So, Anyone else Puzzled By Some of These Venues and Dates GNR are Playing At?

[EFISH]

Seriously.  Bakersfield and Fresno?  And Estero, Florida? 

I know GN'R didn't sell out in 2002, but L.A. is a big market, and the big markets sold out....

Yeah Estero Florida is pretty random. I live 2 hours away and I've never even heard about that city before  but its still pretty cool though, and its a small arena.. so its all good! 

[Bono]

Seriously.? Bakersfield and Fresno?? And Estero, Florida??

I know GN'R didn't sell out in 2002, but L.A. is a big market, and the big markets sold out....

I don't get why anyoen is bummed about this. Imagine being at these shows. the smaller venues are awesome. I'm sure the Staples Center will get a show down the road. Would you guys be bummed out if they decided to play the Cathouse or the Troubador?

[Layne Staley's Sunglasses]

Yes!    Then NONE of us would see the show! 

But seriously, I'm happy to see them in an intimate setting, but it's been a dream of mine to see them at Staples.

[kbt24]

I can answer the question and its easy. Insurance. Some of the bigger venues may not want to chance Axl not showing up and their place getting trashed. That is why tix are soo ?high, because we are paying gnrs insurance tag for the venue.? I think its smart tho. Its much better for gnr to sell out a 6-10lk venue than to only sell 12k at a 20k vengue. It just looks better on paper.

I go with the insurance idea too.

It will be awesome to see them in a small venue!!!

[Neemo]

yeah kinda sucks they are playing toronto on a wednesday....and if the show is at all like other other gigs so far it won't be done until 1:00am or so...kinda blows if i cant get the next day off

[comaknight]

Small venues are great.  Big venues too.  Being in NY, I would love to see a show at Nassau Colisseum if they do a 2nd leg of the US tour.  More intimate, the crowd is very grateful for the band coming to a more out of the way place, lots of energy and fun.

[axlrosegnr]

Maybe thats why Minneapolis may get skipped this time around. ?There really isnt any midsized venue that I am aware of. ?Its either two larger arenas or smaller type theatres, nothing really that would be in the 6000-10,000 range.

True, but they could easily do a half house setup at the Target Center.....Thats what they did at the Fargodome in 2002

[NickNasty]

fact is though that major venue is a subjective thing

let us take worcester for example

when VH did their biref-reuinion tour in 2004, they did Worcester over the Garden, even though they probably could have sold it out...it probably comes down to what the promoter feels is most cost-effective and what fits in with the tour schedule. if they can get a better deal out of playing the DCU and the DCU is more flexible with booking, since it doesnt have major sports teams, then thats where you go. i imagine this applies other places too.

[tsoky2003]

How many does the nashville venue hold

[EFISH]

How many does the nashville venue hold

not sure but i know that its prety big

[tsoky2003]

Been told around 18,000 not sure

[damnthehaters]

Smaller venues 

Bakersfield might be the smallest place on the tour.  I've checked into some of the other places and they seat anywhere from 12,000 to 24,000.  I'm going to be going to the concert here in Portland at the Rose Garden and that seats about 16,000.  I think these are actually too big for GNR, without a single, announcment, cd, etc.  This is why I think something will happen before they start the US tour.  This way, they will have a better chance of filling these places.

Think about it guys.  Axl said the CD would be out this year.  If this is true, we have to be getting something soon. 

[veritas55]

well, some of the reason for the unconventional venues has to with competing uses -- a lot of the arenas have sports events/other events scheduled, so sometimes you chose a different venue to route the tour in a sensible way.   In any event, I think it's BETTER for them to play smaller gigs, get increased PR from sold out shows and build up a demand, rather than the bad press of playing a half-empty arena.

[Ax]

I think it's smart to play the smaller venues because let's face facts, Gn'R right now can't sell out 20,000-30,000 seat stadiums accept in a few cities. The only thing that kind of seems odd about the bookings is some of the cities they are playing. I would have thought that they would have just played smaller venues in big cities and not small venues in small cities.

Oh well, not to worry. I'm sure if CD comes out and does well, then we will see shows at all the big arenas in big cities next year. ?

[Krispy Kreme]

Two  comments:
1. VR started the same way: play small venues and build to larger (though they never did the arena/stadium rock thing in the US, thank God. I saw them in 04 in a place that holds 800, max. The festivals were  bad enough in Europe, but all that came later.
2. Here is Big D (which is not on the tour list so far) we have an 18,000 seat venue where the Mavs play, and then some really great, but small venues that seat around 1000. So we have the worst  of both worlds: too big and too small. We need a really great 2-3,000 seat venue with killer acoustics.

[holtzmn73]

Maybe thats why Minneapolis may get skipped this time around.  There really isnt any midsized venue that I am aware of.  Its either two larger arenas or smaller type theatres, nothing really that would be in the 6000-10,000 range.

Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St Paul would be perfect for this band, holds just under 6,000. Northrup Auditorium on the U of M campus also holds just under 5000 but its seated.

[jaypayton]

Its not 1992 anymore.....fact is axl cant sell out stadiums by himself headlining..if he regrouped with the original lineup than he can but as far as america is concerned its the axl rose solo project....he has to prove himself all over again...

[Chief]

one reason i think they might be playing on a sunday and tuesday in LA is its cheaper to rent the place and also it fits better with the overall tour schedule.

[dallasgel]

I don't think it has as much to do with insurance as it does with the Promoters covering their asses.  The last tour got cancelled b/c of Axl's inpredictability and low ticket sales.  Most big artists demand large upfront payments from promoters to play shows in big venues(and I'm sure, given Axl's ego this happened on the last tour) and quite frankly without releasing any new material for years and having a largely anonymous band playing the songs, the demand wasn't high enough to allow the promoters to make anything off of the tour.

[Hatts]

Do you guys think they are done announcing shows?



Thanks,
Hatts