I'm an Aussie living here in Japan. I'll be at the one of the Tokyo shows and the Nagoya gig, so I will supply you guys with updates...
Anyway, I've got a story that you might be interested in...
A couple of days ago, I called my brother to find out how the first Melbourne concert went and the first words he said was "have I got a fucking story to tell you..."
He said the concert kick arse to the highest degree, telling me how Axl was in top form and had the crowd in the palm of his hand and how much the new band kicked arse.
But, I knew his story was far from over... As I could tell from his voice that he had managed to do something unbelievable...
Then he dropped it on me... The lucky bastard somehow got his way into the after-party... He ended up hanging out with a heap of band members.
He said the guys were all really cool and super-friendly, sharing jokes and having a great time...
Robin spoke about his love of Australia and briefly talked about his last tour of Australia with NIN for the Big Day Out. My brother mentioned how cool his new look was, which Robin really seemed to enjoy hearing. He actually rolled his eyes the moment my brother mentioned his old half shaven head style.
He said Bumblefoot was a really down-to-earth, geniune, nice guy. He mentioned how he absolutely loves touring and meeting up with the fans...
He only briefly spoke to Richard, talking a bit about his guitar playing and Richard mentioed how great the crowds have been in Australia so far...
But, the highlight of his night was meeting Dizzy... He said the guy was super-cool... Dizzy actually came up and started speaking to my brother by asking for his name... My brother was really impressed with Dizzy's Angie solo telling Dizzy that he's now seriously thinking about taking up the piano after hearing the sound he was able to create... Anyway, Dizzy said something to the tune of "You won't believe how much that means to hear someone say that..." He then noticed that my brother didn't have a drink in his hand so he went to get one for him... However, before he could come back with the drink some others had approached him for a chat, signatures etc...
About an hour later Dizzy came back apologising, still remembering my brother's name, which impressed the hell out of him... They then spoke about the last infamous tour of Australia, when GNR played at Calder Park, just outside of Melbourne and Dizzy's website.
Unfortunately, he didn't get to meet Axl, who was his and my childhood hero growing up. Axl, Baz etc were in the next room but it was protected by security guards and you could apparently only get in accompanied by a band member. However, he said wouldn't have known what to say to the great man, even if he had met him...
I can?t wait for them to come to Japan and hopeful get the chance to meet them also?
Below are some pics... Sorry about the small sizes and crappy quality...