allwaystired

...I think when you look at the crowd towards the end of Paradise City on that video you can really see how sparse it was! 

26 minutes ago, Gracii Guns said:

That scream in Live and Let Die was really something. 2002 was a very odd era for the band. If I remember rightly, there hadn't been any performances between 1994-2001, so GN'R were finding their feet, while Axl had become somewhat of a tabloid magnet for all the wrong reasons, and a complete joke in the rock world. But that very random show at Leeds Fest of all places was really important for the British fans, and proved what we believed in was worth it. I didn't discover GN'R until two years later, and was insanely jealous of my friend who was at the Leeds gig, as the UK didn't see another show until 2006 after that. 

Not true- they played the (now bulldozed) London Docklands Arena a couple of days later. That was another odd show- quite a small arena, Axl had a huge rant about a review of their Leeds show he'd read which described him as 'as big as a house'. I went to that too- was a very surreal weekend, having seen them after so long in the wilderness. 

What was really strange was how little anticipation or hype there was about the shows outside of a very few fans. I'm not sure they even sold out the Docklands show (I could be wrong on that). The shows had come after two tours (both of which I had tickets for) that just never happened, and never got rescheduled. The second time the tour got cancelled it became the one night at the Docklands. I think that got announced before Leeds actually, but again I could be wrong on that. 

I often wonder how many other people spent all three days at Leeds, then packed up and got the train straight to London. I remember leaving stupidly early and I was pretty much the only person awake on the whole Leeds festival site, trudging along on my own with my bags! No buses running so wandered down country lanes for hours to get to the city centre and down to London.  I did it all on my own- looking back it seems madness, but those shows stand out as something special to me. 

I agree that the potential for that lineup was immense. Still the best version of Nightrain I've ever heard. 

Fantastic show- the atmosphere was off the scale- it seemed like very few GNR fans were there- maybe a couple of hundred of us right at the front, nervous as hell about whether they would show! Was both surreal and exciting. Looking back now it almost feels like it didn't happen- everything about it was so weird. Remember the guy that came out in a mask and did some weird nunchuck routine right behind Buckethead at one point? I never knew what was going on with that. 

Hearing the new stuff was off the scale too- first contact we'd had with it pretty much, as internet wasn't such a thing. 

Prodigy though-come on! They bombed sooooo badly that even the band gave an interview sayig they wanted to split after that show! Was grim. They seem to have picked themselves up since though. I remember a guy stood next to me in a Prodigy shirt saying he was embarrassed to have worn it! 

29 minutes ago, downzy said:

Are you really going to suggest that comparing a band with one original/classic member to bands like U2 or Metallica is a fair comparison?

If your assessment is true, then how is GNR crushing both U2 and Metallica this year?  Are you really going to argue that there's that much demand for a band that, according to you, produced just one great album?

The reason is that the NITL tour is an event, and demand for it has been building for a long time. With U2 and Metallica touring regularly for all these years, it's inevitable that GNR could sell more tickets for one tour. A U2 or Metallica tour isn't such an event. But that will change- the NITL lineup touring won't be an event again. So it's unfair to compare them, on a sales basis, at this time. 

11 minutes ago, RONIN said:

Nailed it. The premise of the argument is baffling really. 

People get touchy here when someone mentions that the GnR setlists are stale. Forget the setlists, it's the songs that are stale! Old songs from two albums rehashed year after year for the last 30 years on tour can get a bit tired. Play some new shit. Controversial statement, I know.

I sincerely doubt anyone is singing along to This I love or Better at a show aside from a few forum geeks in the pit. At the show I went to, there was a mass exodus during the Chinese Democracy songs. Most fans don't know or care about that album. Unlike U2 and Metallica's post 1991 albums, CD was dead on arrival. That album wasn't even relevant to most GnR fans let alone a mainstream music fan that is buying a ticket to a GnR show. Going by Downzy's logic, certainly nobody is buying tickets to hear GnR's last album if album sales, youtube hits, or radio play are any indication. Plenty of people continue to turn out year after year for U2 and Metallica shows because of their new music though. Maybe because those bands actually give their fans what they want and communicate with them regularly instead of disappearing for a decade and dropping a bloated turd called Chinese Democracy on their lap out of nowhere. 

Having made that comment- I do think the setlist is fine, FOR NOW, as it's this tour. This tour is NITL, it's doing the rounds, most people see one show- that's all fine. I had a total blast seeing it- loved every second. I love the Chinese Democracy stuff massively- could even be the highlights of the set for me (controversial as that might be in some circles!). It's the future that is starting to matter now though, as the tour reaches it's final legs. New music is about more than simply whether it connects with fans - it's a statement, and sets a tone of expectation, and makes it clear nostalgia isn't the only draw. From those points alone, the inclusion of CD stuff is welcomed I think. OK, all the casuals might not like it, but they do it anyway. That's great in my book. But without new music, the only future is nostalgia...and that's the problem. Nostalgia is rank, fetid, horrific and the domain of the creatively bankrupt and the 'one gig a year' crowd.  No one wants that. Equally however, there may be no future......

I'm not much of a U2 fan, but come on- you can't really criticize them for not try to move forward, constantly. The reason they've managed to still be as popular as ever is simply that they've done this. No way in hell would they they still be filling stadiums across the world if they were playing the same setlist made up of 80s material over and over. 

Ok there might be an element of 'box tickers' at the shows, there to hear the hits, but they go and see the band once, then they're done. They don't keep going. It's people wanting to hear new and different material that come back tour after tour- fans in other words. U2 can fill stadiums because there are enough of the latter group, who keep coming back. 

I really don't understand any sort of argument for suggesting GNR could possibly do a stadium tour again without serious investment in new material. Arenas, sure. Stadiums- no chance. 95 per cent of the people at the NITL shows were ticking the box. They've done it now. Next year it will be Bon Jovi (or whoever else might be touring) for them. 

There are also probably issues getting him work permits/visas for working outside of the USA, given his past. 

Chatty crowd. Fucking hell, people like that drive me nuts. I've been in bars quieter than this! "Does anyone know what this song is?" 

Great version though- shame about the crowd. 

Just now, RussTCB said:

Huh? 

Person who started this thread has lifted my post/thread directly word for word from another GNR forum- I was a little surprised to see it! I don't post here much, but read stuff fairly often, so it caught my eye! 

5 hours ago, WindsorBoy147 said:

Just seen this- seems to be saying that the Regina show will be broadcast on the radio? Anyone local to the area know anything about it? If true, it's pretty low key as I've not heard official mention of it.

 

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10155003696855028&substory_index=0&id=19789430027

Might want to change the wording SLIGHTLY when you're lifting stuff, hey?! 

I mean, I don't give a shit, as it's only an internet forum, but lifting the entire post word for word from me is a bit odd! 

Wanted - one pit ticket for LA November 29th. 

Why is it so fucking hard for a fan to buy a ticket at face venue in America?! Ticketmaster are wankers. Anyway- anyone got a spare for any reason, I'm interested. 

I went to a talk recently and the guy giving it was signing his book after. He asked the man in front of me what his name was, and he said "oh, can you not put my name on it, thanks." The author said "sure", and put the city, venue and date on it, then said "I like to do that so I know where things come from if they show up anywhere" with a grin. I thought that was great! Surprised more celebs don't do things like that. 

7 hours ago, amaninjapan said:

Yeah, the merch people at Gdansk were very poorly organized. My friend got to the front of the merch line and asked for a litho and they said "sorry they're not here yet. They'll be here in about 30 minutes, come back later."

Fuck that! He just stood at the front of the merch stand and didn't budge until they arrived. Sure enough, 30 minutes later he got them.

If they'd given me a time I'd have done that for sure. All I got was 'at the end of the show'. I naively thought while the lithos were known to be few, they might have a considerable stock of the shirts. Wasn't the only thing poorly organized at the gig! 

So, in order to get the event shirt for Gdansk I made sure I was one of the first in. No shirts. After lots of effort I found out they 'hadn't arrived but would be doing so by the end of the show". End of the show I raced back - sold out. Was told "you should have come during the show." Absolutely gutted, as I didn't manage to get one for either show I went to. 

If anyone can help out, perhaps bought one and now doesn't want it, please do let me know. I was very keen to get one. 

4 minutes ago, BackOffBitch! said:

Look at the state of that picture. People wandering around chatting in groups during the gig. THAT'S a disgrace too. 

47 minutes ago, northernsoul said:

That's not too bad, what is the quality like?

 

The Axl/DC one i got at Manchester last year was pitiful

Some of them are sort of OK, some honestly look like knock off bootlegs. 

Can anyone let me know how I get to the venue and back from the city centre? Many thanks! 

5 hours ago, Blake Sabbath said:

Dang, well that's disappointing to hear

I would add though, that I didn't inspect it all closely. The book did look great, and I was very envious of that. It had picks mounted on the inside cover and was contained within a box. it may also be that bags are different for different gigs too. Don't be disappointed! There's nothing disappointing about this tour! Trust me, the experience is incedible! 

I echo the sentiments of not being able to get a shirt from the show I went too. I don't think they are going on sale anywhere online though. Please feel free to correct me though- was gutted I couldn't get one. How many shoes do you attend where you WANT to spend money but can't?! Crazy scenario. 

15 hours ago, Schwarzgold said:

So far, nobody of us has received one of the VIP-ticket gift packages? Hard to believe. Come on people, I'd like to know what to expect.

Seen one in person, don't have one. Bag is just a livenation tote-type thing. No GNR logo at all from what I could see- the sort of bag that comes with free gifts at a trade fair. More just a way to carry the book than anything you'd want to keep.  Book inside, with picks inside the front cover. Looked weak compared to the other legs packages, by miles. Book looked the same though broadly. 

A venue I've seen Guns at many times as well as loads of other bands, and was due to be at next Tuesday. It's terrifying. There By The Grace Of God really.