren't just your 'rock stars' they are really just 1 big happy family.

Thank you to everyone for the experiences that I was privelleged to share with you all, from the people off the forums, to the people backstage, to the band, to the gnr family.
Im glad I got to experience what I did, and I will never forget it as long as I live.

and bumblefoot, you pepper turkey eating mofo, Thank YOU !!!
I speak on behalf of all the gnr fans, that we appreciate every second that you give part of yourself, to us. It doesn't go unnoticed, and the amount of time you spend with everyone is just unfathomable.
Bumblefoot spent 2 hours playing guitar out the front of his motel in adelaide, and this is after a 2 hour show (unfortunately for me , I wasn't there).
Who does that? seriously, this guy is just a fucking champion in every  aspect of the word, and Ron I appreciated everything, and I can only express it by saying

"what this means to me is more than I know you believe"

and
Vanessa, I hope you cherish my boxing kangaroo :).


P.S if you guys wanna thank gnr, I setup a twitter just for the fans to further show their appreciation to this great fucking band and family

www.twitter.com/thankyougnr

if you guys follow, ill retweet as many messages of support from you to the band.



Thank you! GnR

-Ryan, aka piss taker aka gunns :)

I echo all of the senitments you expressed, and I'm so happy for you. You sound exactly like I do after having an amazing time meeting forum members and seeing GN'R.

I've had some hard times in my life, and Guns N' Roses are my inspiration, don't know where I'd be without Axl and the guys. We are the best fans, and are lucky to have such a Inspirational band. I love fans like you, who you can really tell loves GN'R.

I have also met some cool people along the way, they know who they are. I have never come across a community like ours. Such a special group of people, and I think the band knows how much the hardcore fans care for them.

Really nice right up, you've made my day.

I'm sure alot of people on this forum will also echo your sentiments.  ;)

Here's to Guns N' Roses.  :love:

 :beer:

ditto too that,here's too many years of loyal love to a band and forum's !
love all of you '
band n fans alike we live n learn everyday '
thank -you axl for the guts to keep saying what you feel,love it more then ever.be yourself and love thy self cause us fans are out here for you ! ! ! ! !

Thanks for sharing such a great experience gunns1, it is good to be a gunner fan isn't it?  For those of us who have not been able to attend, it is still so nice to be able to read such exciting reviews from our fellow forum members, along with great photo's and videos.  We are also so lucky to have this great  technology today and to be able to see and hear so much from the very comforts of our own home, it is worth its weight in gold.  I appreciate it all and really "Thank You" ;)

I think you hit the nail on the head.  I've also mentioned Axl's voice elsewhere but he is just one.  It realy seemed like a band this time, not just a  team going through the motions.  It seems what you experienced backstaged reflects this.

I have no idea what's happening with the next album but I hope, if these guys didn't record it themselves (aka the recordings are from a few years back), there is more to come.  I truly believe that if this band stays together they will become even bigger...much bigger.

I'm still in awe of what I witnessed, it really was unexpected!!

yeah, it was a great time all 'round. Unfortunately I didn't get to meet Frank , cause of his injury, but it still was an awesome fucking tour.

If any of you guys out there have the opportunity to see this band and you pass it up, trust me you will regret it!

72 Shows in 2010, 76 Total from 12/2009. Just an amazing year from the band. Can't Wait for a US Tour ! Hoping There Was A Time becomes a regular  :peace:

Great guys and Bumblefoot is the man  : ok: