5 Changes for the next leg of Tour

[TheBaconman]

you picked your years carefully haha

2010 was the last real great year prior to last to be a guns fan.

I saw them in Vegas a few years later and the writing was really on the wall then.  Especially looking back

But

2010 was a real fun year.

Guns had a great Canadian tour leg.  I seen 2 of my fav shows of all time with them during this and that includes this last tour I went to

[D-GenerationX]

The shows from 2010 are solid.

As are the 4 far east shows in December 2009.  12/19/09 might be that era of the band's best show, overall.

[Virolec]

Guys, the memory cheats.

I love the UYI tour.  But take out the first leg of that tour in starting in May 1991.  Hell even just take out the first month or so of shows on that summer '91 leg.  The "unpredictibility" is really not all that present as soon as July 1991. 

Now, there are 3 major legs to that tour.  1991 with Izzy.  Late 1991 to early 1993 with the extended 12 piece band, and the Skin 'N Bones acoustic leg.  Each leg had it own structure, but within that leg, you didn't exactly have to be Nostradaums to know what was going to be played.  You could sit down before the show and sketch out the basic setlist and come with a song or two of nailing it.

In other words, not much different than the NITL tour.

Now, most people's problem with the neverending CD tour was that that tour went entire legs and sometimes years in between legs, yet never really changed much.

If whenever they gear this back up, in 2020 or whatever, if it's basically the same show as the NITL tour, then I think you have a beef.

But not before.

Nah, most people's problem with the CD tours was the lineup - more specifically who wasn't in it.  That's the difference between playing theatres and arenas and playing stadiums.  After that the late or cancelled shows.  After that the often indifferent quality of the shows.  After that the seemingly-constant changes in the lineup.  The actual setlist probably comes some way the list.

[D-GenerationX]

Oh, to the general public, sure.  That was a scab band, GNR in name only.

But I meant even among we diehards that made our peace with the revolving door of randos, we were growing tired of the monotony.

[TheBaconman]

Oh, to the general public, sure.  That was a scab band, GNR in name only.

But I meant even among we diehards that made our peace with the revolving door of randos, we were growing tired of the monotony.

DJ had a little army of fans for himself that he brought over   And was a nice little self promoter that would always say something positive of the band.   That grew on me

Every local concert I went to during this time period you always heard and got. This isn't the real gnr it's just Axls band.   More so locally than in Vegas

You also got Axls voice.  That really was horrible for a lot of these shows

Then you also got.  The majority of the public was pretty indifferent to hexes CD era songs and still are.   Is there a huge means out there to hear TIL nightly?   No matter how many times you play it live isn't going to make it a good son

[D-GenerationX]

I think every CD song could be dropped from the setlist to bascially no reaction.

[Bridge]

I think every CD song could be dropped from the setlist to bascially no reaction.

Perhaps, but I can understand from Axl's perspective why he wouldn't want to drop them completely.  Yeah, you can say he's being stubborn, but stubborn how?  Is he obstinate because he doesn't want to forget about a project that he's put most of the last 20 years of his life into?  Right or wrong, that's how he sees it.

Don't misunderstand me, I was never a huge fan of Chinese Democracy; I only liked maybe 2-3 songs.  But I can see it from Axl's standpoint in terms of what he's sacrificed.  It isn't the same with Slash and Duff.  They certainly invested themselves into Velvet Revolver, Loaded, Snakepit, etc, but not nearly to the extent that Axl did with Chinese Democracy.  That project and everything that has surrounded it have veritably consumed his life.

I must be honest, it's kind of interesting and different to watch Duff and especially Slash perform Chinese Democracy songs live.  Not only is a break from the normal songs that I've heard for 30 years, it also gives us the only "what if" insight we'll ever have into what could have been if only had the world's greatest frontman and the world's greatest guitarist been able to coexist during all those years.

[D-GenerationX]

I like the versions of 'Chinese Democracy' and 'Better' the current band does.

But 'This I Love'...I'm sorry, that's Andrew Lloyd Webber.  And I don't even totally hate that style of music.  But the song has always been a bit cringeworthy to me.  Then, now, forever.

Very suprised they do that one.  Because that song, to me, is Axl left to his own devices without Slash or Duff in the mix.  I always imagined when they finally heard the album, they rolled their eyes at that one.  Surprised to see it embraced like this.

Also think that's the reaction they would have had to a tune like 'Madagascar', which I doubt we'll ever hear again.

[TheBaconman]

People here seem to think this tour is going over to glowing reviews   They just ignore negative or critical reviews and overly point to ticket sales

Ticket sales are not being sold via word of mouth. They are being sold via a great marketing campaign

I would be money that ticket sales don't hold up in the future if things don't change for other legs of this tour

Or I guess people are just that messed up

I really didn't think people would just show up to hear Axl and slash do the same schtick

[allwaystired]

People here seem to think this tour is going over to glowing reviews   They just ignore negative or critical reviews and overly point to ticket sales

Ticket sales are not being sold via word of mouth. They are being sold via a great marketing campaign

I would be money that ticket sales don't hold up in the future if things don't change for other legs of this tour

Or I guess people are just that messed up

I really didn't think people would just show up to hear Axl and slash do the same schtick

Good marketing campaign? Sorry?! Are we talking about the same band??!

[C0ma]

I really didn't think people would just show up to hear Axl and slash do the same schtick

The people buying this many tickets every stop aren't coming from these boards. They don't know the schtick (as you put it)... they are probably seeing them for either the first time ever, first time since the 90's (because large numbers of people ignored Axl and friends, especially post VMA), or they are seeing this show after seeing one of the CD era lineups. Especially in the US where to be honest people aren't traveling to multiple cities to see a show. I've seen several bands multiple times, over the course of a few years and they are all similar shows.

We all get that you hate the covers and want new music. We all want new music but considering we are on track to get a new album every 15 years or so it's really not worth beating your head against the wall on that one. As far as the covers, they have been doing that in all incarnations of this band since the mid 80's (why 30 years later would it stop now?)

As far as the argument that they should have gone outside the box at the Apollo think about it. Since 2000 they have been broadcast about 4 times in the US... lets recap: VMA 2002: F'ing disaster publicly, Golden Gods: took forever to work out technical issues then when they went on their most popular song got totally fucked up by Ashba and an out of tune guitar, London O2 show: practically sent people into epileptic fits with the crazy camera changes, plus sounded horrible, Vegas: awful vocal performance and similar camera direction... I'll give an honorable mention to the Bridge School Benefit, I get it Axl was under the weather, but the still got skewered... That's why keeping with the formula and knocking the Sirius show out of the park was important.

[allwaystired]

I really didn't think people would just show up to hear Axl and slash do the same schtick

The people buying this many tickets every stop aren't coming from these boards. They don't know the schtick (as you put it)... they are probably seeing them for either the first time ever, first time since the 90's (because large numbers of people ignored Axl and friends, especially post VMA), or they are seeing this show after seeing one of the CD era lineups. Especially in the US where to be honest people aren't traveling to multiple cities to see a show. I've seen several bands multiple times, over the course of a few years and they are all similar shows.

We all get that you hate the covers and want new music. We all want new music but considering we are on track to get a new album every 15 years or so it's really not worth beating your head against the wall on that one. As far as the covers, they have been doing that in all incarnations of this band since the mid 80's (why 30 years later would it stop now?)

As far as the argument that they should have gone outside the box at the Apollo think about it. Since 2000 they have been broadcast about 4 times in the US... lets recap: VMA 2002: F'ing disaster publicly, Golden Gods: took forever to work out technical issues then when they went on their most popular song got totally fucked up by Ashba and an out of tune guitar, London O2 show: practically sent people into epileptic fits with the crazy camera changes, plus sounded horrible, Vegas: awful vocal performance and similar camera direction... I'll give an honorable mention to the Bridge School Benefit, I get it Axl was under the weather, but the still got skewered... That's why keeping with the formula and knocking the Sirius show out of the park was important.

Good post. I think what we sometimes miss here is that 95 per cent of the people at the concerts, even though they may be decked head to toe in new GNR merchandise, don't really give a fuck about the band. They're ticking a 'classic rock' (yes, sadly that is how they're seen now) act off a list. In a few months time they'll be drenched in the shirts of whoever is touring next. It's sad but true. Not many people actually give a fuck about the band. They're a 'hits on drivetime rock radio' act. I mean, holy shit, people at the shows I was at didn't really know something like Coma, let alone CD tracks. This tour caters for those people. Problem is of course, that those people will move on. They won;t fork out next time.

[D-GenerationX]

People here seem to think this tour is going over to glowing reviews   They just ignore negative or critical reviews and overly point to ticket sales

Reviews were posted here after just about every show last summer.  There wasn't a bad on in the bunch, and several of them were glowing.

Now, if you'd like, I could call up any number of reviews from 1991-92 shows when the band was "dangerous" and "interesting", but the reviews shit all over the show. 

Shall we do that?

[D-GenerationX]

As far as the argument that they should have gone outside the box at the Apollo think about it. Since 2000 they have been broadcast about 4 times in the US... lets recap: VMA 2002: F'ing disaster publicly, Golden Gods: took forever to work out technical issues then when they went on their most popular song got totally fucked up by Ashba and an out of tune guitar, London O2 show: practically sent people into epileptic fits with the crazy camera changes, plus sounded horrible, Vegas: awful vocal performance and similar camera direction... I'll give an honorable mention to the Bridge School Benefit, I get it Axl was under the weather, but the still got skewered... That's why keeping with the formula and knocking the Sirius show out of the park was important.

SPOT.  THE FUCK.  ON.

I was still hearing taunts about the 2002 MTV disaster as recently as last year when NITL tickets went on sale.  Because, to a lot of people, that's the last they saw on Guns N' Roses.

People still want to try and gloss over this, especially at this board, but when it came to the misadventure that was 'Chinese Democracy' : NO ONE...FUCKING...CARED.

No one outside of dyed in the wall Axl lifers care two shits about that whole era.  They don't even consider it Guns N' Roses.  They consider it Axl the immature child playing with a bunch of scabs because he alienated the band they all loved.  It astounds me that people would EVER show that DVD from 2012 Vegas to anyone.  It's god damn horrendous.

This concert was basically a way to tell anyone still one the fence it was Guns N' Roses again.  This was not the show to say,"'hey...let's try 'The Garden' for the first time in 24 years."

[D-GenerationX]

Good post. I think what we sometimes miss here is that 95 per cent of the people at the concerts, even though they may be decked head to toe in new GNR merchandise, don't really give a fuck about the band. They're ticking a 'classic rock' (yes, sadly that is how they're seen now) act off a list. In a few months time they'll be drenched in the shirts of whoever is touring next. It's sad but true. Not many people actually give a fuck about the band. They're a 'hits on drivetime rock radio' act. I mean, holy shit, people at the shows I was at didn't really know something like Coma, let alone CD tracks. This tour caters for those people. Problem is of course, that those people will move on. They won;t fork out next time.

Correct.

Stadiums were, in my opinion, a one time shot.  You had the perfect storm of an the improbable reunion, and dark aspect that most people didn't want to acknowledge, that this might be the only time this ever happened.

Now, it seems to have went well.  I can't see them doing statiums again though.  As was said above, to the vast majority, they have now seen GNR and can cross it off their list.  So you aren't going to get 50,000 per city again.

I do, however, think they can do arenas again in say, 2021, even with nothing new.  There are still enough GNR fans for that.  And, to be honest, I think we might as well start getting comfy with that whole idea.  Because I find that a hell of a lot more probable than I do them whipping up some new album out of whole cloth and touring behind that.

Shit, they could tour in 2021 as a 'UYI Aniiversary Tour' and just dig up a bunch of songs they haven't played since that tour.  Might want to prepare for that too.

[allwaystired]

Good post. I think what we sometimes miss here is that 95 per cent of the people at the concerts, even though they may be decked head to toe in new GNR merchandise, don't really give a fuck about the band. They're ticking a 'classic rock' (yes, sadly that is how they're seen now) act off a list. In a few months time they'll be drenched in the shirts of whoever is touring next. It's sad but true. Not many people actually give a fuck about the band. They're a 'hits on drivetime rock radio' act. I mean, holy shit, people at the shows I was at didn't really know something like Coma, let alone CD tracks. This tour caters for those people. Problem is of course, that those people will move on. They won;t fork out next time.

Correct.

Stadiums were, in my opinion, a one time shot.  You had the perfect storm of an the improbable reunion, and dark aspect that most people didn't want to acknowledge, that this might be the only time this ever happened.

Now, it seems to have went well.  I can't see them doing statiums again though.  As was said above, to the vast majority, they have now seen GNR and can cross it off their list.  So you aren't going to get 50,000 per city again.

I do, however, think they can do arenas again in say, 2021, even with nothing new.  There are still enough GNR fans for that.  And, to be honest, I think we might as well start getting comfy with that whole idea.  Because I find that a hell of a lot more probable than I do them whipping up some new album out of whole cloth and touring behind that.

Shit, they could tour in 2021 as a 'UYI Aniiversary Tour' and just dig up a bunch of songs they haven't played since that tour.  Might want to prepare for that too.

Yeah, they can still do arenas. Always will be able to I think- especially if Slash stays on board. I think your suggestions are highly likely. As I mentioned above, that's not ideal from my point of view, but the most likely. The big cat among the pigeons would be if Slash and/or Duff walks. Looking at the way the touring is running until the end of the year, I think that's going to push them to the limit really. Neither Slash or Duff are known for sticking with one project for long, and (money aside) will they want to run with this for much longer? By the end of the year I think playing (largely) the same songs show after show will start to become less fun for them.

On a side note- I still really enjoy that Vegas DVD! I did show it to my girlfriend though, who was utterly bemused by what on earth it was she was watching though!

[GNRMTL]

Seriously not complaining they've got something  for everyone .  But  how about  something a little different for this leg.  And on a side note  patience at the apollo was the best thing I've heard or seen..  ✌️❤️   Replace seeker with slither  maybe  IRS. Bad obsession and play more off Lies. 

[Fingers]

Funny-a friend of mine called this morning-she's 36 and asked me to look into Guns n Roses tickets here in Cleveland-she wants to go-she said she's pretty sure Axl Rose is singing, and it does not matter who else is playing, as long as it's him. I remember going to see Guns in 2011-after I got back, a friend asked if Slash had played-if he was back in the band. These are 2 different girls that worked in a sports bar that I go to-it's interesting to hear what kind of news filters to very casual fans. Both surprised me, to say the least.

[allwaystired]

Funny-a friend of mine called this morning-she's 36 and asked me to look into Guns n Roses tickets here in Cleveland-she wants to go-she said she's pretty sure Axl Rose is singing, and it does not matter who else is playing, as long as it's him. I remember going to see Guns in 2011-after I got back, a friend asked if Slash had played-if he was back in the band. These are 2 different girls that worked in a sports bar that I go to-it's interesting to hear what kind of news filters to very casual fans. Both surprised me, to say the least.

I'm constantly surprised by things like this. One major thing I was surprised by is that many people I spoke to around the concerts actually had no idea that GNR had been playing all these years! As I said above though, the majority of the people going to see this tour don't really give a fuck about GNR as a band. It's just a 'ticking the box' thing. Hell, the amount of GNR shirts they sell at high-street fashion stores at the moment, a lot of people wearing their fucking shirt don't even know who they are!

I remember going to see the GNR tour in 2010, making passing conversation with a girl in a GNR shirt while I was having a drink in the city beforehand, who said she had no idea they were playing that night in the city, let alone that they were still gong! She basically told me she wasn;t a fan at all but was wearing the shirt as it was 'fashion'.

THAT'S what we're dealing with!!!!