Diesel

Good post, Nightrain. As you can see, Sunday is cancelled as well.

I don't know what to think anymore. Is it career suicide? Maybe. Does he think it's 1991 again? Hope not. Unforunately, they are losing old and new fans. I'll still listen to my old stuff but I'm not looking for anything new anymore.

They are like a flame that burned really bright...and blew out about 10 years ago.  Like you said, it's a shame.

And the hits just keep on coming....

This from the Comcast/Spectacorwebsite (Comcast/Spectator is the sports and entertainment firm that owns the First Union Center and Spectrum):

"Sunday night's Guns n Roses concert at First Union Spectrum has been cancelled. Friday night's concert at First Union Center will not be rescheduled. Ticket refunds will be available at the original point of purchase beginning on Monday, December 9 at 10 a.m."

http://www.comcast-spectacor.com/pressbox/37.asp

Well, like I said, back in '87 and '90 and '91, part of the sexy thrill was "What will happen at the GNR show? Will they go on? Will they get arrested? What will happen?"

And, when you're on top of the world, hey, you can do that. That's part of the thrill to liking GNR.

But, last night just seemed lame. I certainly didn't expect him to bag a major venue show, especially this early in the tour.  If his voice was bad, then they shouldn't book back-to-back shows early on. I too was talking to security guards at 9:30 that said "He's not even in the city" not "they aren't in the city." According to a NY radio show late last night, Axl comes and goes on his own schedule. Rumor? Maybe, but the host is plugged into the scene (and no it's not Cain). He doesn't hang with the band that much. That too will be evident in the performances, I guess, though I hear the MSG show rocked.

Like I said, it was just a major disappointment. You wait all that time....and it's a dry heave.

Well, now I have my "Yeah, GNR didn't even show!" story.

I liked it better, though, when back in '91, I was able to tell people "They were so great! It was so loud in there from people cheering, I still don't know what the first song was!"

Ah well, life goes on......

What happened, happened. GNR wasn't right (not professional, esp. for a band trying to make a comeback) and fans weren't right. Alcohol makes people stupid. Nothing good came out of last night. No sense bitchin' and moanin' and pointing fingers.

I think the overwhelming feeling was disappointment. But, when you get GNR tickets, you know that a no-show is a possiblity. It was more fun facing that back in the heyday than last night now. Maybe I just have less patience for BS.

The thing I want to know now is: Do I get my money back or get tickets to a future show? Anyone know where I can find out this information?

Maybe I haven't been paying attention in class, but is anyone opening for GNR tonight? Is it CKS?

And who or what is CKS? :-/

Brian May I can almost see...Remember GNR participated in the Freddy Mercury tribute a few years ago. They've probably become friends and whatnot.

But Moby is a new one. Still, if nothing else, Axl does like music...all kinds. He's always been eclectic that way. Look at even what they've done: They started the rap/rock genre (well, Aerosmith and Run DMC did, but Korn takes more from GNR than Aerosmith, IMO), they've done blues, etc.  And they've rocked. That's what still strikes me, especiall when I listen to the Illusions. Just how versitile they've been.

GNR in the Wall Street Journal...Imagine that. Axl's quote at the end is great.

LEISURE & ARTS

In the Fray -- Fans Wonder: Is the Bloom Off Axl Rose?

By Janet Morrissey

5 December 2002

The Wall Street Journal

Nostalgia trip or music revolution? Washed-up rocker or rock 'n' roll messiah? That's what fans are wondering as Axl Rose -- the Howard Hughes of the music world and frontman of '80s rock giants Guns N' Roses -- hits the road on his first North American tour since 1993. This evening, he plays Madison Square Garden.

His band sold out the Garden in 15 minutes, according to promoter Clear Channel Entertainment, and Internet music forums are buzzing over Guns N' Roses' return even though it hasn't cut an album in almost a decade. Guns N' Roses is back -- well, sort of.

Rose and keyboard player Dizzy Reed are the only remaining members from the band's early '90s lineup, prompting some purists to call them a glorified tribute band and wonder if Rose can make the comeback of the decade without his former bandmates, especially Slash. They believe GN'R without Slash would be like the Rolling Stones without Keith Richards. And we've yet to see the release of the new band's much-hyped and long-awaited album "Chinese Democracy," some nine years in the making and no firm launch date set. (Former GN'R members Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Izzy Stradlin reunited recently to work on their own album.)

In the years since Rose held court, grunge has come and gone. Hip hop has become mainstream. Pop fluff bands have peaked and faded. Nu-metal names, such as Korn and Slipknot, have reached for the spotlight, and forgettable pop-rock upstarts are on MTV playlists.

But the public seems restless, and many fans think the 40-year-old rocker has what it takes to lead the masses back to primal rock. After all, he did it before. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Guns N' Roses, headed by the charismatic Rose, killed off all the hair bands and pop princesses -- from Poison to Fine Young Cannibalsthat dared cross its path.

Its groundbreaking album, "Appetite for Destruction," released in 1987, became an anthem for angst-ridden teenagers, frustrated 20-somethings, and anyone else drawn to the band's raw, blistering sound and emotional, often biographical, lyrics. That "Appetite" continues to sell more than 3,000 copies a week in the U.S. alone, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and was named best metal album in rock history by Spin Magazine is a testament to the band's enduring appeal.

Adding to the band's allure was its offstage antics. Rose attracted the most ink, jumping off a St. Louis stage in 1991 to beat up a photographer and allegedly hitting a neighbor with a wine bottle that same year after she complained about noise (charges were later dropped). Lawsuits and riots earned Guns N' Roses the nickname "the most dangerous band in the world."

But the touring and hard partying ground to a halt in 1993 when the band -- at its peak -- abruptly disappeared. Rose, reeling from a breakup with supermodel Stephanie Seymour and feuding with bandmates over GN'R's musical direction, retreated to his mansion in Malibu, Calif., where he remained for years. There were rumors of hair implants, plastic surgery and weight gain. But that only added to the mystique.

He has spent much of the past decade holed up in a studio, writing, recording and re-recording an album that is now the subject of folklore. All the while, a revolving door of musicians, from Moby to Queen's Brian May, worked with Rose on "Chinese Democracy." Some have half-jokingly suggested that democracy would likely come to China before Axl's album is released. But now he is out of the studio and on the road.

Rose has cobbled together an impressive group of musicians. Aside from Dizzy Reed, the lineup includes former Nine Inch Nails guitarist Robin Finck; bassist Tommy Stinson from the Replacements; Brian "Brain" Mantia formerly of Primus; guitarist Richard Fortus, a former Psychedelic Furs and Love Spit Love member who has done studio work with artists from Enrique Iglesias to N'Sync; and keyboard player Chris Pittman. Brian "Buckethead" Carroll's guitar licks draw comparisons to guitar legend Steve Vai.

Gone are the kilts, skin-tight leather pants and Charles Manson T-shirts. Rose now sports a long football jersey, a la hip-hop style, and relaxed-fit leather pants. His long, flaming-red hair is pulled neatly back into braids underneath his trademark bandanna. Indeed, the new band's image is eclectic at best -- a traveling freak show at worst. Finck favors Goth black apparel and white face makeup. And Buckethead -- complete with Jason mask and KFC bucket on his head -- gets the prize for outlandishness. The menacing edge of yesterday is gone.

The riots are still there though. The band's kick-off date in Vancouver was marred by fans who tore up the stadium after its manager canceled the show when he couldn't find Rose. Evidently, the man was not aware that punctuality has never been Rose's strong suit.

But Rose is back now and remains defiant. "To those who are negative and want to see either myself or the new band fall on their faces," he has said in statement, "personally I can't pass up an opportunity to upset so many of them in one quick swoop. I get misty-eyed just thinking about it."

The box office was? That's odd because I tried to get tickets for that show and couldn't because I was told it was sold out. I couldn't get them at Ticketmaster at least.

I think, technically, it DID sell out. Maybe people stayed home because of the snow & weather?

Probably many who bought tickets were from CT and NJ. The roads are still pretty slick here in NJ,  though I'm not sure if the transit lines are running or not.

I'm jumpin' in way late on this one (but I just found the forum tonight).

For whatever reason, I like Illusion II better, but I truly like them both. I think it's just because I was mending a broken heart when the Illusions came out and I just listened to II over and over and over.

"Young at heart/but I'm only 28/Much to young to let love break my heart" spoke to me (I was 21). I guess that's why II is special to me.

OK, enough reminiscing. On with the show....

Well, the Geno's Vs. Pat's is the on-going battle..but I've always been a Pat's fan.

Hey, Pat's was in Rocky before Geno's was even there. (Rocky gets some training money from the guy he picked up money for)

Jim's on South Street is really good too. And so is Iska-Bibble's. Know what? ALL Philly cheesesteaks are good.

That being said, I'll head to Pat's. Just a tradition from college days.

Broad and Patterson, South Philly.

Across from The Vet and The Spectrum

I used to live right around the corner from Pat's King of Steaks so I may just have to make an appearance there! A little pre-Guns dinner!

Headed to the Philly show tomorrow night and I can't wait. Haven't seen the Gunners since the Use Your Illusion Tour in '91  (thougho I still wear my Get In the Ring Motherfucker T-shirt from '90).

I first saw GNR open for Aerosmith in '88 at Pocono Downs in Wilkes-Barre, PA (and I went to see them, not Tyler and the boys). And everytime I listen to their stuff, I bemoan the fact that they've been gone so long. All in all, they were one of the most original bands (music, lyrics, tempo, mystic) ever.

And I just can't wait to see Axl and the rest of the guys hit the stage tomorrow night. Back in '91, it was so loud, I still don't know what the first song was. I hope it's the same way tomorrow night!

Rage,

Diesel