2 Las Vegas shows announced!

Thanks for the joint interview, apex! Haven't read it before,  don't know how I've missed it.

Freeze confirms some of the impressions I've posted from him on it:
"There's definitely a need for people skills and figuring out what they want to hear," he says. "Someone might try to explain something and even though he's not explaining it well, just by knowing his music and by talking to him I can kind of tell what he wants. Especially having done it for so long and in so many different situations. It's feeling people out, for sure, and trying to get at what they're doing. Not just musically but emotionally -- their approach to it."

I'm also a drummer and as I by no means want to answer by The Mole, I'd like to make some quick resume of how I see all GNR drummers:
Adler: the most amateurish of the bunch. Great swing but often out of tempo or accelerating the pace live. Just listen to the boots from 88 and keep tapping your finger on the table on each snare hit. As the songs progress you'll notice it has sped up. He has a great accompanying sense but not a skilled drummer to the point he can contribute a lot creatively ALTHOUGH Brownstone and Rocket Queen have great drumming. Even Axl mentioned the timing issues of AFD when talking about the rerecorded version in 99.

Sorum: a very skilled drummer, keeps the pace as a human metronome but lacks the swing and "space" for the bass and rhythm to breath Adler kept. Has the chops to contribute creatively but is often limited on UYI by song structures already in place. He really shines on Its 5 o'clock somewhere and other post Guns appearances like Neurotic Outsiders.

Freese: a methodic session drummer. Talented but also limited by what the client wants to hear. Doesn't have a particular individual style like either Matt or Adler but can be merged into any song. Is generic but good if you know what I mean.

Brain: probably the most technically proficient drummer GnR ever had. Has the skills and feeling to not overblow his participation both on the rhythm (listen to the isolated drum track of Shacklers) or on the fills. Knows how to play to the song and also make it full, with style. But his personal style doesn't merge well with Old Gnr material, as he is a more funky fusion drummer, not much a hard rock type.

Frank: to me the best drummer TO GnR. He has the chops to play anything by the previous drummers and also add his style. Wether you like it or not it's another discussion. Doesn't seem to struggle with none of the songs because his style is similar to GnRs. You could notice that Brain used to struggle with YCBM but not because of talent but because of a collision of styles. Frank does it at ease. His swing sense is similar.to Adler and he has the chops to contribute creatively (as did Brain), point taken by his additions to CD on severalnsongs because... Well, his drumming made the songs better and more akin to GnR sound (even Brain admitted this on an interview)

Also Cats in The Craddle (supposedly by Ugly Kid Joe but we all know it was GnR) and there was another, from a band called Demon something, that the lead singer had a voice very similar to Axl.

Also, I don't think the second video is Axl throwing Beta under the bus. Seemed more like making an internal joke public than anything else.