Guns N’ Roses to be better behaved

Band that caused a riot in 1992 putting on three-hour show

Apparently there is a near-insatiable appetite for the band whose most famous album is titled Appetite for Destruction.

Guns N’ Roses’ Not in This Lifetime tour, which is pulling into Montreal on Saturday, was the top-grossing tour of the first half of 2017, according to concert trade publication Pollstar. The tour grossed US$151.5 million in the first six months of the year, well ahead of its closest competitor. U2’s The Joshua Tree revival came in second, with a gross of US$118.1 million.

The big excitement around the concerts is based on fact that it is the first time since 1993 that the hard-rock band’s lineup includes lead singer Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan.

Guns N’ Roses play Jean Drapeau Park on Saturday and 25,000 people are expected to be on hand for the concert.

It’s the music that pulls in the big crowds, said Ron Chamberlain, a promotion representative from Live Nation, the tour’s producer. He has been on tour with the band for the past few months.

“When you listen to their show, it’s just hit after hit, song after song that everybody knows,” said Chamberlain. “Everybody has a memory or a life event around a certain song.”

For years, there have been issues with the timing of Guns N’ Roses concerts, with Rose famously taking the stage hours after the scheduled start-time and sometimes leaving early, most famously on the night of Aug. 8, 1992. That fateful night, Rose left the stage early for unexplained reasons and that led to a huge riot at the Olympic Stadium. But all that is ancient history, insisted Chamberlain.

“That has not been an issue at all (over the course of the past two years),” said Chamberlain. “They’re bang on time and they play a three-hour-plus show. So everything has been working on time, like clockwork. It’s twice as long as most rock concerts nowadays.”

And the crowd is not just aging fans who were there back in the early ’90s, added Chamberlain.

“Everyone’s had kids and they’re bringing their kids,” he said. “The best part is to see a father or mother bringing their kids to see Guns N’ Roses and the kids are really into it.”

Guns N’ Roses take the stage at Jean-Drapeau Park at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with opening act Our Lady Peace playing at 6:25 p.m. There will be a pre-party on site from noon onward. Tickets can be purchased at: www.evenko.ca or by calling 1-855-310-2525.