RATE: What was the best leg of the UYI Tour?

[F*ck Fear]

1991 hands down!

Axl's raw vocals and performances! Izzy fucking Stradlin! Man, with only the addition of Dizzy Reed and not the extra shit, there was still a hint of the Appetite sound.

[FuriousStyles]

I would rub every foot sore on Fernando (and every other hanger on) for Pro Shot video of the '91 leg (Toronto especially)

 

NOW THIS IS HOW YOU RIDE THE NIGHTRAIN!

 

 

[ericy210]

8 hours ago, Tom-Ass said:

1993 for sure.. The band stripped back down to a 6 piece.. Axl ditched the shorts and wasn't changing every song.. The Acoustic set.. They switched up the set list.. And the band was just tight as fuck.. Maybe the tightest they had ever been out of any lineup... I have seen hundreds of big shows and the show I saw that tour is my all time favorite show that I attended by any band... ever....   I had tix to two more shows that tour that were canceled when Gilby broke his arm. One was rescheduled to then be ultimately canceled due to a Blizzard... 

Well said.  I'm a bit biased because that was my first concert- drove out to Iowa City.  If he could have added a '91 Perfect Crime, it would have been perfect,,but I love acoustic Crazy, Axl on guitar for Bad Apple, and The Garden.

About 90 minutes in, at the end of Jungle, Axl got pissed, threw down the mic, and walked off.  Just added to the edge of it all.

[Juventino]

1991 for me, before the release of the albums. Closely followed by Skin n' Bones in 1993 and then in third comes 1992.

[DieselDaisy]

1991 was the final year of gnr really. Thereafter they became a parody.

[Nikki_Sixx]

1991 is the essence of GNR.  Axl, Slash, Duff, Izzy, Matt. Oh, and Dizzy.  Best line-up, best setlists, indoor fucked-up raw crazyness all-round.

Ridiculous Axl wardrobe, rambling over the top rants, riots, fucked up shit, 100% mentally insane performances, me-against-the-world-attitude, everyone-is-to-blame-but-me shit round the clock.

'Ride Next Door To Hell', '14 Years', 'Bad Apples', 'You're Crazy' [fast version], 'Perfect Crime', 'Pretty Tied Up', etc. epic setlists ...

The things I would do for pro-shot video from that leg, or audio/video of the unsurfaced shows ...

 

Things shifted obviously in a major way when Izzy left and GNR turned into a circus act, but those late '91, early '92 US/Japan shows are amazing, second best part of the UYI tour, long shows, legendary multiple night stands like MSG and Tokyo Dome.

I really like how they opened up the setlists again with extra goodies like 'So Fine', 'Attitude', 'Breakdown', 'Move To The City', the extended 'Rocket Queen', the backup singers did a great job on 'Yesterdays', 'Pretty Tied Up', 'Don't Cry', ...

It all went downhill pretty quickly once they got to Europe and into the Metallica tour.  Setlists became shorter and shorter (maybe because of outdoor curfews ? tour fatigue ? ) and immensely predictable and stale.  There were still some exceptions like Cologne, Giants Stadium, digging up 'Out Ta Get Me' late in the Metallica tour, ... but mostly a standard setlist.  By the time they hit South America and Australasia in late '92 it's a genuine borefest.

 

1993 started very promising, they finally got rid of some rust in the set like 'Civil War', 'Bad Obsession', the snoozefest version of 'KOHD', and instead on any given night you could get 'Garden Of Eden', 'The Garden', 'Nice Boys', 'Reckless Life', 'Yesterdays', 'So Fine', 'Dead Horse', etc. and the acoustic set was a nice change.  Before long, in true GNR tradition of ruining a good thing, the sets quickly got shorter and more predictable, dropping all the rare extras.  As the tour wound down in Europe, the shows were a mere shadow of their former selves, they even went under 2 hours in some places, with zero surprises, a fixed setlist, and by this time the novelty of the acoustic set had worn off, in my opinion it really kills the momentum if you listen to multiple shows.

All in all, if I wanna summarize the UYI tour, all I can say is what started out amazing, kinda got watered down and by the end just imploded.  Not unlike the story of GNR !

'Once there was this rock n' roll band rolling on the streets.  Time went by and it became a joke.  We just needed more and more fullfilling.  Time went by and it all went up in smoke...'

[ludurigan]

1993 had its moments though

 

 

 

[Darkenchantress]

On 4/8/2017 at 11:11 PM, janrichmond said:

Tough choice for me as i saw all 3 years. Wembley 91 was amazing because we got to hear the new songs before the albums were released. Izzys' last show though

                                                          Milton Keynes 93 was fucking excellant, Izzy returned and the acoustic set was new and they played 2 nights 

                                                                             

I hate you. You know I don't, but you know what I mean 

I voted 1991. I don't think I even have to explain why.

[RussTCB]

Saw them in 91, 92 & 93. 93 was the best. 

[RONIN]

10 minutes ago, RussTCB said:

Saw them in 91, 92 & 93. 93 was the best. 

What was better in '93 compared to the '91 show? 

14 hours ago, DieselDaisy said:

1991 was the final year of gnr really. Thereafter they became a parody.

Did you see them on the Skin N' Bones leg? The band had downsized their circus entourage drastically in '93.

[GoBucky]

I saw 3 shows on the tour. The 92 show (Chicago) is still one of the best shows I've ever seen. The 2 opening shows at Alpine Valley in 91 had a ton of anticipation and the crowd was chaotic, but the band was obviously still working the large show kinks out and the sets were a tad short. However, my vote goes to the 91 tour as the shows moving on from Alpine were fantastic, even though Axl's voice was too raspy. 

[DieselDaisy]

2 hours ago, RONIN said:

What was better in '93 compared to the '91 show? 

Did you see them on the Skin N' Bones leg? The band had downsized their circus entourage drastically in '93.

Bit naff really but probably better than 1992 - had Rose ditched the underpants on that leg?

1991 is the closest Guns came to Neil Young/Pearl Jam style setlists where they were just throwing forward (then) new tracks and it was all a bit ad hoc.

[RussTCB]

5 hours ago, RONIN said:

What was better in '93 compared to the '91 show? 

Did you see them on the Skin N' Bones leg? The band had downsized their circus entourage drastically in '93.

I just dug the setlist more overall and thought the acoustic part was sweet. 

[Tori72]

1991. Last year with Izzy bloody Stradlin. Punk vibe, raw, angry, tight.

I saw them 1993 the first time and it felt like watching something that could have been. The vibe was gone, the rawness, the authenticity, the hunger. It was a good show but there was something missing. That's how I felt.

Edited August 6, 2017 by Tori72

[Tori72]

On 4.8.2017 at 11:11 PM, janrichmond said:

Tough choice for me as i saw all 3 years. Wembley 91 was amazing because we got to hear the new songs before the albums were released. Izzys' last show though

                                                          Wembley 92 was amazing because we knew all the songs and could join in more. Tracy,Roberta etc though

                                                          Milton Keynes 93 was fucking excellant, Izzy returned and the acoustic set was new and they played 2 nights 

                                                                                       1993 got my vote 

Just saw Milton Keynes 93 (or part of it) with Izzy on YT recently. Loved it. Still I love the rawness of 1991 more.  

Edited August 6, 2017 by Tori72
Sorry, double posting. Was hoping it gets merched.

[Colossus of Rhodes]

yeah #1..

 

[AXL_N_DIZZY]

I liked '93 best. Dug the whole "grunge/Manson" look/persona Axl had going on as opposed to the other legs. Grittier/more stripped down than '92 and tighter than '91 IMHO. Band was building towards a couple final "goodies" (i.e. TSI?, "Estranged" video, etc.) for everybody, etc.

Only knock I would have is that the band was probably touring to earn back $$$ from the Metallica Tour- and as a "head in the sand"-type thing to avoid what they knew was awaiting them in LA (long, tumultuous break, creative and legal problems, etc.). That's more a "looking back now"-type thing though...

[AXL_N_DIZZY]

6 hours ago, Colossus of Rhodes said:

yeah #1..

 

Pretty much UYI-era in a nut shell. How could anyone be expected to keep their act together when you're in your late 20s and have that going on pretty much 24/7 for 2.5 years. Lol.?

[DieselDaisy]

On 1993 McKagan looked like an absolute wreck, scabs and boils on his hands and neck because of the booze and his zipper undone as it wouldn't cover his bloat.

[Tom-Ass]

On 8/4/2017 at 3:20 PM, RONIN said:

What was your take on the '91 shows? Looks like you just missed Izzy by a few months...

Yeah man, my first show was Gilby's first show so even thought it was 91 it was the same as the "92" tour with all the excess. It was still great.  Never got to see them with Izzy but I really enjoy you tubing those 91 performances as well and would take those over the 92 shows. The 92 shows were great too but visually they are tough to watch... Axl just looked so ridiculous...

[RONIN]

On 8/5/2017 at 5:32 PM, DieselDaisy said:

Bit naff really but probably better than 1992 - had Rose ditched the underpants on that leg?

1991 is the closest Guns came to Neil Young/Pearl Jam style setlists where they were just throwing forward (then) new tracks and it was all a bit ad hoc.

He traded the tiny white shorts for Manson swag and gnr branded clothes. 

From the bootlegs, my impression of '93 Guns is that they look a bit worn out from the tour, particularly Axl and Duff.

[DieselDaisy]

Just now, RONIN said:

He traded the tiny white shorts for Manson swag and gnr branded clothes. 

From the bootlegs, my impression of '93 Guns is that they look a bit worn out from the tour, particularly Axl and Duff.

When I used to collect bootlegs back in the day I had the Argentina 1993 show on VHS.

I read that the 1993 leg had some iffy ticket sales in some markets, people tiring of the band. They had already been twice around the world and this was a third time! I have a theory that they added this leg to recoup the legal losses and expenses frittered away on bunga bunga parties.

[RONIN]

7 minutes ago, DieselDaisy said:

When I used to collect bootlegs back in the day I had the Argentina 1993 show on VHS.

I read that the 1993 leg had some iffy ticket sales in some markets, people tiring of the band. They had already been twice around the world and this was a third time! I have a theory that they added this leg to recoup the legal losses and expenses frittered away on bunga bunga parties.

Sounds about right. I think it's been mentioned here before that the band's ticket sales had dropped precipitously in some North American markets around '93. Would lend credence to the GnR fatigue especially with the onslaught of Grunge. Maybe they were way overexposed in 1992. The estranged video certainly landed with a thud in '93 and TSI was a major disappointment on the charts given the band's stature.

[DieselDaisy]

Another reason I disliked the 1993 tour, and this might sound childish but Stradlin was/is my favourite member, was Rose slagging off Izzy every night before Double Talkin' Jive.

[janrichmond]

18 minutes ago, DieselDaisy said:

Another reason I disliked the 1993 tour, and this might sound childish but Stradlin was/is my favourite member, was Rose slagging off Izzy every night before Double Talkin' Jive.

Not in Milton Keynes 93