General "Not In This Lifetime... Tour" thread *1st POST UPDATE NOV 30*

[HBK]

Guns N? Roses founding members return to ?Jungle? after nearly two decades apart
Guns N? Roses return to the stage in an Axl Rose/Slash/Duff McKagan reunion

Like the Eagles? Hell Freezes Over, the title of Guns N? Roses? Never In This Lifetime Tour ? which launches Thursday at Detroit?s Ford Field ? is tongue in cheek, but still based in fact. It wasn?t long ago, less than two years even, that having group co-founders Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan together again seemed unimaginable. After a blast of success that saw the hard rock troupe sell nearly 100 million albums worldwide between 1987-?93 ? including more than 30 million copies of its debut, ?Appetite For Destruction? ? frontman Rose acrimoniously wrested guiding control, leading guitarist Slash to quit in 1996 and McKagan to depart the following year. The interim was marked by harsh words and legal machinations. Slash and McKagan said their piece in respective memoirs. Rose kept GNR going with a different group of musicians, releasing an album, ?Chinese Democracy,? in 2008. The group?s 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction was tempered when Rose and guitarist Izzy Stradlin opted not to show. Even early band manager Vicky Hamilton is ?amazed? Rose, Slash and McKagan are appearing on the same stage again. ?They were about as far apart as you can get,? Hamilton ? who helped GNR secure its recoding contract in 1997 and recently published a memoir, ?Appetite For Dysfunction? ? said by phone from Los Angeles. ?I think it took a lot for them to be able to play together again. But I?m glad it happened.? And so, apparently, is Rose.

?The Guns N? Roses reunion didn?t happen by chance or whatever,? the rarely interviewed frontman said during a moderated public Q&A session earlier this month in London, while he was touring Europe as fill-in frontman for AC/DC. ?It was always looked at as a possibility, but it never seemed right or felt right. Right now it?s all good.?

But, acknowledging GNR?s combustible past, Rose added, ?Obviously, that could just explode.?

The path back together was a matter of diplomacy ? and maturity. The first sign of thaw was when McKagan returned during spring 2014 to fill in at some South American shows for his replacement, Tommy Stinson, who had schedule conflicts with his own reunited band, the Replacements.

?It was a lot of fun to play with Duff again,? recalls keyboardist Dizzy Reed, who joined GNR in 1990 and has remained with the band ever since. ?He?s got a certain sound and a certain feel. And he?s just a great overall person, human being and a good friend. He?s just that kind of person. ... If there were any bridges burned, he?s the kind of guy who can fix them.?

By some accounts, it was McKagan who worked to heal the schism between Rose and Slash, which deepened after publication of the guitarist?s revealing 2007 memoir ?Slash.?

?Slash and I hadn?t talked in 19 years, and when we did talk, I was like, You wrote a lot of stuff that didn?t even happen. It?s not real,? Rose said in London. Slash, of course, begs to differ ? and Rose apparently doesn?t have problems with McKagan?s books ? but the Hall of Fame induction rekindled warm feelings for GNR that the guitarist hadn?t considered for a while.

?Something I just didn?t foresee was all this clarity about the impact the Guns N? Roses albums had ... the songs and the band itself,? Slash said shortly after the ceremony. ?It?s just something I never really felt before. You have your fans and you know your fans are really passionate, but there was something a lot more broad-based about this particular feeling that night.?

Slash also felt that after the induction ?there was a definite feeling of closure and when I got on the plane the next morning I felt like, ?Well, good. I never have to deal with that again.??

He did, however ? in 2015, when he and Rose made overtures to each other and talked on the phone, laying groundwork for the current reunion, which began with seven shows in April including two appearances at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Rose, who broke his leg prior to those dates, sat in the same ?throne? Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl used on tour last year. Stradlin opted not to return; drummers Steven Adler and Matt Sorum were not included in the reunion. Reed is still there with ?Chinese Democracy? veterans Richard Fortus on guitar and Frank Ferrer on drums, while keyboardist Melissa Reese is new to the lineup.

?To Slash?s credit, he and Duff worked very hard,? Rose said, noting his returned bandmates were happy to add recent material to staples such as ?Welcome to the Jungle,? ?Sweet Child O? Mine? and ?Patience.?

?I didn?t have to tell Slash about embracing anything. I didn?t have to tell Slash how to play ?Chinese Democracy? songs. He just embraced them and worked really hard.?

Early manager Hamilton caught one of GNR?s April shows in Las Vegas and had mixed feelings.

?Obviously I wish that Steven (Adler) and Izzy (Stradlin) ... to me, it?s not quite a reunion without all of the five magical pieces,? she said. ?But I loved seeing it. They looked great. I think they?re better musicians than they ever were. ... I missed some of the rawness and the spontaneity they had back in the day, but it was great to see.?

And there may be more in the future. Rose told the London gathering that GNR is may tour internationally after the Not In This Lifetime trek ends Aug. 22. (Rose has 10 U.S. shows with AC/DC afterwards.) British oddsmakers have made GNR a favorite to play next year?s European summer festival circuit. And Rose confirmed that he, Slash and McKagan may return to the studio for the first time since 1993, though both of them also have commitments with their own projects now ? including McKagan?s new documentary ?It?s So Easy And Other Lies.?

?We are working on new stuff,? Rose said. ?I?ve got a lot of stuff. I played some of it to Slash and Duff, and they liked it. They might play on it. I do want to put out more music with Guns N? Roses, and I don?t know if that has to do with Slash or not. If he wants to play on something, that would be great. I?ve been working to get kind of where things are. I hope to keep this going for a quite a while.?

? Guns N? Roses and Alice In Chains

? 8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 23.

? Ford Field, 2000 Brush St., Detroit.

? Tickets are $49.50-$253.50.

? Call 877-212-8898 or visit livenation.com.

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/arts-and-entertainment/20160620/guns-n-roses-founding-members-return-to-jungle-after-nearly-two-decades-apart

[Spirit]

Maybe Angus will make an appearance?

[Factory Girl]

The stage looks really similar to the one they used on the Illusion tour. Love it!

[Spirit]

The stage looks really similar to the one they used on the Illusion tour. Love it!

Seems pretty similar yes. The stairs on each sides instead of the ramps they used on the UYI tour is the only difference I've seen from the pics we've got.

Seems to be quite a lot of space in front of the video walls on each side too, I think those walkways were much narrower before.

[tim_m]

The stage looks really similar to the one they used on the Illusion tour. Love it!

Seems pretty similar yes. The stairs on each sides instead of the ramps they used on the UYI tour is the only difference I've seen from the pics we've got.

Seems to be quite a lot of space in front of the video walls on each side too, I think those walkways were much narrower before.

Yeah those were much more narrow then these. Doesn't look like there will be any kind of picture next to the screens either like the huge UYI logo they had on the UYI tour.

[tim_m]

I'm wondering why they didn't make the runway areas extend all the way to the walls on either side? There's still a good bit of room between the end of the stage and the wall of the seating bowl.

[Spirit]

A small piece on "Axl's piano man"



As Guns N' Roses' keyboard tech, part of Willie T. Cole's job is to maintain the Baldwin baby-grand piano singer Axl Rose plays during performances of the symphonic ballad "November Rain" during concerts. Cole even helps wheel the instrument on stage.

"I'm very lucky to have such a great job," Cole says. He checks in for this phone interview during GNR rehearsals in North Hollywood before the band's "Not In This Lifetime Tour" resumes June 23 at Detroit's Ford Field. "Having such an intimate relationship with the artists and what they're trying to do artistically, of course it's an honor to be that close and that much a part of the process."

During the majority of the show Cole, a Tuscaloosa native, is focused on GNR keyboardist Dizzy Reed, who's been with the legendary Los Angeles hard-rock band since the early-90s. He programs and maintains Reed's sophisticated keyboards and synthesizers.

"When I do my job well," Cole says, "all the artist really has to do is get up there and perform and think about music. And not have to worry about technical problems or anything going wrong. When I've done my job well everything goes smooth."

The 2016 Guns N' Roses shows are the first time Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan have all performed together onstage since 1993. The buzz around the "Not In This Lifetime" stadium trek has been electric. While Cole notes that, outside the U.S., GNR's previous lineup often played stadiums too, he says the Axl-Slash-Duff reunion has been "fantastic and really special. These are household names. My mom is 65 but she could probably pick Slash out of a lineup. It does speak to how iconic these guys are. And it's great they're playing stadiums and selling so many tickets and giving so many fans a chance to see the show."


http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/06/roadies_for_guns_n_roses_outka.html

[pilferk]

Ford Field..

Why Chairs ?

In the US, a LOT of bigger venues, for liability and fire regulation reasons, do not do complete GA admission to their floors.   They MIGHT do a smaller GA pit section or sections.  But the bulk of the floor are ticketed SEATS. So you get chairs.

[Spirit]

This should be epic!

[Spirit]

Another one

[Spirit]

Axl promo: https://twitter.com/TeamGunsNRoses/status/745684784177942529

[Boromir]

Cant believe there are seats at this type of concert 

[The Wight Gunner]

Cant believe there are seats at this type of concert 

You and me both brother, the least fun I had at gig from this band is 2010 at the O2 in London, sitting at a rock show is lame... Oddly enough saw Jeff Lynne's ELO at the same venue and in similar seats and that experience was fine.

Edit -The floor was all standing but couldn't get ticket for this so did the seating  thing... Every other show prior to that were standing. Donnington 88,  Wembley 91 & 92 (and freddie tribute show) Milton Keynes 93 Leeds 2002,  Donnington 2006. So 2010 was a bit of a culture shock 

[superstarmc]

When you are almost 40 seats aren't a bad thing.

[The Wight Gunner]

When you are almost 40 seats aren't a bad thing.

I'm 51...

[Boromir]

When you are almost 40 seats aren't a bad thing.

Yeah, but not IN the arena... thats rediculus.

It's not an opera.

[Spirit]

I think the question about seats on the floor has been answered before. From what I can remember it has to do with US regulations with large crowds in a confined area, so probably not the band's decision.

[Spirit]

Backstage. I like the "A" and the "/"   haha

Who's "J-Shaft"?

[Spirit]

The stairs on the stage have video screens as well

https://twitter.com/TeamGunsNRoses/status/745721670170738688

[--DEA--]

I guess it's more dangerous to have seats when the crowd will go nuts  Riot 4 the win