Rocks Off is following our sister Houston Press blogs into the choppy waters of "Comment of the Day," choosing a comment or a handful of comments from the previous day we find especially enlightening, infuriating or just plain hilarious. We're glad our readers have opinions, whatever they are, about what we write, and encourage them to keep 'em coming.
Sorry, folks, Rocks Off has not heard anything further about a possible burying of the hatchet and subsequent whipping out of the axe between the screeching Guns N' Roses crab-walker and his top-hatted former guitarist.
But even the mere hint of an onstage Axl/Slash reunion is enough to get the comments pouring in, comments like these from our post about musicians who might - emphasis on might - make their way to town in 2011.
Jeepers H. Crackers:
I'll second the "made up rumor" comment when it comes to GN'R. Whatever source you've got or site your monitoring, it's way off. The Duff appearance was a one-off and both Axl and Duff have confirmed that. There is a rumoured tour for GN'R in 2011 but it will not be with Slash. And why would it be? GN'R have been playing to crowds of 10,000 - 30,000 a night between South America, Europe, Australia, and the 20,000+ at the last gig of 2010. Slash isn't going to bring that many more fans out, given even with Velvet Revolver there weren't that big of a concert draw (and half the people he would attract are going to go anyway).Quit hoping for Slash to come back to the band. Both Izzy and Duff have played with GN'R since 2006. The guy in the top hat? Not going to happen.
Ryan:
Why wouldn't people want to see Slash? That's easy, because he is one of the members that created the songs people love. So was Izzy, Duff, Steven and Matt. Bumblefoot, Ashba, and all of the other hired guns have nothing to do with any popular GNR songs. This new lineup is talented no doubt, but it's a glorified cover band any way you slice it. Sure they have a new album finally, but not many people in the US are buying what Axl is selling. You can't replace every single member sans yourself and expect people to believe it's the same band. Axl was 1/5 of the original GNR, one of the greatest rock bands of all time. Now he is the relentless egomaniac dragging the GNR name through the mud. I've seen the new lineup, and they are a great live act, but they can't touch the original, and they will never be able to lay claim to writing the songs that put GNR on the map. They can keep Chinese Democracy, the songs that failed to put GNR back on the map.
Blah:
Your feelings about the new lineup doesn't change the fact that it's a false rumour. I'm not saying people don't want to see Slash, I'm saying half the people that do will go to the show anyway, so he's only going to sell a few extra tickets at best. The current lineup just finished touring for a year straight. They sold out stadiums in South American and arenas in Europe. In the U.S., they won't draw what they once did, but they outdraw Velvet Revolver, and by far, Slash solo. So he's not going to help ticket sales that much in the end, and Axl has made it very public that he will not work with the guy again. He said that as recently as weeks ago. The day this rumour was posted, video of Axl with the new lineup made its way online from an interview in Abu Dahbi - so again, it's a fake rumour. no matter what way you slice it, or what your feelings about the band are.Personally, Slash chose to leave the band in 1996. He wasn't kicked out, he walked away, probably thinking that he would come back in a few years and pick up where he left off. As much as I hate to say it, that's not how reality work, and while I like the guy (the first Velvet Revolver album is solid), it's unlikely he'll ever be back in the band. It's been 14 years... you know, there should be a song called that ;)
A few points here:
- It is not a made-up rumor, certainly not by us. Like Rocks Off Jr. said in the comments, he could have made up much better rumors than this one. (Zeppelin, anyone?) He heard it from a friend, someone we both trust, and someone we're pretty sure would not bullshit us about something like this. We are all huge fans of GN'R, at least through the Use Your Illusion albums, so if this guy even brings it up we're fairly certain he's not shining us on. Also, our pals over at L.A. troublemaker Web site Buddyhead tell us that although Axl and Slash aren't going to be godfathers to each other's children anytime soon, neither do they want to shoot each other on sight.
- It is also not a "false rumor." Rumors stay rumors until they are confirmed, at which point they become facts. If they are not confirmed, they remain rumors, and sometimes rumors are worth writing about. Axl and Slash might reunite right up until the point one of them takes that final dirt nap. That doesn't mean they're going to... but they might. And, as Madonna memorably once said, "monkeys might fly out of my butt."
- Rocks Off hopes we are not ruining anyone's Christmas by saying that many, many bands - especially those who could draw in the neighborhood of what a fully reunited GN'R could (Toyota Center at least) - have toured successfully when the members can barely stand the sight of one another. We're talking full-on, steam-coming-out-of-the-ears, seething hate. Probably a lot more than Axl and Slash do, although we can't speak for them personally.
And whether or not Axl ever gets his ass to town, with or without Duff, Izzy or any of the other original GN'R posse, we do know Slash is coming January 18 as Ozzy Osbourne's opener. That is most definitely confirmed, and according to this set list from L.A.'s House of Blues in October, Slash is still doing plenty of the Gunners' greatest hits in his set.
He also played a bunch of Lenny Kravitz songs. Did we mention that Lenny might come to Houston in 2011 too?
