Axl's Sit Down Protest

[D-GenerationX]

The point is drunken pack mentality happens at concerts,anything can spark it...including a promoter pulling the plug on a band,regardless of who the band is.

And if they cut the power without warning or no reason, you might have a point.

But they expressly stated this would happen. All GNR had to do to avoid this "injustice" was do their set on time just like everyone else.

Blaming the promoter here is completey ridiculous. This was all laid out and easily avoided. Axl is no victim here.

[wasted]

Classic show. Wonder what the rant will be like at Leeds.

[Zint]

The point is drunken pack mentality happens at concerts,anything can spark it...including a promoter pulling the plug on a band,regardless of who the band is.

And if they cut the power without warning or no reason, you might have a point.

But they expressly stated this would happen. All GNR had to do to avoid this "injustice" was do their set on time just like everyone else.

Blaming the promoter here is completey ridiculous. This was all laid out and easily avoided. Axl is no victim here.

I'm not blaming the promoter for the band going on late.

I'm in no way painting Axl as a victim here...just looking at a bigger picture.

It doesn't matter if the promoter had a reason or not.He put the audience at risk.

If that promoter didn't stop and think about the possible consequences of his actions,then he should not be in the business.

The reality is...if there WAS a riot BECAUSE THE PROMOTER CUT THE POWER DURING THE BAND'S SET,and someone in that audience didn't get out alive.Is it GnR's fault for going on late?Or is it the fault of the guy who triggered the riot by cutting the power?

Do you see what I'm saying?

GnR started late...now what??

Do we suffer the consequences of fines?Or do we risk starting a riot by cutting the power during the band's set?

It was a reckless decision....for the sole reason that..a riot could have happened.

Sitting at a computer and smugly typing,"yeah well a riot didn't happen" doesn't rectify it and deosn't make it a rational,thought out decision.

Look...if you got trampled to death at that concert,because of a riot that started because the promoter pulled the plug during a band's set,do you honestly believe the promoter would come out of that situation unscathed?Do you think your parents wouldn't have that promoter's ass in a sling?

[D-GenerationX]

The reality is...if there WAS a riot BECAUSE THE PROMOTER CUT THE POWER DURING THE BAND'S SET,and someone in that audience didn't get out alive.Is it GnR's fault for going on late?Or is it the fault of the guy who triggered the riot by cutting the power?

Ultimately, its GNR's fault for going on late. They hit the stage on time, the promoter doesn't have to do anything but sit back and enjoy a drama free event.

Its not like if they took the stage even a half hour late instead of an hour, that the power gets cut. We know how their setlists go. They had maybe 15 minutes left in their set, 20 tops. The needless hour delay becomes the culprit, not the promoter.

[GNR123GNR456]

The point is drunken pack mentality happens at concerts,anything can spark it...including a promoter pulling the plug on a band,regardless of who the band is.

And if they cut the power without warning or no reason, you might have a point.

But they expressly stated this would happen. All GNR had to do to avoid this "injustice" was do their set on time just like everyone else.

Blaming the promoter here is completey ridiculous. This was all laid out and easily avoided. Axl is no victim here.

I'm not blaming the promoter for the band going on late.

I'm in no way painting Axl as a victim here...just looking at a bigger picture.

It doesn't matter if the promoter had a reason or not.He put the audience at risk.

If that promoter didn't stop and think about the possible consequences of his actions,then he should not be in the business.

The reality is...if there WAS a riot BECAUSE THE PROMOTER CUT THE POWER DURING THE BAND'S SET,and someone in that audience didn't get out alive.Is it GnR's fault for going on late?Or is it the fault of the guy who triggered the riot by cutting the power?

Do you see what I'm saying?

GnR started late...now what??

Do we suffer the consequences of fines?Or do we risk starting a riot by cutting the power during the band's set?

It was a reckless decision....for the sole reason that..a riot could have happened.

Sitting at a computer and smugly typing,"yeah well a riot didn't happen" doesn't rectify it and deosn't make it a rational,thought out decision.

Look...if you got trampled to death at that concert,because of a riot that started because the promoter pulled the plug during a band's set,do you honestly believe the promoter would come out of that situation unscathed?Do you think your parents wouldn't have that promoter's ass in a sling?

Yeah, at least there was no riot. If there was expect huge media backlash blaming Axl, or course.

But Axl played the good guy this time and had the corwd calmed down with a short acoustic version of Paradise City and Better. He probably didn't wanna start any trouble.

Even though it may have been Axl's fault for the pulled plug, he played it great afterwards and did what he normally does not do. Cater to the audience with, so I heard, tagging fans hands and singing and talking from a megaphone.

I don't see how poeple can be mad at Axl for what he did after the pulled plug, he did the right thing.

Like I said beofre, at least a riot didn't happen. Thank's to Axl, a riot didn't happen.

[wasted]

Promoter was a jobsworth they only had a few songs to go

[brobot]

It's pretty much a non issue if he isn't asked to play again. He can be late for an appointment playing video games with Bach or helping Ashba pick out a hat. Everyone else has lost interest. Promoter 1. Axl 0.

[Cockaroachsoup80]

The reality is...if there WAS a riot BECAUSE THE PROMOTER CUT THE POWER DURING THE BAND'S SET,and someone in that audience didn't get out alive.Is it GnR's fault for going on late?Or is it the fault of the guy who triggered the riot by cutting the power?

Ultimately, its GNR's fault for going on late. They hit the stage on time, the promoter doesn't have to do anything but sit back and enjoy a drama free event.

Its not like if they took the stage even a half hour late instead of an hour, that the power gets cut. We know how their setlists go. They had maybe 15 minutes left in their set, 20 tops. The needless hour delay becomes the culprit, not the promoter.

How can you say it's their fault, if you don't know why they started at 10:20 (which isn't that late, and wasn't a huge delay by any means)? What were the organizers expecting if QOTSA finished their set at 9:35--GNR to take the stage 10 minutes later with no gear? The likely delay was due to the stage getting set-up, boards calibrated, and getting little technical glitches corrected--all normal things that happen. They shouldn't have booked GNR, or any other name band with a large stage show if they expected everything to be ready to roll 20 minutes after QOTSA.

Edited August 28, 2010 by Cockaroachsoup80

[brobot]

Sounds like someone didn't "get in the ring" after they were clearly called out about it. If we were talking about someone with character, having received pretty much what was a public challenge to do his job when he was supposed to do it, one would have hoped that he would have done so and in rare form just to prove the other wrong. If you're such a bad ass rock star, why can't you just come out and play and let "the boards be calibrated" over the course of the first few songs while you just do your best to rock it out in raw form?

[Jakey Styley]

My opinion on everything

Sturgis was Axl being an asshole, this is Axl intentionally screwing with the reading festival guys and GNR having a good time. Anyone who sits there reading about this just going "THISH WASH HIGHLY UNPROFESHINOL AND IGNORANT OF ACKSHEL" is a pussy teenager or a hypocritical 35 year old.

Also, I think it's possible Leeds would have been canceled even if Axl didn't announce it himself.

[Granny]

Oh, what a racket!

Let's look at the night's plain facts, okay?

1. The band AND Axl were backstage 4 hours before the scheduled performance start. Not exactly Axl's standard. So he was ready to stick to the agreement.

Ergo - NOT AXL'S FAULT.

2. They were on stage not even one hour after the previous band left it. As someone wrote: If you book a huge stage show like that for your festival, you can't reasonably squeeze it into a tiny time slot of 2 hours (including technical adjustments) after the previous act. That maybe might work for a modest club festival, but not open air.

Ergo - NOT AXL'S FAULT.

3. Axl did not throw a fit after the plug was pulled. He was stunned for a moment when he realised it, but remained cool and considerate of the fans.

Like I said beofre, at least a riot didn't happen. Thank's to Axl, a riot didn't happen.

Exactly. Ergo - NOT AXL'S FAULT.

And now go on working yourselves into the fit grown-up Axl did not throw.

Edited August 28, 2010 by Granny

[bloodyhell1]

people dont want the facts, rather jump to conlusions it easier for there tiny little minds if the above is true, pretty bullshit imo

[Guest axleu]

Gov and corporations haven't forced those things on us. Most civilized people want them. If not - the world would be pure chaos.

So your neighbor loves hip-hop music, and decides to play it on his 250,000 watt stereo every night at 4 am, with his speakers facing directly into your house........your other neighbor is selling crack in his yard and in front of your house, complete with crack whores working your yard, neighborhood and street........"men who have sex with horses" bought the property directly behind you, with their yard facing your back window........ you would sit back and say "Hell ya, son. No restrictions in my neighborhood."

Axl refusing to show up to a paid gig ontime....refusing to play by the rules of the people PAYING him money to perform........having the show ended earlier - thereby screwing GnR FANS..........ya, he is a real rebel.

You are ridiculous. What's wrong with a rock and roll show going past midnight on a Friday night? I'm not talking bout no revolution,

Who cares what the reason is?

What's the reason for the delay? There is no reason. Its all manufactured, this so called "rebel" stance. I see more legitmate behavior on RAW.

Then go watch RAW.

[Tater Totts]

Oh, what a racket!

Let's look at the night's plain facts, okay?

1. The band AND Axl were backstage 4 hours before the scheduled performance start. Not exactly Axl's standard. So he was ready to stick to the agreement.

Ergo - NOT AXL'S FAULT.

2. They were on stage not even one hour after the previous band left it. As someone wrote: If you book a huge stage show like that for your festival, you can't reasonably squeeze it into a tiny time slot of 2 hours (including technical adjustments) after the previous act. That maybe might work for a modest club festival, but not open air.

Ergo - NOT AXL'S FAULT.

3. Axl did not throw a fit after the plug was pulled. He was stunned for a moment when he realised it, but remained cool and considerate of the fans.

Like I said beofre, at least a riot didn't happen. Thank's to Axl, a riot didn't happen.

Exactly. Ergo - NOT AXL'S FAULT.

And now go on working yourselves into the fit grown-up Axl did not throw.

Probably the most sensible post in any of these Reading-related threads.

It takes at least 30 minutes to change the gear after one performer has ended their set.

And if Axl really was there for the whole time (any proof btw?)... How is this Axl's fault?

Axl tweeted he was backstage 4 hours before the gig and it was confirmed the entire stage set up was already set up at the beginning of the day so it isnt like they can blame the stage for being late

[Granny]

Axl tweeted he was backstage 4 hours before the gig and it was confirmed the entire stage set up was already set up at the beginning of the day so it isnt like they can blame the stage for being late

Read again what I wrote, please. I was not claiming the stage wasn't set up yet. Even with the stage fully set up, there is always a variety of technical adjustments necessary if you play after other bands. The bigger the show, the more adjustment time is needed. No reason to assume Reading is any different here, now is there?

P.S.: Confirmed was that Axl was seen waiting to go on stage and the stage being ready. But this is only what fans could see from the audience. What you cannot see from audience or videos is all those hidden set-up features like cable connections, sound board settings etc. It really reminds of Sturgis - everyone's blaming the favourite suspect, spitting hatred and blind accusations without reliable information for it to be based on.

Edited August 28, 2010 by Granny

[Orsys]

I'm still not getting what the big problem is.

Axl went on late, okay. Out of character for him, but okay. But they played an hour and a half at a festival. Isn't that an acceptable period of time?

Another way to look at this, is that Axl may have been put in a position to have to save face when the promoter publicly stated they would 'pull the plug'. But didn't the promoter do the same to himself? How can you publicly state that and then not pull the plug? You lose your own credibility. And even then, they didn't pull it at 11:30. Why not? I thought it was so critical for the future of the festival.

There's no way the festival would be discontinued if it ran late. If the tourism dollars are realized then the festival continues next year, regardless of nonsense like this. And if it doesn't make money, it stops. It's business and nothing more. The neighbours discomfort is balanced with the tourism dollars to support the community. All tourism areas know this.

Edited August 28, 2010 by Orsys

[snakepit_uk]

Oh, what a racket!

Let's look at the night's plain facts, okay?

2. They were on stage not even one hour after the previous band left it. As someone wrote: If you book a huge stage show like that for your festival, you can't reasonably squeeze it into a tiny time slot of 2 hours (including technical adjustments) after the previous act. That maybe might work for a modest club festival, but not open air.

Ergo - NOT AXL'S FAULT.

QOTSA finished around 20:45

GnR Scheduled start time 21:30 (45 minutes later)

GnR Actual start time 22:30 (1 hour and 45minutes later)

[evil_l]

Axl refusing to show up to a paid gig ontime....refusing to play by the rules of the people PAYING him money to perform........having the show ended earlier - thereby screwing GnR FANS..........ya, he is a real rebel.

I agree.

[Granny]

My information at the time of writing was QOTSA finished 21:35. If they indeed finished 20:45, the picture is a bit different, I agree. However, we still don't know what was the concrete reason for the band not getting on stage despite being there and being seen waiting.

Again: remember Sturgis a few weeks ago. Everybody was blaming Axl as usual. Yet it turned out is was not his fault at all. Everybody is blaming Axl now, too, despite facts indicating the opposite.

Edit: Just saw this:

I was there...

No Queens of the Stone age ended their set at around 9:10 ish,

20 min to change for the GNR show - no way. The delay would have been 1h 20min according to this information. Not nice, but within reason, it seems to me.

Edited August 28, 2010 by Granny

[LesPaul_Player_91]

My information at the time of writing was QOTSA finished 21:35. If they indeed finished 20:45, the picture is a bit different, I agree. However, we still don't know what was the concrete reason for the band not getting on stage despite being there and being seen waiting.

Again: remember Sturgis a few weeks ago. Everybody was blaming Axl as usual. Yet it turned out is was not his fault at all. Everybody is blaming Axl now, too, despite facts indicating the opposite.

It may not have been Axl's fault but I think it was a case of the boy who cried wolf last night. Because Axl is known to start shows late many of the crowd just assumed he was up to his old tricks again. There may have been a viable reason for the lateness last night and if the band including Axl were seen at the side of the stage at 21:30 (I only saw Bumblefoot when he actually came onstage but I couldn't see the sides that well) then it appears there may have been an issue.

Also, during the wait Bumble actually stepped up to the mic and said something but the mic wasn't on. Either that or he decided against saying anything.