After years of tour speculation and the long-awaited release of "Chinese Democracy," an album 10 years in the making, Guns N’ Roses has outlined plans for a North American tour.
For now, the routing will just take Axl Rose and his compatriots across the Canadian provinces. Thirteen dates are on the books from a January 13 opening show at MTS Centre in Winnipeg, MB, through a final February 4 gig at Metro Centre in Halifax, NS.
Among the other stops scheduled on the three-week trek are gigs on January 17 at Rexall Place in Edmonton, AB; January 24 at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, ON; and February 1 at Colisee Pepsi in Quebec, QC.
The first presales for the tour begin October 22, and public onsales will follow on October 23. Rehearsals for the tour will begin soon in Los Angeles, according to a statement from Live Nation.
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Despite the magnitude of this announcement, Rose has not made any statements about the upcoming tour. An announcement and information are also noticeably absent on the official GNR Web site, despite the tour’s confirmed status.
The current GNR lineup is composed of Rose, Dizzy Reed, Richard Fortus, Frank Ferrer, Tommy Stinson, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal, Chris Pitman and newcomer DJ Ashba. The crew will be supporting the November 2008 release "Chinese Democracy," which entered production in the mid-’90s and became the subject of speculation and GNR lore due to its often delayed release.
The prospect of GNR’s tour plans has also been the focus of public speculation in recent years. Multiple times, talk of concert dates has arisen and disappeared just as quickly. Late last year, one such rumor cropped up when guitarist Fortus told St. Louis’ The Telegraph that a tour was in the works for March 2009.
Tour dates will begin this year, though much later than Fortus forecasted and not in North America. A round of performances in Southeast Asia is supposed to begin December 11.
Guns N’ Roses itinerary:
(Dates are subject to change.)
January 13 Winnipeg, MB MTS Centre
January 16 Calgary, AB Pengrowth Saddledome
January 17 Edmonton, AB Rexall Place
January 19 Saskatoon, SK Credit Union Centre
January 20 Regina, SK Brandt Centre
January 24 Hamilton, ON Copps Coliseum
January 25 London, ON John Labatt Centre
January 27 Montreal, QC Bell Centre
January 28 Toronto, ON Air Canada Centre
January 31 Ottawa, ON Scotiabank Place
February 1 Quebec City, QC Colisee Pepsi
February 3 Moncton, NB Moncton Coliseum
February 4 Halifax, NS Metro Centre
