allwaystired

£10 says it would feature a skeleton in a top hat......

Well, I don't think my life is devalued whatsoever by not visiting these countries. Thanks for the travel advice folks. And thanks for getting involved @Rovim A job on the Travel Board in the UAE awaits you both! Your work here is done.

I'm saying fuck visiting some dictatorial regime where you have to be something you're not.

Alternatively, you could avoid the place like the plague and spend your time and money in a country with a semi-decent human rights record.

I recommend anyone to be themselves at all times, and the very moment someone tells them "not to flaunt a homosexual lifestyle" or to "tone down" their sexuality to tell them to get back to the dark ages. I'm amazed anyone would say that to honest. And anywhere you may put yourself at risk for being who you are isn't a place that deserves your time, effort or money. Next up: black people should 'act less black' when dealing with the police?

What is the acceptable level of gay in this bizarro world? I'd love to know the definitions..... You do realise how offensive it is to tell people they should 'tone down' being gay right?! "Flaunting a homosexual lifestyle". Fucking hell.

"Flaunt being gay all the time"- you mean, people just being themselves? Should people 'tone down' their sexuality? Being 'too gay' is a problem?! The judge? People should act straight when being judged to avoid trouble?! Bloody hell I thought we'd left these sort of comments behind in the dark ages.

Axl had people beat a pinata of Trump in Mexico onstage......perhaps an onstage act of defiance against the dismal human rights record might be in order here? Maybe a few words in support of tolerance, freedom of speech and gay rights? We shall see, but I think the chances are slim.

I just wish GNR would do SOMETHING. Other than endlessly and joylessly touring of course.

I liked what little we heard of the CR remix album. Not everyone's sort of thing I suppose, but it would be great to have the option to listen to it! Especially as it's sitting somewhere rotting.

I do tend to agree, for the reasons mentioned in the posts above.....but a (tiny) bit of me does think "well, there will be good people there who just want to see a show.....and why should they be denied that because their country is a repressive and backwards regime?" The issues arise really though in that whenever anything goes to these places it's used as a publicity tool to present an image of "all great here folks" which is far from the truth. On the whole though, yeah, I think it's a case of taking the cash and turning a convenient blind eye, and I wish they wouldn't do that.

Very well put. Personally I wouldn't feel comfortable visiting and spending money in any place in the world where homosexuality is illegal.

I think the fact so few people on this forum are going to the tour speaks volumes about the tour.

What show did you buy? What's the quality like?

Tip of the iceberg I reckon. Definitely not a place for those of us who value freedom of speech, equal rights, gay rights etc. Not that I don't think the people that live there don't deserve to see a gig of course.....but there does seem a recent rise in 'event-washing' in these sorts of places. Brush the shit under the carpets folks, smile for the cameras.

Talk to us about gardening. We're not so bothered about the shows.

"No setlist" remember?!

Really? I'm not sure that can be right. For a start you have to factor in what the stadiums main purpose is. If it's sitting idle for a long period, then inevitably they're going to be open to fairly low-ball offers from anyone wanting to use it. Why would the fees be fixed? That would be terrible business sense. Negotiation is a key part of a promoters strategy and plotting what venues a tour will end up in. It's also a key part of venue owners strategy, especially at the larger end of things. I would imagine that Live Nation have negotiated good prices on all the stadiums they're doing, which renders booking them instead of Arenas much more financially viable, even if they're half full. If this wasn't the case Live Nation would have no reason to move GNR back to stadiums after Arena runs. Live Nation, bastards though they are, know how to make money very well. Half empty stadiums will have definitely factored into their plans, especially as so free/discounted tickets were given out on the last stadium run.

Yeah, that's what I said- Live Nation do the booking.

I can think of another option for it that also involves the word trash.....

I like Anything Goes!

Yeah, it seems just unnecessary to release a CD that's half full when they have the full gig sitting in front of them. I'd imagine we'll see a full release of the gig at some point.....could be years though!

Do you have stats and figures for that? I'd be interested to know. I can't think of any other reason to book GNR into stadiums again otherwise. After the last US stadium run Live Nation will be very aware they won't fill stadiums, and they know what they're doing in terms of making money. The only reason I can think is that you can turn a decent profit from a half full stadium. Otherwise they'd put them in Arenas again.

The Fortus 'GNR have no setlists' comment was the straw that broke the camels back in terms of trusting what band members say!

Yep. Why do that stuff behind closed doors a d cost yourself money when you can do it in front of a ticket buying crowd, hey?