Final thoughts on NITL tour

[nikothebellic]

On 09.07.2018 at 9:49 PM, Kula2006 said:

Axl beeing unprepard for all first concerts of the tour

Actually, that's quite inaccurate. April shows were a spotlight of the tour. Despite the band's overall sound was in a search for a perfection, Axl has rocked. We still did not get (or rarely did) YCBM of a quality that was in Coachella and some other songs were also one of the best on the whole tour. Morover, the first leg (US 2016) was the best - after that, they were mostly on auto-pilot with some improvments in US autumn leg in 2017. Though, must agree that the first shows on the following legs after 2016 were a bit underwhelming - Axl indeed should prepare better. 

On 09.07.2018 at 9:49 PM, Kula2006 said:

High ticket prices -- slashs divorce etc all point towards the point where you get the feeling that the whole tour is just a hughe chashgrab for everyone involved

Hah, you should look through The Stones prices - GNR's really democratic in this terms. Maybe in US it's too much, don't know, but mostly all EU gigs were priced fair. I mean, it wasn't cheap at all, but still a good bargain for a 3-hour shows with classical songs and rock icons on stage. 

On 09.07.2018 at 9:49 PM, Kula2006 said:

Frank/Mellissa/Richard - I understand why they have choosen to rather play with some session musicians than with unrealiable people like Izzy and Steven when there is so much money involved but the quality of the music degraded because of that

Have to disagree here. Steven was kicked out of the band for a reason in 1990 and I doubt that he's the same drummer. For sure, he's still a top player, but to endure 3-hour set for an ex-junkie would be not the easiest part. And to do that consistently for 3 years and more than 100 shows. Maybe Frank is not the best option available, don't know, don't have anything against him as not so "nerd" in professional terms. The same with Izzy - he quit by himself in 1991 for a reason. And he keeps this attitude. He don't want big gigs and attention. Moreover his carrer is not so consistent, so, again, there may be some "stamina" and "form" doubts. Cause to play music is like football, driving, art - without practice you may deteriorate. Yet again, have nothing against Izzy, would like him to show up some day, but Fortus is a great choice. Maybe, evnen a better choice, as I don't want the atmoshere in the band to be spoiled. The problem with Steven/Izzy that some people think that they are the same energy-driven and music-crazy guys like in 1987 with the same set of skills. And if they'll return, the things will be the same. They aren't (guys) and they won't (things). Don't be bias. And I'm absolutely okay with Melissa - who do you want to fill this spot, Pitman? And this spot will be anyway. And I favour girls in rock as there always were some. 

Was on 3 cocnerts and ready to pay for more. Maybe not as high price as it was (travel, accomodation etc), but still want more. New album will be a marvelous thing, but at this point my live experienced is not fulfilled yet. And agree the setlists were too predictable. However, that's die hard fans who want to see new and new stuff, but an ordinary listener want to hear what he expects - all the hits and the most popular spots - and they managed it very well with some ocasional deep cuts.  

All in all, I think it was probably the best period in GnR from a professional point of view. For sure, guys can't be compared to 90's, especially Axl, but they matured and finally learn to deliver a proper modern show. No incidents or sagnificants delays for three years! For GnR it's an achievement. Also, the band is tighter than ever - no feud, misconception, drugs and other stuff. You may say that nothing compares to 1991-93 shows, but the thing is at this case the show you attend or about to might be cancelled or the band will show up drunk and deliver not full set or screw it up. So, hope this line-up will live as long as posiblle and succeses with the new album. Steven/Izzy is participation favourable, but not essential. 

Edited September 11, 2018 by nikothebellic

[soon]

I loved seeing them live. I loved watching shows on here and the comradery we all shared around shows, announcements, sm videos teasers, etc. 

Also though, I feel like my appreciation of their artistry was kinda, like, taken and sold to the highest bidder. Something deeper then just them selling out. Not sure how to express it.

[Italian girl]

I miss them terribly.

yesterday night I dreamt of a new european leg

Edited September 12, 2018 by Italian girl

[GNRfanMILO]

Yeah, It was nice seeing them together for the first time in my life. But three shows is enough.

I want new music. Fuck more touring

[Snytefant]

4 hours ago, Gavin82 said:

@Snytefant come on dont keep us in suspense what countrys did you see them in??

I do have it in my signature, but here it goes  And of course, I count Europe + USA as "Around the world"

04.06.17 - Madrid, Spain
07.06.17 - Zurich, Switzerland
13.06.17 - Munich, Germany
20.06.17 - Gdansk, Poland
27.06.17 - Copenhagen, Denmark
29.06.17 - Stockholm, Sweden
10.07.17 - Vienna, Austria
24.11.17 - Staples Center, LA, USA
25.11.17 - The Forum, LA, USA
03.06.18 - Berlin, Germany
01.07.18 - Barcelona, Spain
19.07.18 - Oslo, Norway
21.07.18 - Gothenburg, Sweden

[nikothebellic]

23 hours ago, Snytefant said:

I do have it in my signature, but here it goes  And of course, I count Europe + USA as "Around the world"

04.06.17 - Madrid, Spain
07.06.17 - Zurich, Switzerland
13.06.17 - Munich, Germany
20.06.17 - Gdansk, Poland
27.06.17 - Copenhagen, Denmark
29.06.17 - Stockholm, Sweden
10.07.17 - Vienna, Austria
24.11.17 - Staples Center, LA, USA
25.11.17 - The Forum, LA, USA
03.06.18 - Berlin, Germany
01.07.18 - Barcelona, Spain
19.07.18 - Oslo, Norway
21.07.18 - Gothenburg, Sweden

Let me be curious and take a guess: you’ve got tickets to 25.11 LA show as “for the last on the tour”? But then they announced a couple more, suppose you were pissed off a bit. The same with Sweden 2018 - the last show in Iceland was announced later. So unlucky, huh? 

[Snytefant]

1 hour ago, nikothebellic said:

Let me be curious and take a guess: you’ve got tickets to 25.11 LA show as “for the last on the tour”? But then they announced a couple more, suppose you were pissed off a bit. The same with Sweden 2018 - the last show in Iceland was announced later. So unlucky, huh? 

Yeah, no. Of course, it would've been cool to have been at "the last show", but it didn't piss me off.
I would've went to Iceland if they had announced it at the same time of the rest, but not just for GnR. Never been to Iceland and it would be cool to go there for a long weekend.

The LA shows was booked from the hotel in Gdansk the day after the gig in a GnR-high and we couldn't stand it to be "just" 3 more shows, and "what if Forum is the last GnR gig ever".
Quite an expensive impulse decision 

[Stiff Competition]

I went to the two dodger stadium shows on the first leg, the two london shows the next summer and the 4-hour Forum show that ended the US leg.

Overall, they were pretty fun. The 2nd night at Dodger stadium and the second night in London stand out as my favorites. It wasn't as magical as I'd hoped it would be to see Axl and Slash play together though. I saw VR a lot in venues that ranged from parking lots to amphitheaters and I saw Axl's band at some slightly smaller places as well, so the the big nature of the shows made it feel a little more disconnected from how I am used to seeing all those guys. 

In the end the pros were seeing some songs I've never heard before that I have loved for years, seeing Slash and Axl finally not hating each other and getting to travel to London for two of the shows.

The cons were the shows didn't change much, I cannot stand fortus, melissa and frank being up there, and Axl's voice was pretty fucking bad a lot of the time.

I'm glad I saw what I did but without smaller venues, adding Izzy back in or promising to change the set (like a skin n' bones type thing) I don't know if I'd go to anymore shows at this point.

 

Also for the record, while everyone thinks the 4-hour show was some special feat..it was pretty fucking boring at a point watching all the masturbatory jamming and endless array of Chinese songs (and I'm even a fan of that album overall).

I saw an 8-song Jane's Addiction show like a couple weeks later and had probably more fun. Quality>Quantity.

[Sisyphus]

If Axl's voice was up to par, all the other complaints would dissipate.

[19AT5]

Flew over from Glasgow, Scotland to see GNR in Madison Square Garden on 10 October 2017. That in itself would be a pretty cool story! But the fact that the venue was awesome, the gig was awesome and the people I met on the night were also awesome just added to the experience. Loved it. The one thing people forget about the static set lists is that you can strategically plan your piss breaks with relatively pin point accuracy! So whilst the Lord may taketh, he also giveth! For that alone, I was very glad to hear the opening chimes of This I Love!

[BKinNYC]

1 hour ago, Sisyphus said:

If Axl's voice was up to par, all the other complaints would dissipate.

Nah, it depends on what you like to see at a show. As some people posted earlier, the jams were endless. I saw them 3 times, and went to grab a beer every time the "Layla" jam began, or Slash began the neverending Rocket Queen solo.  Bored me to tears. 

[Caught_in_a_Coma]

Historic

[Amir]

If I were to do it again, I'd have probably tried to go the Mexico and Buenos Aires shows in 2016 seeing as I couldn't get into the US (that way I would have got TWAT and Adler), and maybe a couple less shows in Europe in 2017. Montreal show was a surprising dud for me (was still cool finally seeing a GNR gig with @Powerage5 and getting poutine), would probably have chosen Edmonton or Vancouver if I knew they were gonna pull out Catcher and I Feel Good.

Can't believe they played the same setlist 5 shows in a row in 2018, but to be fair it is a longer setlist, and a pretty good one. Glad I got Maddy and Shadow of Your Love; Slither really needs more rasp from Axl.

If the November shows look like they're gonna be good, I would happily pay top dollar to fly last minute to Taiwan and Hong Kong. As it is, I haven't booked anything and will wait and see.

The best show I saw by far on the NITL tour was the first one I caught, Toronto 2016; even being sat all the way back in the cheap seats, you could feel Axl's venom on tracks like Out Ta Get Me.

Edited September 13, 2018 by Amir

[ZoSoRose]

6 minutes ago, Amir said:

If I were to do it again, I'd have probably tried to go the Mexico and Buenos Aires shows in 2016 seeing as I couldn't get into the US (that way I would have got TWAT and Adler), and maybe a couple less shows in Europe in 2017. Montreal show was a surprising dud for me (was still cool finally seeing a GNR gig with @Powerage5 and getting poutine), would probably have chosen Edmonton or Vancouver if I knew they were gonna pull out Catcher and I Feel Good.

Can't believe they played the same setlist 5 shows in a row in 2018, but to be fair it is a longer setlist, and a pretty good one. Glad I got Maddy and Shadow of Your Love; Slither really needs more rasp from Axl.

If the November shows look like they're gonna be good, I would happily pay top dollar to fly last minute to Taiwan and Hong Kong. As it is, I haven't booked anything and will wait and see.

The best show I saw by far on the NITL tour was the first one I caught, Toronto 2016; even being sat all the way back in the cheap seats, you could feel Axl's venom on tracks like Out Ta Get Me.

2016 was 

That year was the reunion I envisioned (although with Izzy and Steven). Axl sounded killer and juggled ACDC. Amazing 

[Powerage5]

8 hours ago, Amir said:

If I were to do it again, I'd have probably tried to go the Mexico and Buenos Aires shows in 2016 seeing as I couldn't get into the US (that way I would have got TWAT and Adler), and maybe a couple less shows in Europe in 2017. Montreal show was a surprising dud for me (was still cool finally seeing a GNR gig with @Powerage5 and getting poutine), would probably have chosen Edmonton or Vancouver if I knew they were gonna pull out Catcher and I Feel Good.

Can't believe they played the same setlist 5 shows in a row in 2018, but to be fair it is a longer setlist, and a pretty good one. Glad I got Maddy and Shadow of Your Love; Slither really needs more rasp from Axl.

If the November shows look like they're gonna be good, I would happily pay top dollar to fly last minute to Taiwan and Hong Kong. As it is, I haven't booked anything and will wait and see.

The best show I saw by far on the NITL tour was the first one I caught, Toronto 2016; even being sat all the way back in the cheap seats, you could feel Axl's venom on tracks like Out Ta Get Me.

Poutineageddon was definitely worth a lackluster show (I think MTL was my least favorite NITL gig, and maybe my second or third least favorite GN'R gig ever). 

[Edward Nygma]

We we get more NITL shows after the upcoming leg?

[Tadsy]

Al lot of the pros and cons on here seem to be shared by many posters so for me, most people seem to share similar feelings on what was good or bad. 

 

Pros: 

axl slash n duff on the same stage

 

Cons:

the aliens

no Steven and Izzy or at the least Sorum and gilby

the shameless box set at $1000

duff turning corporate as fuck 

no Axl/slash interviews 

no celebration of AFD with the original band members, just a shitty overpriced box set arriving a year too late rather than a full appetite show which leads me to my next point..

missed opportunities on a major level in so many ways. The band had the opportunity to give the fans so much more than what was delivered at certain points but couldn’t do it, either by ego? Bad management, lack of creative vision or a willingness to just not give a fuck. From celebrating 30 years of AFD, to not getting Izzy on board because of greed, and the treatment of Steven by Axl, along with persisting with their no talk policy while shamelessly raping the wallets of their hardest core fans who waited so long to see slash done back has been a major letdown For a lot of very loyal fans. 

Another con is the situation which whilst not linked directly to NITL is the situation which developed on here with fans being threatened in regards to music being removed from YouTube and a lack of interest from management to address that situation..

honestly the cons actually could go on and on but the apologists will just call it whinging 😂

Axl n Slash sharing a stage trumps most of that, but the goodwill from loyal fans won’t last forever if they don’t release something new or somehow change it up by being back the original 2 who are still missing. 

 

Rant over 😜

Edited September 13, 2018 by Tadsy

[Kwick1]

The biggest regret I have in my GnR fandom is that I chose to not go to NITLT when the shows were within driving distance. My thinking was that I've seen the original 5 AFD and UYI tour in '91. I'm not a reunion type person and a late night makes getting up at 4 to train the next day difficult but following the shows on here since joining opened my eyes to how special this is. I so wish they would announce another US date. 

[God of Thunder]

I am grateful that it happened. I saw them all over the world and sometimes they were spectacular and sometimes - especially Axl - could have done better. But every single show I attended was worth it. Maybe it will be one more time (tonight) for me....

[19AT5]

One con I would also point, as a fellow like minded reveller above did, was that the length of the show was just too long. Yes, we know Slash likes to solo but oh my word does it get tedious when it happens after every other song! Does anybody else find the Godfather theme completely and utterly pointless?! I would also question why The Seeker remains in the set. It's not even a particularly good Who song! 

[Lio]

12 minutes ago, 19AT5 said:

One con I would also point, as a fellow like minded reveller above did, was that the length of the show was just too long. Yes, we know Slash likes to solo but oh my word does it get tedious when it happens after every other song! Does anybody else find the Godfather theme completely and utterly pointless?! I would also question why The Seeker remains in the set. It's not even a particularly good Who song! 

No, The Godfather live is always a treat.

Th Seeker is a fun song and they all enjoy doing it. Makes it worth it imo. I wouldn't be shedding any tears if they dropped it, but I don't mind it.

[Gordon Comstock]

At this point I've accepted The Seeker (it's under 3 mins, it's uptempo and Axl sounds good on it. He should've left it with the NuGNR era but I'll take it as an 'extra').

 

I hope they end the tour on a high note, instead of the bloated shows they've been doing since 2017. Cut it back to about 2.5 hours, definitely keep it under 3 hours, get rid of songs that just drag (Yesterdays, Coma, Black Hole Sun, This I Love, WYWH, etc), keep Shadow and Slither, and bring back OTGM. Keep it 'short' and powerful. When Axl has to pace himself over 3.5-4 hours, the shows suffer overall.

[Dazey]

They need to drop all the covers. At this point I would be happy with no new music if they just replaced all the covers with deep cuts like Breakdown, Dead Horse, Back off Bitch etc. 

[janrichmond]

9 minutes ago, Lio said:

No, The Godfather live is always a treat.

Th Seeker is a fun song and they all enjoy doing it. Makes it worth it imo. I wouldn't be shedding any tears if they dropped it, but I don't mind it.

I love The Seeker and Axl can sing it better than a lot of Guns' songs 

[marunic]

way too long and overdone, i think the initial hype might of overtaken my expectations.

 

Part of me wishes they never reunited to keep that mystic to the band but im not sure