Newcastle July 19th 2006 - Metro Radio Arena All Purpose Thread.

[Olorin]

Then the fun started. I was up against the barrier right in front of Axl when something, the size of a coin, was thrown at him.

"My heart is full of love for yooooou,
I wanna get right next to yooooou -

HE'S A COIN CHUCKER, A REAL BUTTFUCKER..."

[philspectorshotme]

im not trying to slag the band off or slate axl for what happened if you read my posts you will se im a firm supporter of this band. i just think that axl is childish at times, its fairly unprofessional thats he's late all the time. he is late btw, if doors are at six and he aint on till after, thats late .

other bands i.e U2 and the stones, wouldn't do this. he is late btw, if doors are at six and he aint on till after, thats late

it also seems to us on the outside like he is primaddonna----i.e the band make it on time, but he makes it whenever he feels like it. so yes he is 44 and needs to grow up.

i was also at the hammersmith gig, and there were lots of boos, a hell of a lot, everytime the house music went down there was torrents of abuse going toward the stage and lots of chants for slash, saying that, when wttj started all was forgiven and forgotten

bottom line for me is

its a great band, the new songs are great.
but axl needs to get it together, he's is on his last legs, so many chances, so many fuck ups.

im sorry to be so crass, but i gotta say, fuck off. axls attitude is a joyful thing. he is once again the only leading light we have for a true rock n roll spirit. the professionalism of the stones and u2 and basically every other band and artist around is grotesque. theyre showing up and doing their jobs. there is no spark or energy or truth in what they do. axl offers us something we only get in fits and starts (again, the only artists ive seen in the past year that do offer something more than just professionalism are jack white and dylan, and even they adhere to the strict rulebook of concert promoters and law enforcers no matter how entertaining and intriguing their live shows are) from other bands.
the fact that th public have accepted this slick professionalism as something honourable is alarming. rock n roll should be freedom, not set on rails, on time contraints and certainly not controlled by "the man". axl, in his own weird way, is still rebelling against that and that is something to behold and rejoice in. fuck playing from 8-10pm, thats a fucking load of shit. rock n roll plays when and what it wants to play and does what it wants to do. fuck the rules. and fuck those who adhere to them.

[EFISH]

One ridiculous baseless theory: maybe the UK tour is a farwell for the AFD setlist.

yeah, i think itd be pretty cool to play the hell out of AFD for the next 7 shows.. then a little quiet time.. boom release date, US tour.. and about half of AFD probally gone from the setlist. Then, everything would be forgiven and forgot.

[codenameninja]

so the only new song was The Blues, oh. And they did not play Paradise City, that's really bad. I'm glad that i didn't bother going to the gig, not that i had plans too if i make one GnR UK gig this year, it'll be Wembly 

Wow, they got like 95% of a Guns concert and thats not worth bothering to go to?!?!

They went to a concert, they should have got a 100% concert. A show is a show, just that. Missing the end song is not correct, they should have dropped a guitar solo or something. As for the band appearing on stage late, what's their problem? 

[cotis]

Then the fun started. I was up against the barrier right in front of Axl when something, the size of a coin, was thrown at him.

"My heart is full of love for yooooou,
I wanna get right next to yooooou -

HE'S A COIN CHUCKER, A REAL BUTTFUCKER..."

Haha, am I the only one that thought that was even a little bit funny?

[Neemo]

im not trying to slag the band off or slate axl for what happened if you read my posts you will se im a firm supporter of this band. i just think that axl is childish at times, its fairly unprofessional thats he's late all the time. he is late btw, if doors are at six and he aint on till after, thats late .

other bands i.e U2 and the stones, wouldn't do this. he is late btw, if doors are at six and he aint on till after, thats late

it also seems to us on the outside like he is primaddonna----i.e the band make it on time, but he makes it whenever he feels like it. so yes he is 44 and needs to grow up.

I'm saying that he's 44 and he's been like this and way worse since the beginning...he's not gonna change...it's the way he is...

and Axl Rose isn't Bono or Mick Jagger...Gnr ain't U2 or the Stones....it's the way it is deal with it...also 1/2 hr or 45 minutes is nothing to 3 hrs or not showing at all...be glad he played at all look at the people in vancouver or Philly or any of the other shows that were cancelled in 2001 or 2002...at least you got to see Axl and NuGnR...some others ain't so lucky to bitch about only seeing 15 songs instead of 16. if it's too hot stay home or bring some fucking water

also my response to Jarmo's post were in general not necessarily directed towards you....your posts in this thread seem pretty unbiased, which is a change around here, but, other than this thread, i don't really recall seeing you around but in here you have some good thoughts...keep it up

[PhillyRiot]

Go over to Sladdi's site where you can hear Axl talking to the crowd after the coin throwing incident via MP3.  He was being so diplomatic and calm about things.  I think Axl is doing a great job this tour, and I hope he can continue to do so.


http://www.newgnr.com/newgnr.html

[Neemo]

thanks phillyriot for finding that and thanks newguns for posting that

i have no doubts that this stems from the bottles being thrown @ donnington

[Scone]

a few random notes from last night:

When Baz came onstage for my michelle he commented "man, you've gotta play IRS tonight", presumably we'd have gotten it for the encore along with PC had it not been for whatever the happened during nightrain.

Axl was in an amazing mood all night up until the throwing incident, he commented that the band was having "too much fun", and nightrain began with two lots of opening lines, the "loading like a freight train, flying like an aeroplane, feeling like a space brain" were sung twice, which was very cool.

With regard to the temperature, Axl commented that it was "hot up in this bitch tonight", the security at the front of the barrier were spraying the crowd with little water gun things to try and cool them down, during Patience Axl acquired one and sprayed himself, the crowd, and any of the band members that were close to him - he went after richard and bumblefoot if i remember correctly.

As for The Blues, there was no-one else around me singing along, but Ron's Don't Cry solo got a fair sing-along from the crowd and November Rain was sung from start to finish by most of the people around me.

Would've been nice to get an encore, but other than that it was a great show, Izzy made my night, I've now seen all the original members of GN'R in one form or another...

[Decadence]

Ok, here's my bit now

Firstly, the reason why some people (not all!) were booing for the brief time they were was not really down to how mean and nasty the Brit crowds are...more to do with the arena and it's lack of information, I reckon.  We were told that doors were at 5.45 and Guns'd be on at 8.30.   Now, I, and pretty much anyone else here, know that that's not gonna happen.  However, we are the hardcore and most of the people there are casual fans whose GnR knowledge probably stops at where to buy the coolest tshirt on the high street.  These people won't have known to expect him to be late and the venue didn't go to any trouble to tell us they would be.  Sure, there was a last minute time change but by that time, most people were probably at the venue, waiting outside on the hottest day over here since 1911.  Plus, they didn't hit the stage till almost 2 hours after they were originally billed and we were packed like sardines in there.  Like someone else said, people were being passed over the front before the band even got on the stage.  I'm not blaming the band for this, more the venue, but that's probably where the booing came from.

However, during my wait, I got talking to the security on the right hand side of the stage as I was front row.  Got a few little bits of gossip from them, though god only knows if it's true.  Subjects of interest:

1.  Apparently, there was a physical fight between 2 guitarists after the Sheffield gig though the security guy did not know who was who
2.  Apparently, Axl was going to open with 14 Years and move straight into Better - the guy had seen it on the soundguy's set list.  That, as we all know, was bullshit, but I don't think the guy was lying, which is strange...
3.  Security guard snuck backstage for a look at Axl's dressing room before he arrived.  Covered in roses, with lots and lots of towels and...a bowl full of Vimto lollipops.  Excellent taste, Axl, haha.

As soon as the opening notes to WTTJ kicked in, every fucker forgot how long they'd been stood waiting and were just going crazy for the band.  The reception they got was amazing and the gig was going really fucking well.  Axl was in high spirits, not interacting much, but always smiling and seemed to be enjoying himself. 

The setlist was fairly predictable with the sad omission of the new stuff.  As someone else mentioned, Seb Bach demanded Axl play IRS but Axl just turned and said 'No, we're having too much fun here'.  The Blues sounded good but got a lukewarm reception, couldn't see anyone from where I was standing singing along at all. 

As for Bumblefoot's mood...well, you could certainly tell he was playing for the crowd, but he looked exhausted - whether it was the heat or whether it was his mood, who knows.  I still loved him though, I like the genuine warmth he seems to have when playing.  He didn't look as happy as when I saw him at Download, but that's just me second guessing, so can't really comment.

Finck was on good form, looking like a Dickensian tramp again.  In fact, everything seemed to be coming together and working better than I've seen it with the new line up.  Even my boyfriend, who is a GnR hater for the most, said that he thought they really were holding it together and playing their hearts out.

Couple of great comments from Axl - the downing of the Newcastle Brown scored him some brownie points and his rant at the security for eating all of Seb Bach's food was pretty fucking funny too.  It was really obvious he was enjoying himself. 

Then, the strop.  I didn't see anything hit the band *at all* and I was front row with a perfect view of the stage.  I did see a bottle hit Finck right near the beginning of the show, when he was doing his solo, but Finck didn't flinch and nothing happened.  I'm not denying that something was thrown but it certainly wasn't a case of the crowd being unruly and ungrateful...probably more like one little prick who had something to prove.  The rest of the crowd was overwhelmingly positive all night, despite the heat and the wait time.

I thought it was all over when they disappeared during Nighttrain, but looks as though Axl did the decent thing in giving us at least a bit of a finale.  I was gutted at no encore though...such a fucking shame for the fans who haven't had chance to see the whole show yet. 

I don't blame Axl for being pissed off and part of me doesn't blame him for going as I probably wouldn't stick around for long if I was getting things thrown at me.  At the same time though, I was pretty upset at the situation purely because of one fuckwit spoiling it for the rest of us.  I mean, yeah, Axl's been in music for ages and should really deal with these things a bit better, but at the same time, don't fucking throw things, fucker!  What's the point?  If I'd have seen the guy who spoiled it for us, I'd have knacked him.  Twat.  Axl seemed genuinely disappointed that it had all fallen apart - when he came back on he just said in a really downhearted fashion 'fuck, I thought we were having fun tonight'. 

We could see the access to the backstage from where we were and we could see people manically running around straight after they came off stage.  Seb Bach had been hanging around for ages and he just fucking ran backstage at one point.  God knows what was going on.

Bit pissed off at the end as well.  I think they were trying to hurry us out before anything kicked off riot wise but they ushered us out of a side entrance which meant those of us near where I was couldn't get our souvenir tickets back, so I don't even have that  

[Baby Chaos]

If I'd have seen the guy who spoiled it for us, I'd have knacked him.  Twat. 

A few people near me pointed out who they thought it was. Guess what? He was a big lad. But clobbering him wasn't the answer. Sadly this thing seems to have been going on for ages in England and shows no sign of stopping.

[Olorin]

So they took your whole ticket off you when you went in?

Weird, they aint getting mine.

[EFISH]

thanks for writing all that decandece.. really good read.

seems like it was a fairly decent show besides no encore, and coming on late, and no new songs.
if it was me, id be pretty pissed but atleast you enjoyed yourself.

[Decadence]

If I'd have seen the guy who spoiled it for us, I'd have knacked him.? Twat.?

A few people near me pointed out who they thought it was. Guess what? He was a big lad. But clobbering him wasn't the answer. Sadly this thing seems to have been going on for ages in England and shows no sign of stopping.

I know, it's a fucking nightmare. ?Gives us a bad reputation when in reality it's just a small minority of wankers. ?Grrr. ?I wouldn't have knacked anyone, I'm five foot tall in my docs, but y'know

[dave-gnfnr2k]

Ok people, here is the thing. PC and any songs played with it is an ENCORE, you DONT have to play them. Axl just cut out the ENCORE last night because some idiot threw something on stage. ITs that simple.

[Decadence]

So they took your whole ticket off you when you went in?

Weird, they aint getting mine.

Yeah, they did. ?I wasn't best pleased. ?They took them off you and if you needed a piss or a drink, they handed you it back at the exit and you had to hand it in again to get back in. ?I think they just liked making work for themselves. ?They said we could have them back at the end, but they ushered us out the side and we didn't get ours ?

[Decadence]

Ok people, here is the thing. PC and any songs played with it is an ENCORE, you DONT have to play them. Axl just cut out the ENCORE last night because some idiot threw something on stage. ITs that simple.

Aye, but it's still a shame.  I enjoyed the rest of the gig, was just disappointed that it ended on an obviously negative note when it shouldn't have, thanks to some idiots in the crowd who should know better.

[Olorin]

So they took your whole ticket off you when you went in?

Weird, they aint getting mine.

Yeah, they did. ?I wasn't best pleased. ?They took them off you and if you needed a piss or a drink, they handed you it back at the exit and you had to hand it in again to get back in. ?I think they just liked making work for themselves. ?They said we could have them back at the end, but they ushered us out the side and we didn't get ours ?

What?

That is bizarre.

And here's me with a weak bladder and an insatiable thirst for booze.

[Decadence]

So they took your whole ticket off you when you went in?

Weird, they aint getting mine.

Yeah, they did. ?I wasn't best pleased. ?They took them off you and if you needed a piss or a drink, they handed you it back at the exit and you had to hand it in again to get back in. ?I think they just liked making work for themselves. ?They said we could have them back at the end, but they ushered us out the side and we didn't get ours ?

What?

That is bizarre.

And here's me with a weak bladder and an insatiable thirst for booze.

Aye, my mate needed a piss from 7pm onwards.  He didn't get to go till 1am!  Another stupid rule was - if you leave to go for a piss via the exit nearest to the front (where we were), to get back in, you had to go right round the arena and in through the back doors, right to the back of the crowd.  His bladder nearly exploded.  I told him to just piss his pants - at that heat, it'd have evaporated before it made anything soggy anyway.

[daviebuckethead]

im sorry to be so crass, but i gotta say, fuck off. axls attitude is a joyful thing. he is once again the only leading light we have for a true rock n roll spirit. the professionalism of the stones and u2 and basically every other band and artist around is grotesque. theyre showing up and doing their jobs. there is no spark or energy or truth in what they do. axl offers us something we only get in fits and starts (again, the only artists ive seen in the past year that do offer something more than just professionalism are jack white and dylan, and even they adhere to the strict rulebook of concert promoters and law enforcers no matter how entertaining and intriguing their live shows are) from other bands.
the fact that th public have accepted this slick professionalism as something honourable is alarming. rock n roll should be freedom, not set on rails, on time contraints and certainly not controlled by "the man". axl, in his own weird way, is still rebelling against that and that is something to behold and rejoice in. fuck playing from 8-10pm, thats a fucking load of shit. rock n roll plays when and what it wants to play and does what it wants to do. fuck the rules. and fuck those who adhere to them.

-1 karma???

the fact that you actual like jack white and call him "rock n roll" is disturbing. you may think that the bands mentioned were not rock n roll enough?

i've been to at leat 50-60 gigs in my time inc VR, metallica, audioslave, muse, U2, eagles, aerosmith, robert plant dadadadadadadadad.........................

fact is they turn up on time, people come happy and leave happy.

this is 2006, music is about $$$$$ or ??'s. if a band treats its fans less than great, then less fans, less record sales, less success, more record co. pressure, disharmony in band, and general fuck-up-ability.

i don't want that for the nu gnr, and negative press can be avoided, thats all im saying