All things Guns N Roses Reunion thread

True. If the speculation based on certain leaks and articles is to be believed, the promoter for most of the U.S. shows made a deal with Axl, Slash, and Duff. Their 3-way split was based on the last time they toured in the early 1990's. Izzy was presented with some form of an offer to take part in the tour, whether it was for a nightly guest slot, or for his old position as 2nd guitarist, is unclear. His statements about the others not wanting to split "the loot" implies that he intended to play full shows, because otherwise why would he expect to get an even share of the profits if he simply had a special guest slot? That said, Duff and Slash are allegedly taking a smaller percentage of the profits than Axl, so if they did offer the 2nd guitar slot to Izzy, it is conceivable that they would have offered him less -- the money is simply not being evenly distributed regardless. I fully respect Izzy's displeasure at what he views as an unfair deal, but without knowing the figures involved, it is hard to know if it was truly an unfair offer. Still, it is disappointing that he is not involved because while the shows have been of very high quality, he certainly would have added something positive to it (his presence alone would have thrilled some of the fan-base, and his vocals would have been an asset), and if the band were to attempt working on new material, his involvement would be indispensable.

 

I think this is a good analysis. However, the whole affair seems to have gotten Izzy to record some new music, something he hadn't done in a few years, so it's hard to complain too much - he was always more important as a writer than performer.

Fun fact - all of his stuff is now on Spotify.

 

Not to derail the thread, but is the only place to download his stuff still iTunes or has he actually moved to some lossless providers?

 

Lol, well that's always a real possibility. I was supposed to see them back in the early 90's, opening up for Iron Madien (7th Son tour). Axl had some kind of 'issue' and Megadeth opened instead.

 

I believe he's only just moved to Spotify, with downloads available on Amazon and Google Play as well. I'm not aware of any lossless download options.

 

It is disappointing that a lot of his post-Geffen recordings have been very difficult to acquire in a physical format, and in some instances, not having a physical format option at all.

 

They came on an hour late on Tuesday, one of the guys I was with jokingly said Axl might be doing an Axl. They were late because of Axl.

 

Get the floor seats and go, even if you need to walk there.

 

No doubt, this is a band at the top of the game and they are right into it. It appears that they know they broke up way too early and are working hard to make that up. They have a monster album in them.

Perhaps the historians need to realise that this was the band that changed rock n roll, not Nirvana.

 

They showed that on the Project -hellooooooooooooo Sydney!

 

Yep, their unreliability back in the 90's has haunted them. Here in Japan, there was a concern that they would start late, and the shows sold poorly at first, forcing promoters to add local favorites Babymetal as a support act. Even then, the initial couple of shows were not sell outs, with large blocks of empty seats. However, once it was clear that they were starting on time and putting on amazing shows, positive word of mouth resulted in packed crowds at their last two shows at Saitama Super Arena (which holds 37,000 people in "stadium" configuration).

 

After that gaffe, they apparently played a smoking hot set, with Angus joining for "Whole Lotta Rosie" and "Riff Raff". Something tells me that everyone went home happy.

 

Yes they did and yes we did.

 

Duff is there because he's friends with everyone and can mediate any friction. He also subbed in 2014. Axl/Duff/Slash own the 2 classic logos.

Is round 2 in the US selling well? I thought that itinerary was very ambitious and they did a Valentine's Day ticket offer in some markets last week to move some seats.

 

When was the last time any of the 3 of them wrote anything really unique/interesting? Izzy is a factor here.

Except the foot cast, this tour has been weirdly drama free. Though I wonder how much Axl/Slash are interacting. Axl did a the Vegas soundchecks for the first proper shows, but has he done any of them since?

 

Axl almost never does soundchecks and never did in their heydey. Doubt he will do it with any regularity now.

 

Saw them in the summer at CenturyLink stadium in Seattle. Incredible.

Got my pit pass for the Gorge!

 

They played 3 or 4 songs from Chinese Democracy at the show in Saitama, and I enjoyed them much more than I remembered from hearing the album. But, that said, I'm not sure they have a great album left in them - maybe a "very good" one.

The chemistry on stage was fantastic at the shows I saw - the whole band was just "locked in". But, offstage, who knows? I haven't seen any behind-the-scenes photos/interviews with both Axl and Slash present.

 

Yeah, but no part timer will do a full timers job for part time pay. This wasn't a 3 gig reunion or something.

Then again, usually when you QUIT the company, you never get what your full wage was even if they're willing to hire you back.

 

Slash/Duff were not the first guitar/bass players in the band, nor the the longest serving guitar/bass players in the band.

 

I saw the show last night at the London Stadium. Wow.

No disrepect to Ashba, Bumblefoot and all the other members who were in the various 2000s era line ups, but no-one can play GnR songs like Slash and Duff. (Although Richard Fortus and Melissa Reese are a credit to the band and the brand).

And Axl just sounded murderously good. He has learnt to manage his voice over a near three hour set. Still got the power, and he only breaks out the screams sparingly.

Let's hope this lineup can get some new material out. Yes, this is a nostalgia trip for the fans (and a tidy cash in for the star members of the band), but this is too good not to go further.

 

However, they are the players who played on the records and concerts that the band's reputation and commercial success rests on. There are loads of veteran bands where the replacements have a longer tenure than the members of the "classic" line-up.

 

Just signed-up for a free trial of SiriusXM to listen to the Appetite for Destruction 30th anniversary show tonight.

 

Kind of shocked they're not doing a 30th anniversary boxset for Appetite for Destruction, but I guess they're avoiding making any moves that could cause internal tensions to keep the gravy train running. Looking forward to seeing what they do tonight, regardless.

 

I thought I read in another thread that there is an "Appetite" box in the works!