After a nine year absence, Guns N' Roses returns to the arena concert trail this fall, with the oddly monikered "Chinese Democracy" World Tour, promoted by Clear Channel Entertainment. However, W. Axl Rose will be heading a different band than on the 1993 trek.
Keyboard player Dizzy Reed has been in GN'R since 1991, and along with Axl is the only holdover from the band's previous line-up. New to the fold are three guitarists: Robin Finck, formerly of Nine Inch Nails; guitar phenomenon Buckethead; and Richard Fortus. Rounding out the all-star aggregation is bassist Tommy Stinson from The Replacements; a second keyboard player Chris Pitman; and drummer Brian "Brain" Mantia, formerly of Primus.
The band is fresh from the first six dates of the "Chinese Democracy" World Tour in China, Japan, Europe, and the U.K., where they set attendance and merchandise records at Tokyo (Chiba Marine Stadium-35,000 plus), Osaka (WTC Stadium-25,000 plus) and Leeds (Leeds Festival-52,000 plus), as well as their much talked-about appearance at this year's MTV Video Music Awards in New York last month.
Guns N' Roses itinerary, with more dates TBA:
November 7 Vancouver, BC, Canada GM Place
November 8 Tacoma, WA Tacoma Dome
November 11 Boise, ID Idaho Center Arena
November 14 Minneapolis, MN Target Center
November 15 Fargo, ND Fargodome
November 17 Moline, IL Mark f the Quad
November 18 Chicago, IL Allstate Arena
November 19 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
November 21 Detroit, MI The Palace
November 22 Lexington, KY Rupp Arena
November 24 Cleveland, OH Gund Arena
November 26 Buffalo, NY HSBC Arena
November 27 Albany, NY Pepsi Arena
November 29 Toronto, Ontario AirCanada Centre
November 30 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum
December 2 Boston, MA FleetCenter
December 3 Harford, CT Civic Center
December 5 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
December 6 Philadelphia, PA First Union Center
December 8 Wilkes Barre, PA First Union Center
December 9 Washington, DC MCI Center
December 11 Greenville, SC Bi-Lo Center
December 13 Tampa, FL TBC
December 14 Ft. Lauderdale, FL TBC
December 19 Biloxi, MS Gulf Coast Coliseum
December 21 Dallas, TX American Airlines Arena
