Perhaps he is desiring playing in a band again with a fan base of some size.  Unlike Izzy who in the main tends to want to shy away from the big gigs, perhaps Axl is a good option for Duff to play in a sizeable band again.

I think if I was Duff going from playing in GNR and then VR which still had a reasonable size fan base, to playing in a band like Walking Papers etc, they really are poles apart.  No doubt he probably enjoys getting back to his roots and not having to worry about big band issues etc, but at the same time if that was it for the rest of his musical life,  I dunno, if it was me I think it might feel a bit empty and I would still crave for some of those big stages again from time to time.

As for the money thing, from what we can tell I'm sure Duff has probably managed his money more wisely than most of his former band mates, but it doesn't mean it's not a factor.  I work as a Financial Adviser and I see people with shitloads of money that theoretically never have to work again despite their extravagant lifestyles, but fuck me are some of them still driven by the almighty dollar!!!  There's nothing wrong with that, but my point is just because people are wealthy it doesn't mean that they stop wanting to make more money or it's not a factor in their decision making.

Besides, what may seem like sufficient dollars to you and me may not be to them, it's all relative.  Whilst Duff doesn't appear to have a crazy lifestyle like Axl with hangers on everywhere, he still roles in different circles to us mere mortals, so there would still be a much higher cost of living to maintain.  As for his wife working, my guess is she would be more of a liability on his balance sheet than an asset - most women are lol.

Anyhow, I'm probably reading way too much into it.  Duff was probably asked to fill in to help Axl out and he was happy to do it, help to bury any past ugliness and have some fun playing a big stage again.  At the same time, who knows where it could lead, if I were in his position I might look to keep that door ajar too.

Shame they never did So Fine.

I think anything but a full blown reunion would be a step backwards for Slash.  Playing a few gigs like Duff is would be a step down and a poor idea IMO.

For me Slash has firmly established himself and his reputation post Guns now and to be associated with the current clown show in any way (short of an equal terms full on reunion) would reduce his cred and be a step backwards as far as I'm concerned.  Even a full reunion as Tejastech pointed out, the time has long past. Circa 2006 seems to have been the time performance wise, now Axl just seems to have lost his mojo, his fitness, his voice and his direction.  The only thing he has retained is his bitterness.

For a long time Axl was the ace in the deck that all the other guys were waiting on, these days at least for Slash that ain't the case.  Axl is more likely to need Slash at some point to keep his flagging career going rather than the other way around.

Would love it if this come down under, I would definitely catch that double bill.