[blodwarttufla]

So you've got Axl Rose, many class Axl as a complete idiot who "Split Up" one of the greatest Rock bands of all time and then came back with a bunch of clowns promising an album that is STILL in the making. so what was worth all the trouble?

This Tour, thats what.

I have heard various tracks from each show and i gotta say he has REALLY pulled through. from the Axl of '02 where he walked off almost every show to an Axl of '06 who walks off twice in the whole tour but never stops is somewhat amazing.

It all started in NYC as the Warmup gigs were drawing Closer, many in the Gn'R community believed that this actually maybe worth the wait. after hearing a few leaked demos which in my opinion rocked, the fans eagerly awaited the arrival Axl and Co. and they weren't disappointed. the obvious strange look of the '02 band was gone and the band now resembled much more of a "Rock" look. With Buckethead gone and Ron Thal in his place, people were looking for flaws but didn't find any. Axl's classic rasp was back, the band sounded amazing and the introduction of the leaked songs was great for the fans present.

after the 4th show where Guns were joined by Kid Rock, Sebastian Bach (Skid Row) and Izzy Stradlin they moved their sights to Europe and first stop was Rock In Rio Lisboa.

Now i watched the Show live on the net and i've got to say i was quite impressed with the new band and ESPECIALLY impressed with new Guitarist Ron Thal who even though he had only joined the band 2 weeks previous and had learnt ALL the solos he played by listening to the Gn'R songs on a Laptop seemed to playing them effortlessly.

As the Gn'R Storm moved its way through Europe and many dates (where he got arrested for biting a security guard who restrained him for no good reason) and then to RockAMRing in Germany, and another great festival performance which contained what many are calling the greatest performance of "Nightrain" ever.

The Gn'R tour now moved on to the UK Tour with the Download date in Ireland going pretty much perfectly. but then the Donnington Download date came about and so did the trouble. Axl took the stage as normal with the band and the people in the crowd obviously not very happy to see Axl with the new band booed, threw Urine Bottles at the band (one which hit Bassist Tommy Stinson on the head, forcing him over the edge and he accidentally threw his bass and it hit a cameraman or something). but it became clear very early that Axl wasn't happy with something. The fans reaction it definitely wasn't. the problems came about with the Tour staff not sending anyone up to attach Axl's Sound pack so he could hear himself. this too happened at Rock In Rio in 2001 where you could see Axl multiple times getting quite annoyed at the staff at the show.

Many fans at the Download festival left knowing Axl's Past and the fact that at any second he could walk off... but he didn't he kept on and despite all the troubles went right through to the end.

but the Gn'R Train trundled through a quite crappy reception at Download to hit the tour off around the UK. I know a girl who went to each show on the tour and who loved every second.

Now on this UK tour Axl did hardly anything wrong or rude or disgraceful so people started making stuff up like the famous "Eating a Lamb Roast and keeping fans waiting"... Guitarist Richard Fortus has called the BS card with this, saying that he was with Axl the whole time where he was supposedly eating this and even fans have commented they saw him preparing during this time.

At one of the shows, i think it was Manchester or Newcastle, Axl during Nightrain was hit not once but twice in the face by coins. he stopped the song and called out to quit it, and at the end of Nighrain walked off after completing the whole show and not "Walking off early" as many sources indicated.

During another show whilst performing "You Could Be Mine", Axl saw a fan being roughed up by a security guards and stopped the song, before ejecting both security guards and carrying on with the show.

On July 31st, Axl visited a doctor who told Axl he had Low Blood Pressure and should not perform to which Axl Responded "F*** that, i'm doing the show" or something to that effect. so he turned up at the show and seemed fine throughout until halfway through Nightrain when Axl suddenly fell ill and needed medical attention. whilst this happened Sebastian Bach took Axl's Place for Paradise City as Axl was seen to backstage. He didn't appear for a final bow because he was too exhausted after nearly 2 and a half months of Non stop touring.

Axl Stayed in london for another couple of weeks before visiting a cancer ward on his last day and flying home the next.

This Tour finally showed another side to Axl, obviously gone are the days of Walking away and never returning, Riots and multiple arrests and court dates. Instead of Attacking fans, hes helping fans. and at the MTV VMAs, Axl stood by his statement that Chinese Democracy WILL be released this year and that the North American Tour was coming up in October with some Warmup dates. People still Criticize Axl for stupid things like "Why does he need 3 Guitarists?"...my answer.... Lynyrd Skynyrd had 3 Guitarists and noones complaining about Freebird right?

I personally cannot wait to hear Chinese Democracy and its nice to see Axl has finally found happiness since everyone walked out on him the mid 90's and i end with a Question.... If Axl Rose is so hard to get on with, how come Dizzy Reed is still hanging around?

- RKD

oh and one more thing, heres a link to "The Greatest Nightrain performance ever" and i too believe it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzfABIMXpac

[Lkemybab]

Thanks for that awesome review man. I really wish i could catch guns on their next tour. As they are without a doubt one of my top bands of all time.

Slashless and Duffless or not.. they were awesome.

[Kilaoksrsa]

I saw them twice on the tour, they were good even without Slash and co.

[Erossycuc]

I've seen them once. That was more than enough. Don't let anyone tell you Axl Rose still has... whatever people say he used to have... it's not true. He's a washed up, arrogant piece of shit, and that's a fact.

Oh, by the way, that's one hell of a verbal blowjob you gave there, RKD.

[hwood]

I've seen them once. That was more than enough. Don't let anyone tell you Axl Rose still has... whatever people say he used to have... it's not true. He's a washed up, arrogant piece of shit, and that's a fact.

Oh, by the way, that's one hell of a verbal blowjob you gave there, RKD.

no, no, the word you're looking for is opinion. it is your opinion he is a "Washed up, Arrogant piece of shit".

and no it wasn't, it was the truth. he sucked in 2002 and the band was an absolute joke. they couldn't play the songs properly or well and Axl sounded crap. He cancelled half the USA Tour and barely showed up for half of the European, he was a washed up piece of shit then. but now its all changed, the band can play the Hell out of these songs (see Nightrain: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzfABIMXpac). Axl's got the voice back that sold millions of albums worldwide in the 90's and hes back on form. and i hope that when Chinese Democracy is released, it wipes the floor with all this crap music that is out there right now that all sounds the same.

[TheDoctor]

I'm thinking of getting tickets to a show from them for our local Classic Rock radio station's 20th birthday bash.

Should be cool....but they're charging up to 90 bucks for friggin' tickets.


I think that's a bit much....considering it's Axl, Dizzy, and a bunch of newbies.

[KJnbceja]

I'm thinking of getting tickets to a show from them for our local Classic Rock radio station's 20th birthday bash.

Should be cool....but they're charging up to 90 bucks for friggin' tickets.


I think that's a bit much....considering it's Axl, Dizzy, and a bunch of newbies.

and maybe Izzy too, he was present for most of the European tour. its only Slash and Duff who are too full of themselves to actually talk to Axl, but obviously Axl gets blamed for this.

[abOfU9nJ]

and maybe Izzy too, he was present for most of the European tour. its only Slash and Duff who are too full of themselves to actually talk to Axl, but obviously Axl gets blamed for this.

I got the tickets the other day. It's stadium seating for the ground level (no chairs)...so me and my buddies will be getting there a few hours early so that we can get nice and close to the stage.

Although the tickets were 90 bucks a pop (thank god I didn't have to pay....it's my birthday present), I'm excited to celebrate my 16th birthday at a Guns N' Roses concert.

Hopefully it'll be pretty sweet!

[enactolaelant]

well the show last night got good reviews. hopefully the one you're going to won't be a warm up gig cos Axl has been a bit stupid and hes playing the exact same setlist as the European Tour but Ron Thal (Bumblefoot) has confirmed that in October when the tour OFFICIALLY Starts, there will be some setlist changes maybe even with a new song.