Taken from another forum (this is also a quote from another forum, where it was immediately deleted, guess which one)
There was a collective groan from the audience as Del James pokes his head from behind some amps to tell the bassist from Danko Jones to keep playing. Now, Danko Jones weren't awful (they weren't anything special either), but the clock had just struck 9pm. This was the time Guns had arranged the starting time for Guns N' Roses, that was promised by the venue. And it's not lke the band wasn't around. Ashba had greeted the fans a mere two and half hours before, and could be seen waiting backstage to go on.
Following the Jones set, which started at 8pm (roughly), and lasted about an hour and fifteen minutes, DJ and Bumble could still be seen at the side of stage, both tapping their imaginary watches to the members of the crowd that noticed them. We then waited for well over another hour. And don't give me this shit about "that's how long the turn around takes", because that's a lie. They had everything ready in Belfast in close to 30 minutes. The sound of booing echoed through the arena, broken by the occasional Mexican wave. As the waiting went on, so did the booing, but it was suddenly drowned out as the lights went down. Axl was ready, apparently.
As Ashba played the opening riff of Chinese Democracy, and the band finally exploded on stage, much of the crowd was jumping and singing along, or at least head banging to the music. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. No more than two minutes into the song, Axl has some issue with his microphone pack, and was grounded in one place whilst a roadie desperately tried to fix it. I got the feeling he was rushed on stage. Perhaps his solid stance was an omen for the rest of the night. He ripped out his earpiece in ager, and stormed off.
There are still some boos by the end of the title track, but I got the impression it was still a notification that we weren't happy with the lateness. As Ashba tore into the legendary Welcome To The Jungle, the cheers were deafening. The wait may have been long, but it looked like we were about to see a hell of a show. Of course, before Axl even sings a word, he stops the song because a plastic cup or bottle was thrown on stage. Sure, whoever threw someone was a bit of a dick, but that's perfectly reasonable after making an audience that has paid pretty hefty prices to see your show, wait that length of time. This isn't South America, Axl's on his last legs here, he's already been slaughtered in the press for Reading/Leeds, he can't get away with this. It's just pure arrogance. He gives us the now catchphrase like warning, and jumps back into the song.
I can't quite remember exactly when this part happened, but there was a pretty long time in one of the opening tracks (I think it was Jungle, I haven't watched the video) were Axl was completely out of time with the band, throwing them and the crowd totally off. Axl gets pissed again, and storms off stage.
Predictably, It's So Easy, Mr. Brownstone and Sorry without fault, showcasing the bands talent and showing signs of a show as good as the one in Belfast the night before. But oh no... Axl introduces Richard Fortus, then suddenly says "Have a good evening", holds up an empty plastic bottle and storms off yet again, this time what looked like for good. Funny that the bottle was thrown at Fortus (I don't think it hit him, I'm not sure), who seemed happy enough to keeping on rocking into the James Bond theme, but Axl decided enough was enough. I got a very strong sense that he'd been looking for an excuse to stop the show and leave. Some woman comes out, talks about technical difficulties, I couldn't really hear her from where I was. It was pretty much inaudible.
The boos and "what the fuck"s are taking over the arena, broken by loud chants of "We want Slash!" I should note, this was certainly not a dig at Ashba, who impressed a load of people so far, even at this early stage. Everyone I talked to found it hard to take their eye off him, he was great. The lights are still down, but there's a collective feeling in the atmosphere "They're not coming back." After another ten minutes, the promoter comes out on stage and apologises, promising us a good show and telling us not to throw things. Soon after this, the lights come up, and a load of people simply leave the show, and go to collect their refund. Even more left when a surge to the barrier in an attempt to storm the stage resulted in a mini-riot/fight between security and angry fans broke out, leaving many pretty bloody. I noticed a security guard knocking the shit into some random fan, and the security guard was actually held back and thrown out by other security guards.
About thirty/forty minutes after the leaving the stage, the lights go down again. I've no idea what was said backstage, but from what followed, I got the impression the band had heavy words with Axl, and he was told that he would not be paid if he didn't finish the show. I'm not sure the band and Axl have made eye contact since, and we respected the Guns for it. One man who had lost the entire audience, was W. Axl Rose. The guys came back out, it's about 11.30pm now (roughly), and they kick into Live & Let Die. The band looks pumped, ready to give the show the crowd deserves. Why should the show be ruined for everyone else because of some drunk prick? He should've been kicked out, and that's that. That's what gives me even more backing in my theory that Axl was looking for an excuse. If it was a glass bottle, I could understand, but anyway... on with the show. Axl picks his spot in the middle of the stand, leaning against the frame for most of the show from then on (Better at Download 2006). From this point on, they increased the volume of the guitars, and it felt like a unity was established of crowd and music once again. Tommy came and said something, I don't remember it much. He just mentioned the show in 2006 and said not to let them down or something... Throughout the show, some of the biggest cheers I heard from where I was was the various solo spots. They rocked, and the fans from where I was were really into them. Again, it seems a unity was established of "Fuck Axl", and the crowd and the band went on.
Two men stole this show. Ashba and Bumblefoot. To be fair, the entire band was fantastic, and what started as The Axl Show turned into the Better Off Without Axl Show. It really made Axl appear the weak link, and that he is holding the rest of them back from writing some killer music themselves. The "Hired Guns" looked and sounded like a tight and kick-ass rock and roll band, putting on a hell of a show. To anyone who says "This isn't a band", yes, you're right, but that's down to one, Axl Rose. These other guys fucking rocked the crowd.
Despite everything from intros/solos/singalongs being cut short (Axl whistling to the band like dogs when he decided to play November Rain as they were doing Another Brick In The Wall Intro/Axl cutting the Paradise City and possibly Nightrain solos short/Cancelling the Knockin' On Heaven's Door singalong) to Axl's cardboard cut-out stance, it was a fantastic night. I got the Guns N' Roses experience. That said, had I not seen the Belfast show the night before, I might not feel that way. I was extremely impressed by the band, and it's interesting to wonder what could come of them with a different frontman. It's funny, I said to my friend "I'll be happy if there's at least one difference between this show and the Belfast one". They couldn't have been more different. The contrast from Axl winning over a crowd of 14,000 with his world-class performance in Belfast, to leaning on the stage for two hours only 24 hours later. And speaking of that, 24 hours earlier at the Belfast show, Axl was hit with a backpack which he put on, smiled and laughed with the crowd during Knockin' On Heaven's Door. It was an experience I wouldn't change at all. It was memorable to say the least.
Guns rocked Dublin last night, but we could've done without the Rose.
Nice review, although I disagree with one point. I'm not going to try to defend Axl's actions. To be honest, it's childish. However, so is throwing a bottle at the man. It's not a "perfectly reasonable" response to throw a bottle. It's immature and quite frankly, just as dumb as Axl's actions. Booing is fine. Leaving is fine. Even chanting hateful messages is fine in this kind of scenario. However, whoever throws a bottle at Axl should know that he won't react by just ducking it and moving on with the show.
+ a Tommy quote (which was also deleted):
Guns N' Roses bassist Tommy Stinson is considering his future with the band after a catastrophic show in Dublin tonight during which the group left the stage for almost 45 minutes at the behest of frontman Axl Rose.
Sputnikmusic witnessed Stinson in a heated argument with road manager Del James following the show, which saw the Los Angeles band take to the stage an hour and a half late before leaving after just four songs.
Frontman Axl Rose had threatened to leave when a plastic bottle was thrown on stage at the beginning of 'Welcome to the Jungle,' and stormed off stage when a second was thrown at the conclusion of 'Mr. Brownstone.'
Stinson was heard to shout: "That's my fucking family up there and he put us in danger again.
"He can't keep doing this. Nothing happened this time, but next time we might not be so lucky.
"This has to stop."
The band returned to stage after a long hiatus, during which a third of the paying audience left, and performed almost a full set. They finally wrapped up at 1am, an hour and half later than the venue's scheduled curfew.
http://www.sputnikmusic.com/news.php?newsid=15243
