Posted on 11/23/2006 8:59:11 AM PST by southern rock
Welcome to the dry jungle.
After being told state law prohibits them from imbibing on stage, Guns N' Roses decided to call off Monday's scheduled concert at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland, Maine.
In a press release, a band spokesman said the no-booze ban imposed on them by fire marshals for the Maine Public Safety Department made it "impossible for the band to perform their show to the usual high standards that their fans deserve."
Frontman Axl Rose subsequently issued a statement on G N' R's official Website explaining the situation and offering an apology for those ticket holders left in the lurch.
"It was important for us to play there and it is a shame that what should have been a great night for all of us was not possible due to the actions of two people," the 44-year-old singer explained Tuesday regarding the inspectors' decision to bar them from drinking beer, liquor and wine while performing.
He continued: "I agree with, and ultimately take responsibility for, the end decision not to jeopardize the safety of the fans, the crews, the bands and myself as a result of the methods of these particularly draconian authorities."
Though Rose and his mates usually rip through their two hour-plus setlist with the aid of alcohol, it's hard to think that the safety of the audience would be at risk if they laid off the Jaeger for a night.
But such was the "Out ta Get Me" crooner's reasoning. At the same time, he also denied that the cancellation had anything to do with supposedly sluggish ticket sales for the Maine show after local media outlets such as Maine's WGME-TV reported that only half of the tickets for the 6,500-seat venue had been sold.
"We are not trying to get away or get out of anything or pull a fast one by combining ticket sales as has been speculated," Rose said.
Clearing things up a bit, G N' R's management laid the blame for the concert's axing squarely on the limitations placed on them by the fire marshals who turned up to scrutinize the band's pyrotechnics, accusing them of discriminating in the way they enforce the rules that would make fans feel "harassed and threatened."
"Our production manager and crew have been in this building with Clay Aiken and Green Day and none of the restrictions imposed on Guns N' Roses were experienced by those artists," the spokesman pointed out. "It is our opinion that they are going out of their way to target and single out Guns N' Roses and the band's loyal fans."
Jeff Austin, supervisor of liquor licensing and inspection for the state Department of Public Safety, countered that Maine law does not allow performers to drink on stage, nor does it allow venue employees to partake while on the job either.
"It's been on the books for years," he told the Associated Press, adding that he's already administered at least three citations this year for violations of the ban.
Rose noted that he and the rest of his new Gunners "hope to find another way to play for you in the future."
While Guns N' Roses continues its 2006 American tour in support of its mythological, but still unreleased Chinese Democracy album, the group has altered its lineup again--only this time it's said to be temporary.
According to a post on the band's Website by longtime pal, Del James, current drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia has bowed out of the U.S. leg to spend time at home with his wife and newborn baby girl. Replacing him for the trek's duration behind the kit is Frank Ferrer, a friend of axe man Richard Fortus, who previously supplied beats the Psychedelic Fur among other bands.
The Guns N' Roses tour resumes tonight at New York City's Madison Square Garden.
In a press release, a band spokesman said the no-booze ban imposed on them by fire marshals for the Maine Public Safety Department made it "impossible for the band to perform their show to the usual high standards that their fans deserve."
LOL! I LOVE IT!!!!
THIS, my REAL rock fan friends is EXACTLY why the '90's SUCKED musically, and that the remaining members of Nirvana and their 90's alterna-ilk need to be banished to a desert island to suffer for the remainder of their days. Because they took the booze, fire, and chicks out of rock n roll.
Bring back the hair metal, I dont care how old these old farts are. Dust ém off and put them back on stage in all their Budweiser and Jack Daniels glory!
Long live real rock!!
Fighting the Nanny State - the next civil rights struggle?
lol
LYNYRD SKYNYRD » Whiskey Rock-A-Roller
I'm headed down a highway, got my suitcase by my side.
Blue skies hangin' over my head, I got five hundred
miles to ride.
I'm goin' down to Memphis town to play a late night show.
I hope the people are ready there 'cause the boys are
all ready to go.
Well, I'm a whiskey rock-a-roller, that's what I am.
Women, whiskey and miles of travelin is all I understand.
Yes, I was born a travelin manand my feets do burn the ground.
I don't care for fancy music if your shoes can't shuffle around.
I got a hundred women or more and there's no place I call home.
The only time I'm satisfied is when I'm on the road.
Well, I'm a whiskey rock-a-roller, that's what I am.
Women, whiskey and miles of travelin' is all I understand.
Sometimes I wonder where will we go. Lord, don't you take my whiskey and rock'n'roll.
Take me down to Memphis town, busdriver, get me there.
I got me a queenie, she got long black curly hair.
She likes to drink Old Grandad and her shoes do shuffle
around and everytime I see that girl, Lord, she wants
to take me down.
Well, I'm a whiskey rock-a-roller, that's what I am.
Women, whiskey and miles of travelin' is all I understand.
Sometimes I wonder where will we go.
Lord, don't you take my whiskey and rock'n'roll.
Why would the Fire Marshal be able to make a ruling about this? If you drink beer on stage, what section of the NFPA are you violating? Hmmm...
'Da "man" is always trying to keep us down.
One solution could have been.. Fatty McGee and the band without Slash getting sloshed before they went on stage.
Saw Rod Price of Foghat get hit right in the back by a bottle rocket. He turned at the last minute or it would've hit him right in the SG.
I heard on the radio that they actually could have had alcohol on stage, just not out of bottles while performing.
The other issues sound silly... it's the usual communism that thrives within what's supposed to be "freedom".
I agree that rock has completely sucked since Nirvanah & friends showed up.
And it didn't only effect rock music. The entire CULTURE was efeminized. Action movies disappeared from the theaters, and we were treated to TV shows such a "Murphy Brown".
Im telling you. You dont have to be a rock historian to understand that, because of Kurt Cobain, America started wearing a tampon in 1992.
For the sake of AMERICA"s testicles, LET AXL DRINK!!!
Rock on!
Well said!
Bring back the days of "Metal Up Ur Ass"!
I love to see a band stick to its Guns (and Four Roses.)
LOL... I had my post ready to go about the same time you did, but had to leave the comp for a minute.
At least that would happen in my version of a perfect world.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
I'd rather rock out to a real man in make-up than a pussy in flannel.
Guns 'n Roses expired many years ago now, oddly over booze and drug being consumed too freely. Axl Rose is now left to pick fights with clothers designers and state alcohol boards.
So... you like drunk cross dressing she-boys! Rock on buddy! I think the blonde one wants to kiss you! LOL!
One of the greatest bands EVER!! NOT pansies!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.