Guns N’ Roses mania is now in full swing! The club show tonight at The Troubador kicks it all off. Finally all the questions and rumors should be answered. As I’ve said all along I believe the lineup will be the last version of GnR with Slash in for the departed Ashba and Bumble, and of course Duff on bass who subbed for Tommy Stinson toward the end of the last Guns tour. This entire thing has been built around Slash, Duff and Axl. That is the only thing being sold and promised and for most that is plenty good enough. Yes some will grumble about no Izzy (who already said he’s out) and maybe no Adler (not sure but likely out, we will know tonight), but those are the same people that grumble about no Michael Anthony or Bill Ward but still go see Sabbath and VH. I also always would like the original guys, but the fact is every band knows who the key guys that draw and the mainstream knows are. That moves the needle, that rakes in the bucks, and with Guns it’s clearly Slash and Duff.
Now Guns has announced the dates and cities for a US stadium tour. Did anyone really think they would go through all of this and not tour? The way they have done all of this is very smart and kind of old school. Info only as needed, let the world speculate, no interviews, then when any news comes at all it’s a major deal. It’s going to be fun to watch and I think it’s good for rock for sure. I also think they will announce some major support acts for these stadium dates probably soon. Make it even more of an event. But they may wait to see how the dates sell to decide what is needed. I’ve known all the guys in GnR past and present for a long time. Some are good friends. I’m glad they were able to pull this off and wish them luck. Like I said, this is all good for our kind of music. It will be fun to watch and see how it all goes no doubt, and it will also be great to finally put an end to all the non stop speculation and see a show actually happen tonight! See you in Vegas next weekend if you are going..
12 Responses
This is one of the most absurd things I’ve ever read. So Slash signed on to this for 1/6th of what AXL is making, and Duff is doing it for scraps? You seem to have all the info…how do you know Steven wasn’t invited? How do you know that his reported back surgery is ‘nonsense’? Prices for this tour are $45-250…sounds about right for a highly anticipated stadium show. Your bias against AXL(how people misspell a three letter name is beyond me) is really making you type dumb things.
I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that “Craig” is not G&R’s lawyer or accountant (considering he can’t spell his client’s name correctly), so how does he know such intimate details about G&R’s financial take on this tour, and the individual distribution between band members?
this is just my opinion as far as GUNS with out all the original members : its like drinking stale beer , you can still get a buzz
but it leaves a bad taste in your mouth-
Only time I saw GNR was back in ’92 on the stadium tour with Metallica. Axlhole kept all of waiting for 2 hours before the primadonna decided he was ready to take the stage. The crowd was so dead tired for waiting so long, even Duff made a smart ass comment about it after the second song. Me and my brother both walked out about halfway through the set. Besides, Metallica blew GNR away. I get more satisfaction watching a GNR cover band at my local Indian casino. I’ll never pay the outrageous money that’s being demanded for this tour, nor ever support Axlhole and his narcissist ways again. I’d rather wait to see Slash solo again.
My understanding is that Adler either had or will have back surgery, so there’s a good chance he couldn’t have played, even if he wanted to.
I’m seeing a lot of hate for the GnR thing, and am a little perplexed. Even before Axl and Slash split they had different members. Gilby Clarke and Sorum replaced Izzy and Adler a long time ago. That original lineup never lasted very long to begin with.
My view is that it’s better than the GnR that Axl had been touring with. Maybe they’re all old, and it’s a little too late, but American rock needs something like a Gnr again.