Jump to content

The Lateness of the Use Your Illusion Tour Shows


Recommended Posts

My opinion is that the heat and trouble that came from the late appearances were the result of poor tour management. It could have been prevented by not scheduling GnR to start at 7:30. Sure maybe Axl should have complied but Axl was battling other demons and tour management was aware that he wanted to go on after 10. Tour management also could have avoided cities that had a curfew requiring shows to stop before midnight. With better management I've always thought that much of the BS from UYI tour could have and should have been prevented. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Kwick1 said:

My opinion is that the heat and trouble that came from the late appearances were the result of poor tour management. It could have been prevented by not scheduling GnR to start at 7:30. Sure maybe Axl should have complied but Axl was battling other demons and tour management was aware that he wanted to go on after 10. Tour management also could have avoided cities that had a curfew requiring shows to stop before midnight. With better management I've always thought that much of the BS from UYI tour could have and should have been prevented. 

Yeah... This is nonsense.  In the end Axl signed up for the tour and knew he had to start early and then didn't for whatever reason. Now that the band's half reuinited he's suddenly able to start at the right time?

You can't just book a tour and have them start at whatever time the band sees fit. There's curfews almost everywhere and people needing to be at work the next day. It's impossible to do so.

Edited by RNRS
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

GnR was scheduled to go on at times knowing the likelihood of Axl being extremely late. It was 27 years ago and Axl now knows or appears to know the importance of starting as scheduled. My guess is that it may still be difficult for him. All I'm saying is that management knew there would likely be problems with a 7:30 start time. We don't know the extent management tried to work around Axl's lateness.  Didn't Axl one time say something like no one would complain about staying up late to get laid so shouldn't complain about a late show? This attitude management knew. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Kwick1 said:

GnR was scheduled to go on at times knowing the likelihood of Axl being extremely late. It was 27 years ago and Axl now knows or appears to know the importance of starting as scheduled.

Yeah yeah... Axl now knows the importance of starting as scheduled... We're not talking about the difference between a toddler and an adolescent. He always knew, the pressure was just a lot higher this time as I'm sure several promoters wouldn't pay out would the show start at 1 at night.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, RNRS said:

Yeah yeah... Axl now knows the importance of starting as scheduled... We're not talking about the difference between a toddler and an adolescent.

Axl: "My growth was stopped at two years old. And when they talk about Axl Rose being a screaming two-year-old, they're right. There's a screaming two-year-old who's real pissed off and hides and won't show himself that often, even to me" [Rolling Stone, April 2, 1992] ;)

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, SoulMonster said:

Axl was struggling with mental issues?

Bollocks. Seb Back recalls an incident when it was about 11pm and Skid Row had already exhausted their entire set, and the whole place was going mad. He bumps into Rose arriving as if this was the most normal thing ever. (Bach) ''DUUUDE, where were you?''. (Rose) ''I was taking a shower''.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, DieselDaisy said:

Bollocks. Seb Back recalls an incident when it was about 11pm and Skid Row had already exhausted their entire set, and the whole place was going mad. He bumps into Rose arriving as if this was the most normal thing ever. (Bach) ''DUUUDE, where were you?''. (Rose) ''I was taking a shower''.

Are you saying Axl wasn't struggling with mental issues at the time and that it couldn't have been a factor in the late concert starts? Personally I am not saying it is either or, but likely a combination of the two. He was most definitely struggling particularly hard at the time and he was most definitely an asshole. 

Additionally, of course bitter fans are more likely to blame it on Axl being an asshole than Axl being insane, or even a measured combo, because only the former allows they to criticize him. And they really need that.

 

Edited by SoulMonster
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Sydney Fan said:

Interesting there are fans that saw the illusion shows when the band came on really night and there regarded as the best shows those fans ever saw. Go figure.

True. And I remember being at the 07 Sydney show and waiting for hours and not being that impressed... go figure. We’re you at that one?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, megaguns1982 said:

True. And I remember being at the 07 Sydney show and waiting for hours and not being that impressed... go figure. We’re you at that one?

Yes and eastern creek in 93. The 07 show wasnt to bad. Its a shame CD hadnt come out by then try and get into the CD songs a lot more and compare the studio and live versions. but i did miss seeing the old band spirit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Axl was trying to get the naming rights to GnR.  He felt that things might be falling apart.  They got rid of Steven Adler, and Izzy got arrested for peeing in the kitchen of the plane , a felony.  By 91, Axl wanted the naming rights so if it all fell apart, GnR would continue with or without Slash,Duff etc..  So he used the crowd as leverage.  The rest of the band was there, but he showed up whenever he wanted.  And they had 2 riots and a few close calls.  Finally Slash and Duff signed it over and Axl was cool again.  But Slash in this interview was just trying to justify it, He didn't want to make things worse.  Axl's excuses about having to get his ankles taped and vocal warmups was just an excuse.  He knew what time the show was supposed to start.  Besides, the Lakers might have been playing!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, JONEZY said:

Axl was trying to get the naming rights to GnR.  He felt that things might be falling apart.  They got rid of Steven Adler, and Izzy got arrested for peeing in the kitchen of the plane , a felony.  By 91, Axl wanted the naming rights so if it all fell apart, GnR would continue with or without Slash,Duff etc..  So he used the crowd as leverage.  The rest of the band was there, but he showed up whenever he wanted.  And they had 2 riots and a few close calls.  Finally Slash and Duff signed it over and Axl was cool again.  But Slash in this interview was just trying to justify it, He didn't want to make things worse.  Axl's excuses about having to get his ankles taped and vocal warmups was just an excuse.  He knew what time the show was supposed to start.  Besides, the Lakers might have been playing!

That whole "Axl wouldn't go on until we signed" thing doesn't add up. Like Axl said years ago, they would have been signing under duress, it wouldn't hold up in court. 

Also, I can't remember how Slash addresses it, but in Duff's book he's much more vague about what happened than they were interviews. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Axl was late for everything, not just the shows; interviews, any kind of appointments, etc. Craig Duswalt (Axl's assistant then) wrote in his book that he always booked the next flight and the flight after that, because Axl almost always missed his flight and many times the next one as well. As for the shows, they were telling Axl that they were scheduled an hour earlier than they really were in an effort to minimize the lateness. 

Axl's reasons (or excuses) for being late at the shows ranged from his stepfather being from that particular place (Dayton, Ohio - that was, probably, the latest start of the tour, 4 hours late), to not being physically ready, to stage fright/not being mentally ready in general, to watching the fireworks (Stockholm). 

During the tour with Metallica he wasn't that late per se, as it seems. But the shows were scheduled to start late anyway, because Metallica finished its set around 10.00-10.30, and then it needed about an hour to change the stage setup, which was already a delay. So if Axl was late even "only" half-an-hour or an hour, it was a 2-hour delay for the fans.

I think all of it wasn't unrelated with his mental issues and that it partly had to do with that. It's definitely not easy for a "normal" person to explain it - let alone understand it.

Edited by Blackstar
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Sydney Fan said:

Interesting there are fans that saw the illusion shows when the band came on really night and there regarded as the best shows those fans ever saw. Go figure.

I got grounded for a month after coming home in the middle of the night on a school night after the Chicago '92 show and it was well worth it looking back...amazing show! 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think a lot of it was simply that Axl was genuinely nervous and unprepared before shows a lot of the time, but didn't want to admit this explicitly, since it doesn't sound too cool. There is one interview where he says something like imagine having to go crazy and jump off your car every night, it's not natural so takes a lot of psyching up.

One thing that strikes me about Slash's complaints about the theme parties that apparently lost them money. It would be interesting to hear the opinions of others like the backing singers etc on the value of these parties. Like surely it could be looked at another way - that GnR took care of their entourage well by giving them fun stuff to do rather than expecting them to just go to their hotels. Maybe the entourage really valued Axl's efforts to please them, so you could say GnR were good employees even if it meant cutting profits?

 

 

 

Edited by Nice Boy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, RNRS said:

There's curfews almost everywhere and people needing to be at work the next day. It's impossible to do so.

pretty sure people needed to be at work the next day in the 90s too... only difference is the average age of most fans at the concert this time around... as for curfews well yeah, the world has a lot more rules than it used to... personally though thats one thing i miss about attending a gnr show... walking outta there at 3am kinda added to the experience and it set the band apart... sorry for all of those that dont agree and that wanna be home on time to watch the 11 oclock news

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, Hollywood Gunner said:

pretty sure people needed to be at work the next day in the 90s too... only difference is the average age of most fans at the concert this time around... as for curfews well yeah, the world has a lot more rules than it used to... personally though thats one thing i miss about attending a gnr show... walking outta there at 3am kinda added to the experience and it set the band apart... sorry for all of those that dont agree and that wanna be home on time to watch the 11 oclock news

Yeah, and people were upset about the late shows back then as well. There were plenty of curfews back then as well, it's not something of the last few years. The band started late back then but not 1 at night kind of late like Axl did on several shows during the Chinese Democracy tours.

I've never felt walking out late after a show adds to anything other than frustration as to how to get home and how to make it to work the next day without feeling absolutely fucked. It's irresponsible to do so, there's more to life than see Guns N' Roses and it's not "the 11 o' clock news".

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...