"Next Album" rumor / speculation thread *UPDATE AUG 22/2023*

[jarmo]

IF those smaller gigs are actually making money. You're dropping REVENUE, but is it enough to cover total costs? That's my hypothesis...that you might actually "lose" less money (and, in fact, turn more profit) by paying the labor and board costs, and not the rest of it, for the smaller market shows.  I have no idea if it's accurate or not.....just spit balling.

If you're mixing small venues with bigger places such as arenas, you don't need to bring all the gear to the smaller places. Obviously you need less local crew there.

But it doesn't change the fact that it "worked", right?  Which goes to the "just because you CAN do more shows in the US, because stuff is closer together, and the infrastructure is better in places, doesn't mean you SHOULD" thing.  If they could make money doing 2 or 3 shows a week in South America....I think they might be able to do the same in the US.

Well if you could do the whole South American tour in less time, obviously you would.... Rarely does it make sense to make a tour longer just for the sake of making it longer.

I suspected as much.....so there's a good answer on the stage.  I still wonder about cannibalization (ie: pulling people from one show to another, regionally)....I think that's their biggest hurdle. 

And if you CHANGE the type of show you do (arena vs small venue) you're doing...you also might get more "double dippers"...folks that would go see the arena show and then want to see the theater show, too. IDK...it would depend on how "different" they could make it.

Well the shows are different. You get all the bells and whistles in the bigger places, in the smaller clubs you get a more intimate setting. For hardcore fans, that's a great bonus to be able to see their favorite band that close.

Another example, and a more recent one, is NYC in 2013. Big festival gig preceded by small club show.



/jarmo

[JAEBALL]

I guess what I would like to know is... what is a "legitimate U.S. tour"  in Axl's mind...

[sky dog]

what kind of question is that? The guy has been in the music business for 30 years...played everything from dive bars to huge stadiums worldwide. 

A tour is a tour....

[JAEBALL]

what kind of question is that? The guy has been in the music business for 30 years...played everything from dive bars to huge stadiums worldwide. 

A tour is a tour....

Those were Axl's words... he is the one who said exactly "we still have not done what I consider a legitimate U.S. tour [with the current lineup]"

So I am just curious to what is a legitimate US tour

[sofine11]

I guess what I would like to know is... what is a "legitimate U.S. tour"  in Axl's mind...

I could be wrong, but wasn't the 2011 fall tour in the U.S. part of the fallout from the Azoff lawsuit?  Maybe that's why Axl doesn't really recognize it as a "legitimate tour" and possibly was something he was more or less bullied into to settle things with Azoff.

[D-GenerationX]

what kind of question is that? The guy has been in the music business for 30 years...played everything from dive bars to huge stadiums worldwide. 

A tour is a tour....

Those were Axl's words... he is the one who said exactly "we still have not done what I consider a legitimate U.S. tour [with the current lineup]"

So I am just curious to what is a legitimate US tour

I agree with him.

I would say a legitimate U.S. tour needs 4 things :

- New album and setlist.  If the first 4 songs of the next tour are CD, WTTJ, ISE, MRB...then you're doing it wrong.

- It needs to be the American leg of the <insert new album here> world tour.  No more "appetite" or "democracy" in the titles.  Enough with that already.

- An actual nationwide tour in comparable venues.  In other words, a Las Vegas residency for 2 weeks, some random show in PA, and some festival in Ohio...that's not a legit tour.  A legit tour is hitting spots all over the country of similar size and capacity.

- Actual advertising.  We should all be able to post stuff from our local papers about this.  Not simply have it announced through a fan message board and, hey, whoever shows up, shows up.  Show you are doing this for real.

I am a whiny entitled fan, and I approved this message.

[JAEBALL]

Well what they did last year with vegas and Bethlehem etc was obviously not a US tour... and I am assuming he doesn't consider the UPAC run a legit tour either...


and yeah all those things DX just listed works with me ... maybe Axl agrees 

[sofine11]

I agree that a *successful* U.S. tour needs to come on the heals of the next album, that is, so a proper tour can follow.  Hitting the states finally in late 2011 in support of Chinese was more than a bit late in the game, and I'm sure even Axl knows that, which is probably why he made that comment about wanting to do a "legitimate" U.S. tour. 

[jarmo]

I could be wrong, but wasn't the 2011 fall tour in the U.S. part of the fallout from the Azoff lawsuit?  Maybe that's why Axl doesn't really recognize it as a "legitimate tour" and possibly was something he was more or less bullied into to settle things with Azoff.

Yeah. I guess it would be something that was done on his terms rather than somebody else's.




/jarmo

[sofine11]

I could be wrong, but wasn't the 2011 fall tour in the U.S. part of the fallout from the Azoff lawsuit?  Maybe that's why Axl doesn't really recognize it as a "legitimate tour" and possibly was something he was more or less bullied into to settle things with Azoff.

Yeah. I guess it would be something that was done on his terms rather than somebody else's.




/jarmo

I'll say this, bullied or not, those were some of the best shows Axl's ever done.  That was the tour that they were doing 3 plus hour shows, re-introduced Estranged & Civil War to the set list, and were fairly on time getting to the stage. 

[D-GenerationX]

Well what they did last year with vegas and Bethlehem etc was obviously not a US tour... and I am assuming he doesn't consider the UPAC run a legit tour either...

The Big Chief here did.  I wouldn't try running that up the flagpole.

[jarmo]

The 2012 Up Close And Personal tour, I'd call a tour. It's not a residency, it's not only a few shows here and there. They played nationwide for about a month.
But compare it to 2011 and then you'll see the differences. 2011 was in bigger venues, more markets and longer. 2012 was more focused on the East Coast.

If it makes you happier, call it an East Coast tour then. 

The above poster acts like there's only black and white.





/jarmo

[D-GenerationX]

I'll say this, bullied or not, those were some of the best shows Axl's ever done.  That was the tour that they were doing 3 plus hour shows, re-introduced Estranged & Civil War to the set list, and were fairly on time getting to the stage. 

My show from that time period was a good show, a long show...but they also took the stage at 11:15.

Thank Christ it was Saturday.

[sofine11]

I'll say this, bullied or not, those were some of the best shows Axl's ever done.  That was the tour that they were doing 3 plus hour shows, re-introduced Estranged & Civil War to the set list, and were fairly on time getting to the stage. 

My show from that time period was a good show, a long show...but they also took the stage at 11:15.

Thank Christ it was Saturday.

Yeah, you lucked out there.  I saw them during both the '11 arena tour and the UCAP tour, and both fell on weekdays.  I think they took the stage around 10 at the Allstate Arena, but during the UCAP show at the HOB they didn't hit the stage until after 11:30, and it was standing room only.  I told my wife she won the 'wife of the year award' for sticking it out with me that night. 

[JAEBALL]

The 2012 Up Close And Personal tour, I'd call a tour. It's not a residency, it's not only a few shows here and there. They played nationwide for about a month.
But compare it to 2011 and then you'll see the differences. 2011 was in bigger venues, more markets and longer. 2012 was more focused on the East Coast.

If it makes you happier, call it an East Coast tour then. 

The above poster acts like there's only black and white.





/jarmo

I don't have an issue with anything here... but Axl obviously does not consider that a proper tour... because his interview was after the UCAP... so that's all we need to know I guess

[raindogs70]

Steely Dan is playing Coachella and added dates in theaters and amphitheaters around LA, Santa Barbara and Vegas. GNR's one of the few bands that never play outdoor amphitheaters, I always assumed  there's curfews at those venues.

[pilferk]

I will say this:

There is something sorta magical about PLANNED late night gigs, in intimate venues, with GnR.  The Roseland, for example. It's just....something ethereal..something magical...something special.

I get the objections to late stage times when they're not advertised, on a weeknight, in an arena.  Especially when/if you're depending on public transportation, or whatever.  

[sofine11]

Steely Dan is playing Coachella and added dates in theaters and amphitheaters around LA, Santa Barbara and Vegas. GNR's one of the few bands that never play outdoor amphitheaters, I always assumed  there's curfews at those venues.

I would LOVE to see the current lineup tour outdoor venues this summer in support of the next album, which is something they've yet to do, outside of the big festivals.  But you're right, I wonder if the curfew restrictions are harsher for those venues, which is why we haven't seen that.

[sky dog]

I can't stand shed tours.....

[jarmo]

GNR's one of the few bands that never play outdoor amphitheaters, I always assumed  there's curfews at those venues.

GN'R did in 2013 in Lubbock, TX.
GN'R hasn't really toured the USA in the season for outdoor shows. November-December in 2011, February-March in 2012....

Actually the Dallas show in 2011 was at an amphitheater.



/jarmo