7 hours ago, Rickodez said:

Just gonna leave this here, you're welcome...

4:00

 

'Patience (Enhanced version)'

27 minutes ago, MaskingApathy said:

Yes, he doesn't drink anymore.

Can't remember if I knew that or not... it still looks incongruous, Slash holding a bottle of Perrier.

3 hours ago, marlingrl03 said:

More pics from the celebration.

In the first pic above, Slash is holding a bottle of Perrier, looks like? Has he given up boozing as well as smoking??

12 hours ago, BorderlineCrazy said:

people won't stop talking about how much he sucks these days 

Grrr WTF is wrong with those people? If they don't like Axl why do they bother?! Nobody is forcing them to come on this forum / attend the shows. I know this comes up a lot. Sigh.

11 hours ago, Andy14 said:

12 hours ago, Zoot said:

'The Boy Who Never Smiles' - A Photographic Journey, by The MyGNRForum Women's Thread

I can start working on it .

10 hours ago, BorderlineCrazy said:

He was so over excited and he's soooo awesome!!

Now I really want to read your review. My experience / perception of Slash on stage is that he is utterly focused on his playing, in his own little guitar world, not noticing much that goes on around him. I don't know if I can imagine him openly excited!! I'm too lazy busy to find your review - pretty please post it here and we will all like/rose/dolphin it. 

9 hours ago, GNRfanJen said:

It's so funny to me that Axl is one to never shut up, even in his older age. The thing is though this time around, it isn't rants, rather silly jokes and laughs 

I agree! it's fantastic, so nice to see him (hopefully- from what we can tell) finally at some kind of peace with himself. He still has so much to offer the world! 

9 hours ago, GNRfanJen said:

The mimicking fans is probably my favorite though. He did that to me twice in San Antonio and honestly I still haven't recovered from those moments 

 Did I miss a longer description of this? Please tell again if you don't mind!.

7 minutes ago, Wheredowegomeow said:

17 minutes ago, Lio said:

Exactly! Imagine finally having a pic with your idol and then he looks like that If he was in such a mood, I'd rather just try maybe talking to him, even if it's just a few words to tell him how much I enjoyed the shows or something. I'd only want a pic if he's in a really great mood and promises to smile

me too, I would tell him the same and something like a handshake would be enough for me  (lol then I would go somewhere where no one could see me and freak out in private )

 I tell myself I would be cool but in reality, I dunno... I'd hope I'd treat him with respect like any fellow human being and not be like a creepy obsessed fan / stalker / weirdo. 

16 hours ago, Blackstar said:

Maybe he liked only Springsteen's early stuff, because in one interview from '96-'87 he said he wasn't interested in the working class themes Springsteen was writing about, like getting a job in the Midwest (or something like that).

I like some of Springsteen's songs, without being a big fan or anything.

Axl + working class? No. He couldn't escape his midwestern roots fast enough (once he realised that's what he had to do or he would rot away in Lafayette). 

17 hours ago, killuridols said:

I didn't feel like crying, I felt like beating the shit out of them but they were taller and bigger than me so no chance.

All we could do was just repelled the pushes back and protect ourselves with our arms..... Many girls were with their boyfriends and they would protect them.... we were alone, mostly...... During Paradise City one cool guy, who saw how we were being treated decided to protect us and he repelled the asshole moshers but truth is everybody was a tough shit, specially when Slash threw his picks

I don't know if Latin American women have a reputation for being tough..... what does that mean? I guess no matter how tough you are, you will never win a guy, unless you're a ninja or you have a weapon... physically women cannot compete with a guy in a one-on-one battle

We have a really high rate of gender violence and deaths derived from it in our countries so it looks to me that none of us is tough enough.

Shit, it sounds so scary. I guess by tough I meant 'able to stand your ground', which it sounds like you are. That's very sad about the high rate of gender violence and deaths in your part of the world. We have lots of domestic abuse against women here, too, but it is improving, I think, with higher reporting rates, police taking reports more seriously, women being believed more, etc.

On a lighter note, Good that you sound OK-ish, apart form the cold. I'm a bit of a North European snowflake / vampire (you too, @MillionsOfSpiders, right?!) who only goes out when there's no one else around, preferably at night... And if anyone says boo to me, I run back inside again...

The only thing that would coax me out in daylight is a GNR show!!! 

17 hours ago, MyPrettyTiedUpMichelle said:

Yeah, they complemented each other so well and Axl gives a very respectful performance while still being full of energy and his usual rocker self.   Tom looks so happy to be sharing the stage with Axl.  Also love how it looks as though Axl genuinely amuses and amazes Tom! ha! 

I had a different reaction. I thought Tom looked a bit taken aback by the power of Axl's performance, almost as if they hadn't rehearsed and wasn't expecting the sheer energy from Axl. See 3:44 in the VMA clip for example, to me Tom looks like he's thinking "Shit why did I agree to do this"?!

(Also see around 3:56 in the same clip for lovely ass.)

17 hours ago, Tori72 said:

Thank you so much, Oh never ending source of amazing new info (and videos)! 

Also I'm just listening to the Appetite for Distortion podcast with the Shire guy whom I could listen to forever, he tells so good stories. So his stories are totally warming my heat for young Axl Rose again. Apparently he was very much into Patty Smith, Bruce Springsteen's Born to run (OMG ) and had a bootleg copy of Prince and he was studying Prince's moves. 

Ooh thanks for the heads up. I haven't listened to that episode yet. I will now.  

2 minutes ago, MyPrettyTiedUpMichelle said:

This sort of thing makes me worried because it's a miracle that they are all still alive after everything each one has been through.

Completely agree, it is a miracle. We as Guns fans have a lot to be thankful for.

14 hours ago, killuridols said:

Ok, Imma post my "review" of the show in Santiago de Chile (09/29/2017) at Estadio Monumental:

Unfortunately, I don't think I have a lot to comment other than just me being bitter about the audience because that's all I can remember :

1. When I got to the stadium, around 5PM or so, I entered by Duff's side.... There were a lot of people around the stage area so it really seemed hard to get a spot front row, even though when we arrived I noticed there was like a perimeter closed off right next to the VIP area. I'm not sure why there was that there but it seemed like it was either a dangerous zone or it was going to be opened up later. I wanted to stay around because if they would remove it later, I would have had a spot at the rail but then the friend I was with decided to call other friend that had been already lining up since early so we could go there with him. But he was on the Slash side and we didn't know what to do....... We had been at Duff's side last year in River and it was awesome, we got big hold of the giraffe, but we had seen very little of Axl and Slash. Only when they came close to us. So we said ok, lets go to that side for a change and faking it that we were coming back from the bathroom, we managed to get where the other friend was. Some people gave us some bad looks but ok.... Tyler Bryant was finishing their set.
    
2. Once in our spot, which was like in 8th row on Slash side but kinda more like to the catwalk, we waited until The Who. It didn't take long for them to get ready. So The Who begins and I don't know one single song, except for The Seeker (which they played in second place). People were alright, I saw some really old dudes very happy to see them live and well, I tried to go with the flow and pretend I knew something.... But then, the rather nice environment that was reigning was disturbed by a bunch of ASSHOLES who came from behind pushing and jumping, so bad and so hard that it was hard to believe they were The Who fans.
   
   This group of idiots used all their force as a group of five to break into the first rows and attack us all by moshing around like the only ones deserving to be there were them!
   They were drunk and drugged.... they would throw themselves at each other and at all the people around them by pushing and jumping. They wanted to air-dive or whatever that is called and security gave them shit several times but they were never pulled out
   At some point, one of them dropped a GLASS BOTTLE OF LIQUOR from his pockets. I have no idea how it was possible for them to pass with a GLASS BOTTLE and when I saw it I tried to hide it.... I just can't imagine what wouild have happened with that bottle had been used as projectile to throw at the stage.
    
3. The Who was cool.... I kinda liked it and all people around me say they were fantastic but it didn't really make a huge impression on me
    
4. Once it finished we had to wait for Guns N' Roses...... It didn't take long either................... what I liked is the new animations they used for these shows. Pretty good and looked awesome on the big screens.
   After that, there was the Looney Tunes song, the instrumental one and Mc Bob announcing the band.
    
5. From this point on, don't ask me anything specific because I remember nothing.............. As soon as "Its So Easy" began, I cant explain to you the madness.... the tough guys were roughier than ever and they pushed us, hit us, made us bleed..... Not only that but a new group of violent guys came out of nowhere and did the same.
   I couldn't enjoy anything nor sing the songs.... all I could do, being the small woman that I am, is try to protect myself from being knocked out by these huge tall violent guys and try not to lose my spot.
   What I'm trying to say is that all of these assholes made their way til that point by using their piece of shit means like pushing, running, forcing themselves among people and moving in group. They didn't line up or arrived very early in the morning. I know I didn't either but I never pushed anyone or tried to hurt them so I could get their spot!
    
6. Ok. The songs kept coming: Brownstone, Chinese Democracy, Jungle..... don't ask me if Axl was Mickey or not, I have no idea! ..... By times I couldn't hear him at all... not sure if its because I was battling my battles or the sound was shit but I didn't hear Mickey until maybe Live & Let Die or one of those slower songs.
    
7. I think "Better" was nice and maybe there was a Slaxl at some point... I don't remember now, in spite of having told myself that I had to memorize the Slaxl moments so I could come and tell you here later
    
8. By this time, I had moved a lot in the area that I was originally in..... One, because some guys who were there for The Who left when it ended so I advanced some places forward, but also because I was trying to run away from the bunch of assholes that wanted to ruin everybody's night and I ended up at the corner of the catwalk (Slash side) for most part of the show.
   That spot was really hard to keep because everytime Axl would come to the front and even worse when there was Axl, Slash and Duff, all of them together, people went NUTS trying to call their attention. So more pushing, more beatings, more bullshit...... everybody wanted to be there next to their idols.
    
9. This show didn't mean to me as much as the River Plate one because in first place, things were rough last year but I found this one to be FUGLY.... I was told by someone that Slash side is usually wilder than Duff's but I dont know if its true or not. Second, since I felt more comfortable last year, I could sing much more and remember a lot more other than fighting with drunk guys. But I can rescue some things like I was able to listen to the songs they had not played in my shows last year (Yesterdays, Whole Lotta Rosie, the Only Women Bleed Intro) plus the new added ones to the setlist (Black Hole Sun, I feel Good, Wichita Lineman).
    
10. I don't have a lot to say about the show, Axl's voice and sound in general because, I don't wanna be repetitive but it was impossible for me to pay a lot of attention or focus on the show details when I was fighting for my life every minute of it but all in all, I think it was a good show because people were nuts about it, singing every line and being happy when Axl or Slash or Duff came closer.
    
    Axl seemed to be in a really great mood, joking around, saying hi.... I think at some point he commented something about Marihuana, like it smelled of marihuana or something along those lines and he grabbed a Chilean flag, wrapped himself with it and I think that made the day of all Chileans in the stadium. Everybody wanted a picture or video of that moment and it was sublime for them.
    
    Since I have already seen this show last year, the surprise factor wasn't there for me but I got surprised with "I feel good" because I thought they wouldn't play that one here and they did and Axl sounded really awesome! I don't know.... I think so.... maybe through videos and streams it was all Mickey but over there, things sound way different! I liked it and I had not liked it before.
    
    Slash was great as usual, he moved around a lot, ran, chewed his gum or whatever is that thing he chews . He played his ass off as always and did his job like the guitar maestro he is! There's nothing bad to say about Slash and if there is, I don't know.... I was deaf!
    
    Duff was amazing too but I didn't see a lot of him this time..... The few times he came in he was looking amazing and gave us all one of those looks he does, like looking straight down to the audience and making eye contact with everyone. He is cool as fuck!
    
    The rest of the band was fine! I saw Fortus only once and from my spot I could gaze at Melissa and Frank. Melissa is more like a dancing girl than anything else
     
11. The encore was the part I enjoyed the most because slow songs put the group of assholes to sleep and then I had changed spots again... I went more to the front of Slash side.
    But things stopped being cool when Whole Lotta Rosie started and again, the psychos went nuts and started moshing again
    Paradise City was the craziest thing..... Impossible to hear anything for me as everybody was pushing again..... not to mention when Slash decided to throw his picks...... Cant describe the madness to grab one..... they almost killed me.
     
12. And I think that's it........ I'm sorry if all of it sounds negative but I couldn't do much about it........... and the show was not a novelty to me but Im pretty sure it was a good show, in spite of all I went through, I didn't hear any complains regarding voice or sound and we got a bunch of songs played, so I can say I'm satisfied!
     
13. About "eating the ass".... I could say I did because I have advanced since last year..... I saw Axl much closer than before.... I saw in detail all of his jackets and I loved them!!! (the Wolf one, Bones, Kostabi, Black Snake Leather, the Orange & Red one, Axl/DC jacket!!!) and also his bandana/baseball cap look
     
14. Here I'll leave some videos I could make when life was not so tough at the show and this is a SLAXL moment I dedicate to my Princesses: @Andy14, @dgnr, @SerenityScorp and of course, all the other Slaxl lovers that I dont remember right now but you know who you are

 

----

And these are some other videos...... didnt upload them all because i dont have much time now...

 

 

 

Thank you so much for an amazing review. It felt like I was there with you feeling every bruise... Actually while reading I was getting angry. What a bunch of assholes. You have truly suffered for the GNR cause.

You must be tough because if that was me... I think I would have ended up crying. (Do Latin American women have a reputation for being tough?!) 

Of the shows I was at this year, Ireland and Buffalo, the security seemed to be really vigilant and dealing quickly with any trouble. Also responding to complaints from the audience. It sounds like security in Chile were definitely lame-ass.

4 hours ago, Tori72 said:

Just realized I posted it in the wrong thread. Seriously, send help 

No need to apologise, that is one sexy guy.

11 minutes ago, Fourteenbeers said:

Lame ass security... 

5 minutes ago, killuridols said:

all those assholes wanted to steal my little spot as im so tiny

Sorry to hear gobshites were making things hard for you! I'm also surprised to hear you're tiny. I imagined you as big, somehow. 

On 9/11/2017 at 5:23 PM, thunderram said:

For all those people that believe the NITL tour is strictly a "cash grab", I gotta ask why haven't they ever released this vault material then? This would be the easiest pile of $$ they could ever make without having to do anything at all, except provide consent to digitize and process all the content. Even having to share the proceeds with former band members, Geffen, and business partners, its free $$ for something they already did eons ago.

Good point.

2 hours ago, youngswedishvinyl said:

Not only were the Ritz show recorded but all of the '91 warm up shows (the 1991-05-09 - Warfield Theatre, San Francisco, CA gig. The  1991-05-11 - Pantages Theatre, Los Angeles, CA gig and the 1991-05-16 - The Ritz, New York, NY gig) are rumored to be recorded on film.

What that means is that these film recordings, unlike most other recordings from the UYI era (if not all except for the Freddie Mercury Tribute) that were recorded on VHS, can be digitized in true 1080p HD. The difference between a VHS recording and a film recording is massive and concerts recorded on film looks amazing.

Here's Paradise City recorded on film from the Freddie Mercury Tribute (sadly compromised by YouTube but you get the idea):

And here's Paradise City recorded on VHS from Indiana in '91:

As you can see the details are much clearer and the colors of the film recording looks amazing. I really hope that these recording will se the light of day at some point in the future especially since we don't have any video footage of the San Francisco show (I'd love to see that since the first GN'R performance ever of Dust N' Bones, Bad Obsession and Live and Let Die were played on this gig) and I'd give my left arm for a recording of the LA show (which I would consider as the holy grail of GN'R live recording) since we don't have a single recording (audio or video) of that show. The LA show also happens to have an amazing setlist including the first GN'R performances of Right Next Door To Hell, 14 Years, Yesterdays and You Ain't The First as well as Don't Cry with Shannon Hoon and more importantly the second and last ever performance of Bad Apples! 

Personally I'd love it if GN'R did something like KISS did with their Kissology box sets when the Not In This Lifetime Tour is over. Release a couple of DVD sets with 4-5 live shows of each era that we haven't already seen in pro shot quality. Imagine something like this:

DVD Box 1: (1985-1989)
06.06.85 - Troubador, Hollywood, CA (This would not be professionally recorded but I'm pretty sure that Marc Canter recorded this show on video so if it exists, it would be included) 
09.20.86 - L.A. Street Scene Festival, Los Angeles, CA (Not professionally recorded, Marc Canter recorded this show and the show is great but very short because of the rowdy crowd)
10.23.87 - The Ritz, New York, NY (We know that this exists in pro shot quality but we've only seen 10 minutes of it)
12.10.88 - Budokan, Tokyo, Japan (You're Crazy and Used To Love Her on live era is sourced from this show, hopefully video was professionally recorded as well)
10.13.89 - Park Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, CA (At least 1 hour and 10 minutes of this show is known to exist)

DVD Box 2: (1991-1993)
05.11.91 - Pantages Theatre, Los Angeles, CA (Rumored to be recorded on film as previously stated)
08.31.91 - Wembley Stadium, London, England (All UYI era shows were recorded, probably the best 1991 show in my opinion as well as Izzy's last GN'R show as a member)
02.20.92 - Toyko Dome, Tokyo, Japan (All UYI era shows were recorded, Locomotive do I need to say anything else?)
04.10.93 - Omaha Civic Auditorium, Omaha, NE (All UYI era shows were recorded, The Garden, Coma and Used To Love Her was played)

DVD Box 3: (2001-2007)
01.01.01 - House Of Blues, Las Vegas, NV (All CD era shows were recorded, first GN'R show since '93 and Rhiad And The Bedouins was played)
12.05.02 - Madison Square Garden, New York, NY (All CD era shows were recorded, last Buckethead show)
05.12.06 - Hammerstein Ballroom, New York, NY (All CD era shows were recorded, There Was A Time.)
07.14.07 - Makuhari Messe, Chiba, Japan (All CD era shows were recorded, first full Don't Cry since 1993)

DVD Box 4: (2009-2014)
12.19.09 - Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan (All CD era shows were recorded, 3 hours and 37 minutes long and all of Chinese Democracy is played except for Rhiad And The Bedouins)
10.14.10 - The O2 Arena, London, England (All CD era shows were recorded, Duff joins for the first time since 1993)
07.22.12 - Son Fusteret, Mallorca, Spain (All CD era shows were recorded, Izzy joins for 8 songs and Whole Lotta Rosie is played)
06.06.14 - The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel, Las Vegas, NV (All CD era shows were recorded, There Was A Time and Prostitute were played)

DVD Box 5: (2016-2017)
04.01.16 - Troubadour, West Hollywood, CA, USA (Recordings are known to exist, first show with Slash since '93)
08.05.16 - NRG Stadium, Houston, TX, USA (It's safe to assume that all NITL shows are recorded, amazing show.)
07.27.17 - The Dome at America's Center, St. Louis, MO (It's safe to assume that all NITL shows are recorded, first St.Louis show since the Riverport Riot)
11.29.17 - The Forum, Los Angeles, CA (It's safe to assume that all NITL shows are recorded, this will hopefully be the last NITL show and thus the setlist probably will be exciting)

If they wan't to stop fans from whining then release something like this and a new album in 2018 and I'm fairly sure that we fans will be very satisfied! 

Great post, lot of thought put into it, thanks.

2 hours ago, purplestargirl said:

she does not have that writing style that enraptures an audience.

Very diplomatic 😀

Duff's writing style is not great either. Quite rambling and not enough structure.

still, I admire both of them for making the most of what they've got business-wise.

13 hours ago, Kris_1989 said:

As LoNg As ShE dOeSnT wRiTe It LiKe ThIS.  

🤣 Imagine a whole book like that!!? Why does she write like this??

11 hours ago, MyPrettyTiedUpMichelle said:

The original band doesn't exist.  It's in the past.  Even if the 5 get back together, it won't be THAT band.  It'll be yet another version of THAT band.  Same people, but different.  Same band, but different.  Many fans seem to think that by simply putting the original 5 guys in the same room that they can somehow conjure the original band of the past.  It might work of course. We'd all hope that.  But it might not work either.  Duff (and I presume Axl and Slash) must realise this and possibly this is another reason why not a huge amount of effort has gone into getting Izzy and Steven back on board.  

To us fans, it's vital.  But to them?  Maybe it's like trying to get your ex from 20 years ago back and you're not even sure if you want that, or if it's even a good idea.

 

Totally agree. It's we the fans who cling to the past because we associate Appetite with our youth, understanding rock for the first time, the way we felt at the time, etc. (Me anyway!) 

On 5/9/2017 at 3:38 PM, beautifulanddamned said:

Susan's personal style is tacky as shit and always has been.  

lol. My daughter age 14 saw the Hello spread and commented that Susan looks like Barbie. She thought that it was all really tacky too. Poor old Susan, I get the impression that she thinks of herself as cultured, having lived in France and speaking French on her IG. But with her giant boobs on display at every opportunity and her awful spelling on IG, not to mention the hello pics, it really doesn't seem she is. 

BUT I totally agree with what has been said above about her being a great wife and mother and she deserves lots of credit for keeping Duff on the straight and narrow. I'm sure she's lovely in person. And she's writing a novel!!

3 minutes ago, Georgina Arriaga said:

This is a Slaxl moment?

 

Totally! (We take what we can get)

33 minutes ago, Tori72 said:

Lol. Totally a dic pic. Axl was quite generous with those if you consider the tiny whities... 

Thanks for the Hello pics. They all look great and their house is beautiful. Still, I wanna time travel and show this to Guns n Roses 1985 or even 1989. A home story in a gossip magazine? lol

I love seeing Duff and Susan so happy. It makes me happy too. Still - I said this before and I'll say it now. For my liking the McKagans share too much private stuff. I am a parent and I think a more humble and private lifestyle is important - also for teenagers / young adult kids or rich kids who want to become famous themselves. Then again I'm old-fashioned of course.

What do you guys think?

You're welcome. I know, slightly scarlet for them being in Hello. Esp. Duff. Not very rock'n'roll. But it's clearly meant to boost the careers of Susan and the girls. 

What did you think of the pic of Susan sitting on the inflatable pink flamingo with her feet dangling in the pool?? https://imgur.com/I23R5Kg It made me lol. Did this one slip past her into the magazine?? 

Re. The McKagans putting stuff about their family out in the public eye: To us ordinary folks, putting private family stuff out there like they do would be ludicrous. I think it's a conscious decision that they've made in order to boost all their profiles and careers. Both Susan and Duff have been in the public eye for decades so it's nothing new to them. And the girls are both in media-facing careers (rock music and modelling), so it goes with the territory. 

I'm a mom too... Imagine any one of us releasing a pic of our 16-year-old daughter like this?? But to them, it's just business and about getting on in life. 

I love the McKagans btw. Their image of family togetherness and love really appeals to me. And I'm very glad that Duff is in good hands and has three women to guard him. 

12 hours ago, killuridols said:

Does anyone know what the hell is this?

The Days of Guns, & Raz's by Raz Cue

In the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-five, a little ol’ band called Guns N’ Roses formed in Raz Cue’s living room. And thus, Cue became the band’s first manager... to be fired. With absolutely no hard feelings, Mr. Cue remained a trusted member of G N’ R’s inner circle for the remainder of the decade, allowing him to witness the iconic band tour the world’s stages as they rose to the pinnacle of rock ‘n’ roll. When the Guns N’ Roses party quit being fun for him, Cue stepped away from the swelling ranks of backstage hangers-on so that he might fully enjoy the band’s incendiary performances from a fan-in-the-audience perspective.

With good times and fun stories constantly swirling about in his mind’s eye, a few years back, Mr. Cue resolved to set the standard for which all future memoirs should be judged. Four hundred and twenty drafts later, the product of that quest emerged: The Days of Guns, and Raz’s. Far more than a Hollywood rock ‘n’ roll memoir, the book follows Cue’s drug-addled journey from feral child to moral-ish adult. His spinal injury during high school and lifetime of riding a wheelchair, while higher than the International Space Station, are thrown in to keep it all rolling along.

Mr. Cue manages to wrap up the whole shebang neatly within the changing landscapes of 1970s through 90s America, all the while showcasing his lifelong love of music and cheap thrills. With an undying admiration for hungry up-and-coming artists, Cue remained involved in the Los Angeles music scene through the mid-90s implosion of the Sunset Strip, so he wedges in a bit of name-dropping from that period, too. If you’ve longed for a caustic, satirical, blue-collar rock bio that delivers a stinging bitch slap to our current insanity-level political correctness, this one’s for you!

Axl Rose and Ole Beich, L.A. Guns at the Troubadour 1984

 

Same L.A. Guns Troubadour Show, Axl showing off the package!

https://www.amazon.com/Days-Guns-Razs-Raz-Cue-ebook/dp/B073YBNMTS/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

 

 

MMMM you just brightened up my day considerably... like others said above, Axl's glossy red hair in the first pic is beautiful. And what about that last pic?! Can we consider that a dick pic??

On a separate topic, has anyone seen the photos of the McKagans in Hello magazine? I just bought it (*purely* to have a nosey after seeing it on Susan's IG): https://imgur.com/a/wn5jY 

9 hours ago, marlingrl03 said:

Making the cops laugh, he is just too damn cute. <3 

Duff is the man. I am falling slightly in love with him this tour. 

8 hours ago, Georgina Arriaga said:

Meegan was filming Slash in his waiting room. Enters Axl and she points the camera to a soda machine

5 hours ago, purplestargirl said:

Yeah, I saw that.

Also when Axl showed up later on, he said he just wanted to say hi to Slash, which is . I also heard Axl say something to Slash about Wednesday in the video. "It's Wednesday" or "It's this Wednesday" something like that.

Like others said above, delighted with this. Our boys wandering in and out of each others' dressing rooms! MMMmmm...

Woah @Black Sabbath amazing pictures. You were standing very close to me at the rail! Here are mine for the record anyway  http://imgur.com/a/OmAE2 

17 minutes ago, Blackstar said:

Other big bands have rich fans following them everywhere too (the only difference may be that they're not fans of particular band members, as with GnR). Even AC/DC, a band that's even more working class (as far as fandom goes) than GnR, have fans that follow them everywhere in the world.

This superfans thing is relatively new to me too so I was fascinated to experience it first hand in Buffalo. At the security gates early in the afternoon, Tako was in the queue next to me. She stood there fairly expressionless for most of the time, with who I presume is her partner in the queue next to her again - yes, they queued separately. In retrospect she looked anxious - about getting a good position at the rail, I assume.

Farther down at another queue was a bunch of hardcore fans - this was obvious as they were talking about it very loudly. One guy said he had been there since 6 AM!! (There was absolutely no need since we arrived at 3 PM isn and were among the first to arrive.) The sun was beating down on us - I had to squeeze myself into a sliver of shade. My poor Celtic skin couldn't take it! Pizza guy looked very red in the face and sounded a bit hysterical, lol.

We were among the first to get let into the stadium at 5 PM and we ran like hell till security guards shouted at us to walk. OH and I secured a fantastic spot by the rail. The bunch of hard core fans I mentioned above got very pissy at this point because the security guards were not letting people stand at the end of the short 'catwalk' bit of the stage that juts out into the audience. One guy in particular started roaring at them, saying "we've been to 100 shows and it's never like this. Ask Geo, he's a friend of mine" and similar. The same guy also asked me rudely to move along a bit so he could be beside his friends. (His friend thanked me afterwards.) After a while the problem got sorted out, the guards let people stand all along the full rail, and the guy fucked off somewhere else, to my relief.

Tako was something else. She was staring up adoringly at Slash every time I glanced at her and at one point had tears streaming down her face!!? She took photos constantly with a proper camera. (Her pics are amazing, granted.) OK I cried at Slane but that was my first Guns gig - she has been fuck knows how many times?!

I gotta fess up here - I wasn't as blown away as the first time. Everything was awesome - some things were even better, like Axl being in a more cheerful mood (not that he was glum at Slane, just less chirpy), the weather (Slane in the rain - never again (unless it's Guns)), and the fact that I had travelled specially to the US. But  I had seen the whole show once before - that sheen of newness was gone. I just don't get how someone could enjoy the same show that much ten, forty, fifty or a hundred times. 

With the hassle of getting to the rail - the trip, getting to the venue early, standing in line for hours in rain/sun, running like a lunatic - not that it's not worth it, but repeatedly, over and over again - I just don't get it!!

Then there's the money and time off questions - how the hell do the superfans afford it? Especially in the US where annual leave can be as low as 10 days?? And some of them must have children - how do they organise so much childminding??

As for the celebrity aspect of the whole thing, that's a whole new level of weirdness IMO. One girl I met got on the big screen a few times towards the end (she was pretty and blonde with large breasts - could the camera guy have singled her out??) and was so happy about that. From her socmed posts I suspect she may be aiming for superfan celebrity status.

And the management do encourage this sort of hierarchy-building among fans. Handing out picks to the fan club members at the rail, putting some on the big screen... which is nice, of course, but it's almost like they have a 'divide and conquer' approach, making some fans feel special simply because they have the time and money to go to lots of shows while the rest are the plebeians.

20 minutes ago, dgnr said:

Where is the like button when a girl needs it? Damn you like button  Anyway I agree with everything that you said. I just want to add up that these fans are also treated as royalty by some members of the GNR crew. In the Lisbon show Margott and her crew were at the rail and a TB member came to them to greet them, some minutes later he comes back with food for Margott and her friends, probably from the catering. My friend, who is just a Slash fan and kinda hates Axl and has no idea who TB or the VIP fans are was just asking me: 'Who the hell are these people and why is this guy giving them food when we're also starving?' I explained it to her and the funny thing is that Margott caught both of us in a pic from the show and posted later on her insta. I sent it to my friend and she went: 'OMG the VIPS took our pic!' 

We must have been typing at the same time... OMG food was brought out to Margot and her crew?! It's worse than I thought.

My show pics from last night: 

10 minutes ago, jonah said:

Anyone see the older lady in the VIP section just rocking out

Yes! She was great! I hope I'll be like that in a few decades, still going to GNR shows!!

Tako is here, queuing for pit right (Slash's side) 

40 minutes ago, MillionsOfSpiders said:

Did you go to Niagra Falls?  

Are they soundchecking the new album again? 

Yes Falls were great! 

Soundcheck over now, I heard Rocket Queen, Civil War.

On 14/8/2017 at 3:55 PM, Blackstar said:

He said something different in 1999, 2002 and 2008 (and later) in regards to AFD and what he intended to do - and there is consistency in all those interviews. I think he said these things in 2001 (the year of his comeback) in an attempt to justify/legitimize the new band and the new sound as a vision he had for a long time. But even in that interview he didn't call AFD itself "dated"; he was talking mostly about his intentions in the period after the break-up; and I think that, combining it with he said in 1999, the part about the material the "old band" was trying to write being "dated" was in reference to Slash's Snakepit songs as they were.

I'll try to give a short version of the post I'd started writing:

My conclusion from all the stuff I've read is that those 2001 interviews, along with the way Axl introduced Tobias in RIR and some things Slash said around that time, helped in creating a myth, which in turn led to a revisionist narrative about the 1993-1996 period originating mostly from a portion of NuGnR fans who adopted it despite of what Axl said in all the above mentioned interviews - and many anti-NuGnR fans have believed it too from their own perspective. According to this myth, Axl had a grand artistic vision about the direction of GnR in the 90s (which eventually materialized with CD), but the "old band" was an obstacle; so he took control of the band in order to be able to fulfill his vision and, since the other members were unwilling/unable to follow it, they left; in other words, he sacrificed the "old band" for his vision. But in reality, although undoubtedly Axl did things that led to the break-up, he didn't "single-handedly" break the band. And, most importantly, he didn't want the band to break up and didn't try to make CD while Slash was still in the band; it (and NuGnR) was a choice he made after the break-up.

It seems that in 1994 (which was the crucial year) Axl, being a psychological mess with the lawsuits and all the other shit, didn't have a clear mind about what exactly wanted to do musically and how to do it. He didn't like Slash's songs as they were apart from 3-4 and wanted to use some of the ideas to "develop" them (and Duff agreed with him). To what? AFD 2 couldn't be an option without Izzy (and at that point they were at odds with him - also Slash said in an early 94 interview that he didn't want to return to that era). I think he was trying to fill Izzy's gap with a new strong element, looking for a guitarist that could "challenge" Slash (but Slash didn't want that) and leaning towards incorporating 90s grungy elements (maybe something a bit like... Velvet Revolver) plus his ballads; so he did want to evolve but not change the direction in a radical/CD-ish kind of way. But he wasn't in position to provide a clear input, then he brought in Tobias (who was "Axl's guy" but definitely not a guy to radically change the direction)... And Slash wasn't willing to go through another UYI process (or worse, as it seemed to be) -neither in terms of the time it had taken to be finished nor of Axl's "messing up" with the songs and the production etc; he wanted to put out an album and go back on the road - and moreover he hated Tobias. So he took his songs and made his Snakepit album (the timeline is not clear on whether Slash recorded Snakepit before the Sympathy For The Devil incident or after).

Axl was shaken up by that and brought Zakk Wylde in early 1995 (imo in an attempt to appease Slash), who also wasn't a guy to change the direction and not a type that would be a "yes man" either - he was a blues/hard rock guitarist. It didn't work out, Slash suggested to bring back Gilby, Axl refused... Then Slash went on his solo tour (during which he gave many interviews -some of them really pissed off- talking about Axl, Tobias etc); in the meantime Izzy returned briefly and left; and when Slash returned, Axl made the legal manoeuvre with the name - which, regardless of what his reasons were (probably he saw a conspiracy behind what Slash did) - was a fatal move. After that, there were the last ill-fated sessions (with Axl playing rhythm, Tobias being "around" and the position of the second guitarist still open), which, according to a Duff interview a bit before Slash left, would lead to an "AFD oriented" album of "12 straight rockers - no ballads". Slash said he was a psychological wreck and couldn't function in the band anymore...

In my opinion there is no evidence that Axl tried to change the direction drastically- Pro-Tools alone couldn't do that. It's no secret that he had a thing with industrial and liked this music since it was still an underground thing and before it became a trend, but it wasn't something he tried to force on the band. Even if he had wanted to, his mental condition wouldn't have allowed him to - from what people who were around have said (and even himself has alluded to it), he didn't write or sing anything.

 

Wow really good research and analysis. I often think someone could do a PhD thesis on GnR. Maybe someone already has??

Im at the gate in Buffalo!!! Queueing in the heat. Soundcheck on now!