How much longer will Axl tour?

[WhazUp]

3 hours ago, Ixtlan said:

Have you seen Phil Collins lately?

Phil has had some major health issues over the years though, he isn't neccesarily representative of a typical 71 year old I would argue.  Robert Plant is 73 and is still killin' it just as Paul Rodgers.  I think if Axl takes care of himself, he could be able to perform another 10 years from now easily - albiet most likely Mickey 24/7 and a far cry from 2016 let alone any other era

Edited March 13, 2022 by WhazUp

[cineater]

1 hour ago, Gnrcane said:

It's unpredictable. That's why I see them every tour even though Axl is far from his prime. You never know which show will be the last time you ever see them.

Well this could be the last time
This could be the last time
Maybe the last time
I don't know, oh no, oh no

The last song I heard Jerry Garcia do, two months before he died, way too early.  God fucking damn it.  Keep yourself alive Axl Rose.

[lewovo1100]

I hope they can release some new songs that tailor to Axl's current voice so it's less strain to his vocal cord. I don't mind 2 hrs shows since that's what concerts usually last anyways. Axl's voice is still pretty much the same in songs like patience, estranged, etc. And his covers such as Wichita Lineman is pretty good. 

[Free Bird]

7 hours ago, Chester 524 said:

everyone ages differently.  30 years ago I would have said I never want to see Axl tour as a 60 year old.  but today I'm looking forward to seeing him again.  No, he doesn't sound or look the same, but once GNR is done for good, my youth is officially gone.

I think he will go as long as he can physically and mentally do it, so maybe another 10 years.  and then he will open a tiger zoo with Joe Exotic. just kidding..... I think.  

[History2010]

It's hard to say when he will quit. There's plenty of artists touring very late into their lives. Tony Bennett just retired from live performances at age 96.

All these artists are touring this year: 

• Willie Nelson - 88
• Bobby Rush - 88
• Buddy Guy - 85
• Ringo Starr  - 81
• Dionne Warwick - 81
• Bob Dylan - 80
• Beach Boys (Mike Love is 80, Bruce Johnson is 79)

I expect Slash will eventually be in that list of 80+ year olds still touring, he's not going to stop until he dies. It's hard to tell if Axl really enjoys touring or not, or if he only does it for financial reasons. Axl doesn't seem to care what people think about the quality of his performances, so I can totally see him touring until he physically can't anymore, that could be well into his 70s or even his 80s. 

[mystery]

7 hours ago, We love Axl Rose said:

5-6 years.

I think when Axl retires there’s a chance we’ll see a few of his interviews, and perhaps he publish an autobiography. There is a better chance that we will see Axl talking about his life and career after he retires than now while he is still active and touring.

I think this is the most likely outcome. I think there will come a point where the money is enough and the band maybe releases a farewell album of sorts that contains a mix of old and new material.

I think there's somewhat of a weight lifted from Axl once he hangs up his hat and Guns N' Roses is no longer an active band. No more pressure to perform, release new music, or live up to the public persona of Axl the rockstar.

I think the reason this gets asked is there's a good chance we might not see Axl when he decides to call it a day. Between tours he pretty much disappears and you have Slash or Duff doing a lot of publicity for the band.

I could see him doing a few rare interviews here and there and also an autobiography if he feels reflective enough. Guns N' Roses will always be a part of his life though even if it's through business matters, licensing deals, or archival releases. 

[Rovim]

Guns songs are tough to sing, but Axl said he wants to keep it going as long as possible. I hope Gn'R is active performance wise for another 8 years, even if Axl's vocals are weaker. Axl is still capable of great live performances imo but he doesn't really prepares himself vocally like he did for AC/DC so I don't think we know exactly what his current ability is.

[adamsapple]

Some GNR material is pretty hard to sing in the first place, even for a 20 year old. I think Axl is still a great singer to this day, but the 30+ year old material he has to sing in these nostalgia greatest hits shows would make any singer his age look bad.

Some GNR compositions and arrangements are just insane, this whole "like there's no tomorrow" approach to them was what made them so good in the first place, but now tomorrow has arrived and these songs are somehow trapped in time while their singer is not.

On the other hand, the majority of the target audience is trapped in time too, they don't go to see GNR not to enjoy the actual music performance but to relive their youth and take in an event, an image and an experience sort of thing, it's just a sad state of affairs.

Had he released more material to the public this wouldn't be an issue as he could pick from a wider variety of songs and still get a nod from the audience that now consists of 90% casuals living in the past. As it is now, most people who go to these shows probably bought their last album in 1995 or so and expect him to sound and look like he did on MTV when MTV was still playing music.

Bon Jovi has a similar problem, his audience is different and his compositions are nowhere near the complexity or sophistication of Axl's, but just for shits and giggles try singing "Bed Of Roses". No matter how old or how good of a singer you are, you will likely be very impressed and maybe even feel a little humiliated. You will most definetely have a lesson in vocal limitations right there. Then try singing YCBM or Better and you probably gonna give up after 2 minutes and view Axl Rose as one of the greatest rock singers ever.

There's a reason GNR songs were never covered much by other musicians and when they were covered the covers mostly sucked. It's almost impossible to sing them true to the original arrangements or bring anything else to the table. They are complete, edging perfection, trapped in their own universe. That's what happens when you spend too much time in the studio and too little time sitting on the coach with acoustic guitars or at the piano.

If he's healthy and feels like it he can basically tour until he's 70 or even older, but he won't look good singing some material in their original arrangements. In that regard, not having Izzy was a really bad idea as he's the one that might have come up with some cool stripped down arrangements for some classics and even new simpler songs to age a bit more gracefully on stage.

[axl666]

I've said this before, but I think that if they did acoustic tours they'd still sell out arenas. I think adamsapple is right there with his last paragraph.

Slash and Duff are very talented at taking existing songs and restructuring them so it could be done.

[El Guapo]

I'd say about 10 more years.

[mystery]

8 hours ago, adamsapple said:

 

Some GNR compositions and arrangements are just insane, this whole "like there's no tomorrow" approach to them was what made them so good in the first place, but now tomorrow has arrived and these songs are somehow trapped in time while their singer is not

 

I think this problem isn't exclusive to Guns N' Roses as a lot of rock singers really push themselves vocally in their younger years not realizing they're probably still going to sing songs they wrote in their 20's when they're in their 50's/60's. There's a bunch of songs on Use Your Illusion I/II in particular that are insane vocally and leave no time to breathe between verses. I believe this is why Don't Damn Me has never been performed live. Coma is even pretty difficult, Axl handles it better now but during the UYI Tour I'm concerned he's going to collapse from lack of oxygen from the rasp and power he sings with in the last 2 minutes of that song.

[©GnrPersia]

20 hours ago, 2020_Intensions said:

I don't see him touring much longer ... Possibly 1-2 more years 

Right, I was thinking the same in 2014.

[2020_Intensions]

1 hour ago, ©GnrPersia said:

Right, I was thinking the same in 2014.

His vocal ability in 2014 is a far cry from how he's doing these days ... 

[mystery]

35 minutes ago, 2020_Intensions said:

His vocal ability in 2014 is a far cry from how he's doing these days ... 

There's been kind of ebbs and flows. He really wasn't sounding great in 2014 but I think he took the reunion seriously so having a year off and working out had Axl sound really good in 2016. The big question is if age and wear and tear have taken its toll or if he can find his voice again either through rest, vocal training, or getting in shape. 

[AxlRoseCDII]

You know that they would monetize the hell out of the final tour so probably not just yet. I’d say another 3-5 years. I really wish he would just adapt the set list to easier songs and go another 10+ years though. It’s not like GNR doesn’t have easy songs for Axl to sing. Or you know…release new music that’s easy to sing. 

Edited March 13, 2022 by AxlRoseCDII

[BangoSkank]

We'll see him into his 70s. Serpentines are eternal. 

[Tom2112]

I'd guess that he's gonna bow out before his 70s, but you never know! if he can sustain what he has left of his voice until his 70s, then great keep going! if he comes back year and year later and has lost more each time then he'd be a fool to not bow out before that He should want to go out on top considering how he talks about putting on quality shows. I kinda have a feeling that he will stay a little longer than he should... he may have already! He can still get his voice back, and sing for another 10 years but he would need to change a lot of things, but if the plan is to go for 10/15 more years he has to put in the hard work. And of course what he's doing is hard right now, but he could probably work smarter and add a few years to his career. 

[Original]

The question is will GnR ever do a “farewell tour” or announcement or will they just end?   The way they are with media silence I can see them just ending and no one knowing that it’s over.  If ya hear me.  

[smokingarthur]

He will tour as long as he can. Poor performances that become increasingly cringe-inducing with a shrinking catalogue of songs he can sing at all and lack of new material haven’t prevented touring in the past, don’t prevent touring in the present and certainly won’t prohibit any in the future. 

[GNRmello77]

I think Axl will simply tour untill the passion he feels for it is gone or when his body will meet the test of time, I don't see any of these things happening in the next 5 years to be honest. And I like to see that he still enjoys doing it! 

[Live Like a Suicide]

I always point to Nick Cave as an example of performing artists aging gracefully and adapting their content and tours to suit. Nick does his normal Bad Seeds tours, his piano tours, his speaking/piano tours, etc. There's no reason why Axl can't adapt GNR content, performances or tours according to his and the band's abilities. 

[El Guapo]

5 hours ago, Live Like a Suicide said:

I always point to Nick Cave as an example of performing artists aging gracefully and adapting their content and tours to suit. Nick does his normal Bad Seeds tours, his piano tours, his speaking/piano tours, etc. There's no reason why Axl can't adapt GNR content, performances or tours according to his and the band's abilities. 

So far, Axl's been doing the opposite though.

The stage clothes, the merch, the music. The skeletons.

Edited March 15, 2022 by El Guapo

[Gibbo]

On 3/14/2022 at 12:44 PM, Original said:

The question is will GnR ever do a “farewell tour” or announcement or will they just end?   The way they are with media silence I can see them just ending and no one knowing that it’s over.  If ya hear me.  

That's a easy one. You will know it will be promoted to the shit $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[adamsapple]

On 3/13/2022 at 4:22 PM, axl666 said:

I've said this before, but I think that if they did acoustic tours they'd still sell out arenas.

Doesn't even have to be all acoustic shows, just toning things down for a bit arrangement wise could do wonders.

Take YCBM for example: Technically, that's a blues. Period. You don't have to scream and rasp this song at the speed of light to make it sound great, you don't even need drums for it, yet Axl chooses to stick to the original arrangement and at this point he just doesn't sound too good doing so.

Edited March 15, 2022 by adamsapple

[johnnybebad]

11 hours ago, El Guapo said:

So far, Axl's been doing the opposite though.

The stage clothes, the merch, the music. The skeletons.

This.

Older artists like Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan had huge late-career renaissances because they embraced the gifts that age had provided them with. While other artists are stuck milking their own nostalgia (Axl, Brian Wilson) and always being held to their past achievements because they keep wagging those achievements in their audience's faces, it is possible to keep the muse and the music alive, but he probably won't see the same payday that Appetite For Destruction 32nd Anniversary Tour will provide. Axl is not some kind of fountain of youth superhero like Mick Jagger or Paul McCartney, but even they know how to work within their own unavoidable age-related limits.