I think forum fans forget that they make up a very small fraction of the fan base.  Most people don't spend hours scouring youtube to watch bootleg clips of every performance and then opine on it.  I was in Section B, 23 rows back Saturday.  Bought those with the Nighttrain pre-sale.  So everyone around me should have had at least one friend who was a diehard and could sing every lyric to not only UYI material, but CD as well,, right?  That was my expectation, but these shows aren't the Hammerstein in '06.  When Chinese Democracy and Better were played, I was the only one singing along.  Same with Dead Horse and DTJ.  Yet when KOHD or SCOM were played, everyone joined in.

If you want the perfect rendition of a song, you have the album.  Vinyl preferably with a several hundred dollar sound system.  This is a tour, and since we're still talking about Hershey, the first tour in over a year.  I'm not making excuses for Axl's inability to even sing an entire song or the sound hiccups.  I had a great time and would buy my tickets all over again.  Seeing GN'R every 4-5 years is a relatively inexpensive hobby all things considered.  But 99% of the people at the concert aren't checking in on a forum or comparing set lists.  They're drinking their $10 beers and enjoying a live show, and all that goes with that.  That 99% is who all bands cater to when they perform.  They already know most of us will buy the fanclub membership and attend a show.  If we don't, there are plenty of 20 somethings and teens who found their mom or dad's collection or discovered GN'R on YouTube and this is all brand new for them.