Axl Rose and Slash are bringing their Not In This Lifetime... tour to New Zealand. Photo: Supplied
Once the biggest trainwreck in rock’n’roll, Guns N’ Roses have announced that they will be bringing their Not In This Lifetime… tour to Wellington’s Westpac Stadium on Thursday 2 February and Auckland’s Western Springs on Saturday 4 February.
While some of their original members may have lost their appetite for destruction – or been given the boot – original band members Axl Rose, Slash and bassist Duff McKagan reunited at Coachella in April of this year and are currently on a full world tour together.
To announce the New Zealand shows with proper enthusiasm, local Guns N’ Roses tribute band G’n’FnR’s – who pitch themselves as the “best tribute band in the world” on their Facebook page – are playing at three different locations in inner-city Wellington today. And best (or worst) of all, they’ll be playing on top of a truck.
Not In This Lifetime..., which is a reference to how much the band hated each other in the late ‘90s, is slated as a reunion tour, and a recent show was given a pretty glowing review from The LA Times. Rose seems invigorated by touring with his old mates, and the show was apparently polished and even started on time.
But detractors of the tour have accused the band of money-grubbing off the nostalgia of their fans. The band has no plans to record new material together, and considering the their horrific interpersonal relationships in the past, it would be very wishful thinking to consider it on the horizon.
So will the newly professional Guns N’ Roses make it all the way down under without a full-scale implosion, or will they just chuck a couple TVs out the window like the good old days?
Guns N’ Roses NZ tour dates
Thursday 2 February - Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Saturday 4 February - Western Springs, Auckland
Tickets are on sale from 10am Wednesday 31 August from Ticketek (Wellington) and Ticketmaster (Auckland).
Watch their video for November Rain.
