After nearly a year of being absent from the stage, Guns N’ Roses appear to be plotting the beginnings of a North American tour that would begin in late October 2011.The band, led by Axl Rose as the sole remaining original member, have confirmed three shows so far — an October 28 show in Orlando, FL, an October 29 gig in Miami, FL, and a November 12 gig in Kansas City, MO, with enough holes in the schedule that it’s safe to say that there will be additional dates added.
Guitarist DJ Ashba previously stated earlier this summer that the band is “itching to get out there.” At that time, he said “one of our main big goals is to tour the States.”
Guns N’ Roses played their most recent show in December 2010 in Dubai. Their 2011 road work will start off with 10 shows in South America and Mexico in early October 2011.
The U.S. tour, if it indeed develops into a “tour,” would be the band’s first full set of North American dates since 2006. During those tour dates, a number of songs were added to the set-list, including the first performances of ‘Don’t Cry’ since 1993.
They played an extensive amount of shows, canceling only a small number of dates on the tail end in early 2007, aiming to finish up the long-delayed ‘Chinese Democracy’ album (which, as we know now, didn’t actually happen until it was released in 2008.)
As always, there was a little bit of drama on the tour, with Axl booting opening act the Eagles of Death Metal after a poorly received performance in Cleveland, OH, which was their first date as an opener. He referred to the band as the “Pigeons of Sh-t Metal” and announced that they wouldn’t be playing any further GN’R dates.
There is always the question about whether or not we might see a new Guns N’ Roses album soon. GN’R bassist Tommy Stinson tells Rolling Stone that “we certainly did record a lot of stuff,” referring to the time that the band spent working on ‘Chinese Democracy.’
“We recorded three records worth of material over the course of that 10-year period, but I think that a lot of the unfinished bits were mostly lyrics and mixes and things like that.”
Wisely, Stinson refused to comment on whether a new album was currently in progress, saying that “I don’t get into that aspect. That’s Axl’s business.”
