90s metal band Guns N’ Roses was forced to cancel a show in Costa Rica when the video screen they require was so heavy that it caused the stage to collapse. That’s what happens when the stage is made of bamboo and straw. Did anyone even realize that this band still existed? I thought that fans scattered after waiting a decade or so for the album Chinese Democracy, which I think is out now. Axl Rose is still out there, still performing under the name Guns N’ Roses, even though every other member we recognize is off doing something else. He still feels, apparently, that even though he isn’t as trim as he was in the Welcome to the Jungle Days, and even though his hair is now red and—for some ungodly reason—corn-rowed—he can still draw a crowd. So he brought his new band to Central and South America on their Chinese Democracy Tour, although the videos on the official GNR Facebook page seem to all be from the Slash/Duff McKagan/Steven Adler/Izzy Stradlin/and even Matt Sorum eras.
There is the mid-life crisis, and then there is...corn rows.
Axl Rose has been in the middle of controversy since the first time he was accused of Diva-like behavior on the Welcome to the Jungle Tour. He has managed to offend pretty much everyone, making enemies throughout the music business and in life in general. He has either sued or been sued by just about every single person who ever touched his life, including controversy over the ownership of the name Guns N’ Roses. In 1993, he sued his ex, model Stephanie Seymour, for “assault, battery, and the return of more than $100,000 worth of jewelry”, including a 4.5-carat diamond engagement ring. Really. Now his manager is suing him for $2.1 million in unpaid fees, per oral agreement between Axl and Front Line Management CEO Irving Azoff.
Azoff should have known better than to trust anything Axl Rose does orally.
On the upside, even though all talk of a reunion has been nixed by the temperamental singer, former bandmate and chief sparring partner Slash had nothing but good things to say about Chinese Democracy. He referred to it as “the perfect Axl Record…he’s f***ing phenomenal”. But, when asked about the possibility of the two talking about a reunion, the guitarist says, “I’m more standoffish because I know how vehemently he hates me.” Well, that puts Slash in pretty good company, actually. Axl Rose seems to hate almost everyone. Slash and the other boys have kept themselves quite busy since the breakup of the original band, and none of them really need a reunion to keep themselves in Jack Daniels and Harleys. It could happen, but Axl seems determined to make it work with his merry band of nobodies.
So the tour rolls on, despite the stage collapse in Costa Rica and a little incident in Bogota, Colombia. Axl and the band were performing Knockin on Heaven’s Door on March 30 when the frontman’s feet went out from under him and he fell down. To everyone’s surprise, he did not throw a hissy fit and storm offstage. He got up and kept singing. He kinda has to, though. Liposuction and Botox do not pay for themselves.
As for an original GnR reunion, it could happen. But I’m guessing that former Metallica bassist/ ginger hottie Jason Newsted will not attend.