Nevermind Buzz, he has a long-standing love/hate -relationship with the band. I take it the AFD/UYI era band (at least when Izzy was around) was the best thing since sliced bread to him, and he obviously wasn't alone in that.

The fact that GNR exists today with Axl as the sole founding member does irk him. It'll wear off eventually, just stay with him.

The Tom Zutaut incident is one of the most disturbing single moments in the history of CD. Granted, Axl's outburst just didn't happen because there were other people in the screening. There'd obviously been some other underpinnings which stemmed from a hellacious year to get the album together. Doesnt take a genius to realize Axl had been under massive pressure by his own accord, as well as the affiliated parties.

What Zutaut has been hinting at all these years is that the Malibu Mafia crossed him. His take is that they'd whispered to Axl about Zoot's unreliability and set him up with false expectations on the nature of the screening. Axl walks in, feels wary with Zoot, finds all these people, and thinks, "Well, Tom must be full of shit for all I know!"

The curious bit in this scenario, to me at least, is the reason to oust Zoot. I can see the Lebeis clan growing restless throughout 2001, as the balance of power had been shifted. Zoot communicated with the band, ironed out a lot of interpersonal issues among the band/crew which had been lost with Axl, and got songs done.

The only reason I can imagine as to why Zoot was ousted is rather plain; had he stayed, he would've eventually gotten an album out of Axl in around 2002. Sounds a bit daft to fire the guy who gets the job done - and to hold a grudge enough to throw him out of the release party seven years later. Mr Fernando Lebeis, I'm looking at you on the last one.

Then again, that's UYI all over again. Axl bucking out when he was supposed to deliver. Maybe the truth lies in the middle, with the Mafia witnessing Axl's insecurity with the album as it shaped into something and was about to face scrutiny with the label and the public.

After almost completing the album, Ax dismissed both RTB and Zoot and reverted to doing orchestrations on the brink of the 2002 tour. Quite obviously, he had no firm intentions to meet any project milestones / deadlines, imposed by either his camp or the record company.

I believe he always wanted to release the album with the new band, but his actions have proven he really, really had a hard time believing either the album or the band were good enough.

To each his own.

I watched my last GNR show near the fence, row 2/3ish. The hard rockers are just that - you enter the pit during WTTJ, you jump and you jump good. Always mind the next person and think ahead.

A good pit is criminally fun, if you get into the moment of it. The very center is all about the big guys, who were built to stay. I usually zoom in, try to dodge them and jump back out again - there's generally heavy traffic around a big fella. Often they like to toss around the people they run into.

Alternatively, you can get the hang of it by doing the sidelines dance as well and reverting back to the stationary group when you feel like it. By KOHD, you are grateful for everyone coming down a notch - and you can't have too many guitar solos, either.

But there's always Paradise City.

Atlanta, GA on Nov 2nd.

- HTGTH

Dallas is also guessed for early November.