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..
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I see a lot of people, posting a lot of crap, none of which they can provide any concrete proof of. What’s with all the bickering back and forth? Personally, I would have LOVED to see a full reunion of the original band or even a reunion of the Illusions era line up (stripped down to the 6 piece it should have been anyway) but the fact is, THAT just didn’t materialize. Now, we can all speculate as to WHY that didn’t happen, or whose “Fault” it was or who caused it. But the fact of the matter is that’s all it is… SPECULATION. Until one or more of the guys from the band actually steps out of the shadows and commits to telling us what is going on behind the scenes (which I don’t think will happen, at least not until the whole thing is over and wrapped up) we are not going to know. To speculate and spread rumors to the contrary is really elementary school type stuff. Izzy seems pretty content to not take part right now, and let’s not forget that Izzy tired of the circus and left the band VERY soon after the Illusions album dropped, RIGHT in the middle of a WORLD TOUR no less. This is just my opinion, but I just don’t think that Izzy is prepared to jump back into all that… and the HEIGHTENED INSANITY and media circus that’s going on around this thing probably isn’t helping matters any. I do feel HORRIBLY bad for Steven, that he’s not able to take part. I worry about him on a very human level, he’s wanted this for so long and has finally got his life in order, not to mention he’s been playing GREAT the last year or so. But… Regardless… Let’s not forget, that at the end of the day, we are STILL getting a GUNS N’ ROSES tour this year. While it may not be exactly what we would like, two years ago we would have JUMPED at the chance to have AXL, SLASH, and DUFF playing together again under the GnR backdrop. The only reason we are not satisfied now is because there was so much idiotic build-up on the internet about an (Appetite or Classic line up) reunion… Let’s be happy with what we have, and keep an open mind and heart to the possibility that maybe if things go well we may get a new record and the reunion may expand in the future.