Has the novelty worn off for anyone else?

[nonok]

6 hours ago, HeartbreakerWoman said:

I think there's a lack of chemistry between Axl and Slash. Duff is always full of energy and fun to watch, he's always like a big kid with this stuff. But...It feels very cold between the other two. That's what doesn't feel right to me. Axl seems into it, I mean he rocks out from the chair...Slash, I look at him and it just makes me wonder what he's thinking. When you see the closeups and you see his face you don't see a lot of excitement or energy there. I know they're not 20+ somethings anymore so, but even taking age into account...I don't know like I said if Slash just feels really awkward and mindfucked being on stage with Axl again or if he's just doing it for the paycheck to be honest. Not being able to do interviews, to talk about what's what, I'm sure, bothers him, he always loved that shit...

I think if we had a single interview, even if it was just about BS topics, it'd make it feel more like a "band"...Right now, outside of Axl and Duff, it just feels like a bunch of guys on stage going through the motions not really excited...

Compare the energy of this show by the Stones from 1990 (they were albeit younger than Axl and Slash are, but still):

To anything we've gotten from this reunion. There's no chemistry, no warmth, no passion in the performances we've seen.
 

We must be looking at different bands then. You have to be crazy to think there's no chemistry between Axl and Slash, on the contrary - it's there and a lot better than, say, '92. Axl is confined to a chair for Christ's sake, what do you expect him to do - stare at Slash the whole time or call him to the throne to touch his top hat? Don't be ridiculous. The two have been seen laughing together, sharing hugs etc. - they are friends, they didn't hate each other for 20+ years just to agree on a cash grab reunion tour. Sure, they're getting filthy rich, but they're both prideful guys, rock legends on their own, so they needed to make amends and become friends again for the concept of going on stage together to even come into question.

Slash has always been a very shy guy, he hates public speaking, he hates crowds and he hates being the center of attention - even though all three follow him like the plague. He still wears the sunglasses and the hat just so he can hide from the audience. And currently that audience is one that he hasn't played to in 23 years, these are pure GNR fans who have been longing to see the man himself onstage with Axl since forever - he's nervous, he probably felt (at least for the first few shows) that he has to focus on his instrument and not fuck up the songs, to prove himself as the lead guitarist of Guns once again. That, plus the fact that he's sober and off drugs, make him much more reserved onstage (he acts like that with SMKC too).

And yet he's still jumping off amps, monitors, running around, doing his RNR shuffle, etc. As for Axl, the guy is pretty much such a ball of sunshine in terms of happiness lately, that he'll give Adler a run for his money. I watched all the Troubadour clips again last night and I'm certain he can't wait to get out of the chair and dance and command the stage like he always does.

The momentum was kinda lost, yes, and that's because of the timing of Axl/DC (it shifted our attention to this "side project"), the chair (but that proved to be good for his voice, so we'll let it slide) and the lack of interviews and prospect of new music from the band. The gag order thing served well till the Troub show, but now it's just a pain in the ass and they need to get talking soon, cause this forum's gonna be committing suicide left and right.

[downzy]

Not in the slightest.  I suppose get back to me after the NA Tour (and after I've seen them twice).  But I'm still pumped.

I think one of the headwinds against the band's momentum is the glaring fact that no one in the band seems able or willing to talk about it.  In some respects I think it's hard to get excited about something when even the main players won't or can't be bothered to express their own level of excitement or what it means to them to be back sharing a stage under the name Guns N' Roses.  I just watched Pearl Jam's documentary 20 yesterday and it's a sharp contrast in terms of transparency with fans than what we're getting from the band today.

I also think there's something to the fact that the commitment and attention Axl has paid to AC/DC makes one wonder how much of his heart is in the band he's known for.   

All that said, I think the best world I could use to describe what we've seen so far is surreal.   Ask yourself, if someone told you this time last year that we'd not only be seeing Axl, Duff, and Slash on stage at the same time but they'd be playing songs like TWAT and Coma (almost nightly), most would have thought winning the lottery more likely.  It was ten years ago to the day I was waking up with still chills having seen Axl and Izzy share a stage together at the final night at the Hammerstein Ballroom.  I'm sure I'm in for a repeat of that feeling when I see Axl, Duff, and Slash share a stage in Detroit and Toronto this summer with tens of thousands of fellow GNR fans.   

[Giblet]

I think that because of the break, and because it's great to see Axl in AC/DC, singing stuff we haven't seen him sing before, it's only natural to think that the excitement has waned for GNR. I think once they hit the road, and Axl has gotten better, we'll be back to business as usual, and the excitement will return. Also, I wouldn't be surprised if Axl has learned a thing or two in his time with AC/DC, and may actually be willing to sit down and talk in an interview, even with Slash!

[EvanG]

I think people are analyzing this way too much... First of all, all I've seen is freaking youtube clips so I can't even compare the Axl/DC line up chemistry and the GnR lineup chemistry with Duff and SLash on board again. Second of all... I was 10 years old at the time of Use Your Illusion, of course it will be different for me now compared to back then... I have changed, they have changed, just enjoy it for what it is. Slash and Axl reuniting is cool but can't change reality back to 1991 all of a sudden and I feel some people expect them to pick up where they left off in 1993 and everything will be the same again... but that's impossible.

Edited May 18, 2016 by EvanG

[-W.A.R-]

its because GNR is a "young band" allot of the greatness came from the youthful energy they possessed and them breaking up way too early didn't allow the image to progress. so people are still picturing and expecting a young good looking band with this crazy energy....but they're 50 and clearly haven't missed any meals

Edited May 18, 2016 by -W.A.R-

[SWINGTRADER]

Axl's injury and Coachella's boring environment killed the vibe. Coachella was very good for their bank accounts, but it was very boring for the fans. Hipsters are just awful. We didn't even get a pro shot performance out of it.

I think we would feel differently about the "reunion" had the band done the appropriate media promotion. I always believe that late night show appearances was the way to go. All 3 guys giving an interview together and explaining a lot of the BS over the years would have given the last 25 years a little closure. Another thing that has hurt the vibe of this whole thing is the fact that we still have 2 members of fake GNR in the band who are not very good. They also keep playing those terrible songs off Chinese Democracy, it gives this thing a NUGNR vibe than it does an actual legitimate reunion. 

All of these things put together did not allow this to be as special as it should have been. That being said, if the band are able to fix these things for the Summer tour, interest will spike up once again. Just Axl being back on his feet and singing full rasp like he is on ACDC will improve things a bit. 

 

P.S bring back Izzy and Steven.

[DieselDaisy]

Yes, Coachella was a mistake. They should have just booked a couple of their own shows at Inglewood Forum. It was funny seeing all of the Guns fans here dump their tickets when Vegas was announced. Wrong festival: wrong band!

I downloaded the second Vegas boot, which I believe was one of the better shows, and listened to it twice.

They sounded good; there were some definite positives there, the interplay between Fortus and Slash on 'Knockin' On Heavens Door' and 'Wish You Were Here' for instance, however, there is definitely something lacking there that is rather difficult to describe: fluffed lines aplenty and the occasional Mickey Mouse ('You Could Be Mine' is still wretched); bum notes from Slash - Slash played more bum notes at this show than he has during his entire career! - overly fast tempi coupled with clanky heavy metal drumming.  I would say they are operating at 60-70% of their potential. Hopefully mid-tour the thing will begin to fall into place. They need to gel and forge a chemistry. If the problem can be distilled to one problem I would say it is that Slash and McKagan have not really forged a musical rapport with Frank. Frank seems to be playing in a separate band from Slash and Duffy.

[Sprite]

The lack of excitement some of you feel is really coming from you. It has nothing to do with the band. You are like cheetahs always on the prowl for the next kill. You watched Axl slay it with Acdc and got a little jealous. You listened to some April shows from YouTube and heard a little Mickey and felt cheated. So now fuck it all its over right? What's the common theme? "You". There is no satisfying this state of "consumption" mind. Monkey mind. "Me, mine, what can you do for me?" Age will help it run its course. I think we also fictionilize celebrities and bands and don't view them as like us even though they are.

 Only until you realize the hamster wheel is quite repetitive in life do you begin to appreciate the little things and stop complaining that a tour has grown stale before it's even started. Best thing you can do for yourself is put down the keyboard and go outside and smell a flower.

[default_]

Just give the guys some time, they're eventually going to get there. I have a band and sometimes I feel weird after not playing for a month, just imagine these people with all this bad blood in the past 23 years. 
Its not that easy to get all the chemistry back...

The only thing that bothers me is: Slash n Duff may not have any chemistry with Fortus and Frank.
Not complaining about the guys, I really admire both of 'em, but this kind of shit can happen. 

[Hasan--97]

Axl being on the chair doesn't help, once hes better the energy and excitement will be their

This was just a warm up tour

[Len Cnut]

You lot are funny man, quibbling over trifles after finally getting what yous wanted.  Look, my favourite band is The Beatles and The Sex Pistols, now I've seen The Pistols live but if someone said to me, alright Len, you're gonna see The Beatles tommorow, i wouldnt care if it was Coachella or fuckin' West Ham social or Blackpool Illuminations or standing in a puddle under Hammersmith flyover, i would LOSE...MY...FUCKIN...MIND, having a go at audiences and that, you're the fuckin audience, where were ya?  I'd take John Lennon with a gimpy ankle, anything, just gimme that fuckin' band onstage and playing, know what i mean?

Now i understand that Guns aint your favourite band or whatever but its a damning indictment of the band that not enough actual GnR fans could turn up to an outdoor festival type gig in their home state of California to get the gig buzzing.

Perhaps GnR just have a shite audience.  I'm more or less an ex fan at this stage in my life (perhaps thats putting it too strongly, id probably buy the album if they put one out) but from what i saw of that Troubador show they had all the fuckin' chemistry in the world, I'd've enjoyed that show.  I've not seen much of the rest so i cant comment but fuckin hell, i thought this forum would be loving it if this band (or these three) got it together.  Apparently not.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Len B'stard

[Sprite]

10 hours ago, Rovim said:

The chemistry is still there, that wasn't a sure thing but they played Coma and the shows actually made me more confident in this line up. It doesn't feel like just a nostalgia trip.

And it's not just chemistry, the excitement seems to be there. All they need to do is keep the momentum going and then use that to record and release another album and support it live for 5 years.

Coma was great. Definitely up there with Estranged @ Rio 11 in terms of "Oh shit" moment.  To me that shows this is more of a collaboration and not King Dick's band and King Dick's band only. 

I think Axl is very receptive to positivity I guess you could call it. Tommy and Robin convinced him to include This I love. Ron single handedly brought Estranged and don't Cry back into the set. I have a feeling Slash had a lot to do with Coma. I think Axl just needs a little pushing and then it thrives. 

I don't think you need an album right away but it's got to come at some point if you want to continue touring or else you run the risk of what happened to nugnr? But maybe that is the stage they want to be at. They are middle aged and financially secure. A lot different than young and hungry. Sunrises and Buffet lines and in bed by 10 pm starts to sound nice.

Screw an album, let's have a 30th anniversary AFD Las Vegas residency and bask is all the nostalgic glory. Welcome to the Jungle could use another 10,000 spins on the record player so why not. Fall 2017 Ceasars Palace. Popcorn has to be sober though and a stint in Las Vegas is enough to make any man waiver. Izzy gets his club shows. Call Matt just in case. 

[challenger70rt]

3 hours ago, Wagszilla said:

It was their musical cum shot.

 

Haha... that about sums it all up nicely.

[Black Sabbath]

Axl's in a fucking chair, of course there isn't a lot of chemistry. Jesus Christ.

[proud10]

Whenever you think this isn't exciting, just think back to the nothing of 2015. 

[Un42nutzly]

Let's wait until Axl is on his feet to judge chemistry. I don't think we've seen anything yet! Maybe that is my optimistic personality speaking, but I truly believe that the upcoming tour will be spectacular!

[SWINGTRADER]

1 hour ago, Len B'stard said:

You lot are funny man, quibbling over trifles after finally getting what yous wanted.  Look, my favourite band is The Beatles and The Sex Pistols, now I've seen The Pistols live but if someone said to me, alright Len, you're gonna see The Beatles tommorow, i wouldnt care if it was Coachella or fuckin' West Ham social or Blackpool Illuminations or standing in a puddle under Hammersmith flyover, i would LOSE...MY...FUCKIN...MIND, having a go at audiences and that, you're the fuckin audience, where were ya?  I'd take John Lennon with a gimpy ankle, anything, just gimme that fuckin' band onstage and playing, know what i mean?

Now i understand that Guns aint your favourite band or whatever but its a damning indictment of the band that not enough actual GnR fans could turn up to an outdoor festival type gig in their home state of California to get the gig buzzing.

Perhaps GnR just have a shite audience.  I'm more or less an ex fan at this stage in my life (perhaps thats putting it too strongly, id probably buy the album if they put one out) but from what i saw of that Troubador show they had all the fuckin' chemistry in the world, I'd've enjoyed that show.  I've not seen much of the rest so i cant comment but fuckin hell, i thought this forum would be loving it if this band (or these three) got it together.  Apparently not.

I wouldn't attend that shitfest of a music festival(Coachella) if they paid me and I got to meet Axl and Slash. I want to see GNR in an appropriate setting.

The thing that frustrates GNR fans is that the "problems" with the band can be easily fixed. A lot of this is just common sense. Unfortunately, this band seems to lack it.

 

[Len Cnut]

4 minutes ago, SWINGTRADER said:

I wouldn't attend that shitfest of a music festival(Coachella) if they paid me and I got to meet Axl and Slash. I want to see GNR in an appropriate setting.

The thing that frustrates GNR fans is that the "problems" with the band can be easily fixed. A lot of this is just common sense. Unfortunately, this band seems to lack it.

 

This is why i said what i said about shit fanbase, should turn up en masse and make it buzz, as opposed to the shitfest that it apparently is, get tanked up and bang some hipsters about  

[DieselDaisy]

1 hour ago, Len B'stard said:

You lot are funny man, quibbling over trifles after finally getting what yous wanted.  Look, my favourite band is The Beatles and The Sex Pistols, now I've seen The Pistols live but if someone said to me, alright Len, you're gonna see The Beatles tommorow, i wouldnt care if it was Coachella or fuckin' West Ham social or Blackpool Illuminations or standing in a puddle under Hammersmith flyover, i would LOSE...MY...FUCKIN...MIND, having a go at audiences and that, you're the fuckin audience, where were ya?  I'd take John Lennon with a gimpy ankle, anything, just gimme that fuckin' band onstage and playing, know what i mean?

Now i understand that Guns aint your favourite band or whatever but its a damning indictment of the band that not enough actual GnR fans could turn up to an outdoor festival type gig in their home state of California to get the gig buzzing.

Perhaps GnR just have a shite audience.  I'm more or less an ex fan at this stage in my life (perhaps thats putting it too strongly, id probably buy the album if they put one out) but from what i saw of that Troubador show they had all the fuckin' chemistry in the world, I'd've enjoyed that show.  I've not seen much of the rest so i cant comment but fuckin hell, i thought this forum would be loving it if this band (or these three) got it together.  Apparently not.

Ahh but what if that Beatles reunion had Denny Laine and some other wanker on lead and drums instead of George and Ringo, and Linda McCartney was added. You would have Harrison and Starr fans irate in the thousands.

Nobody seems to have even bothered to ask Izzy Stradlin, GN'R's greatest songwriter and coolest geezer, and Adler.

[Len Cnut]

3 minutes ago, DieselDaisy said:

Ahh but what if that Beatles reunion had Denny Laine and some other wanker on lead and drums instead of George and Ringo, and Linda McCartney was added. You would have Harrison and Starr fans irate in the thousands.

Nobody seems to have even bothered to ask Izzy Stradlin, GN'R's greatest songwriter and coolest geezer, and Adler.

Dont spoil my analogy please

[The Real McCoy]

More proof that Axl can't win with some people. 

 

[DieselDaisy]

Just now, Len B'stard said:

Dont spoil my analogy please

And then what if Paul McCartney decides to join The Rolling Stones on an European tour, replacing Mick Jagger. And what if Paul McCartney sings much better for The Stones than The Beatles, and all the Beatlemaniacs go, ''why can't he sing that way for us?''.

[proud10]

I'd love to have Izzy of course, but the way I look at it is, if the band isn't writing music, Richard is better for the band, since they're focusing on live shows and he's a better overall player. I would like Adler, since he's better than Frank, at least for AFD. But I think there's a reason he's not there, and hopefully it's a back injury. I at least hope he was asked 

[SWINGTRADER]

5 minutes ago, Len B'stard said:

Dont spoil my analogy please

You didn't need Diesel's help for that to happen.

Edited May 18, 2016 by SWINGTRADER

[Rovim]

11 minutes ago, DieselDaisy said:

Ahh but what if that Beatles reunion had Denny Laine and some other wanker on lead and drums instead of George and Ringo, and Linda McCartney was added. You would have Harrison and Starr fans irate in the thousands.

Nobody seems to have even bothered to ask Izzy Stradlin, GN'R's greatest songwriter and coolest geezer, and Adler.

Yet most people accepted the UYI line up. It's Axl, Duff, and Slash again. You act as if no other hard rock band in the history of mankind has replaced members and continued to make music under the same band name.