I do think Axl can come back to 2010 levels quite easily and to 2006 levels if he commits to it.

Axl from 2011 on seems really mellow and to me he seems to be under medication. Perhaps come anti-depressives or heavy anxiety pills...

All the memory loss in Rio '11, the fiasco at Bridge School Benefit... The low qual performances, the bloated persona and seemingly careless attitude - damn, he's not even running around during Paradise City anymore... Some people say it might be due to leg/back problems, backed by the video of him arriving at Rio after the show this year - cause by that edema he had due to falling on his back on stage. I don't know, perhaps pain medicine can cause the zombie Axl.

Axl and Duff were a tight unit.

I'm on my cell phone now, but if you can find the first chapters of his book, read it.

I dare to say the bond between Axl and Duff was bigger than Slash and Duff.

If it were 93 and we had message boards, would you all be saying this about Izzy as well?

"Well, yeah, he left because it became a circus and now here he is, playing with them... izzy man, spineless!"

Guns business' side: Instead of hiring a bass player who has to learn 20+ songs, they HIRED (there, I said it) one that knows most of them, has to learn 3 or 4 new ones (yes, he will play CD songs) and also has a history with the group.

Duff side: travel south america with family, enjoy some high profile/full of people gigs, be praised, cash in some good bucks, then, when he had enough of dealing with Axl's bullshit backstage, goes back to his normal life.

Axl side: Duff was the last to give up and judging by Duff's book and Axl's interviews, they were always on good terms but on a grey zone of discomfort in the sense of "who'll call first?". Good things they patched some scars in London.

People comparing this with Slash or "why not with Slash?": comparing apples to oranges. They haven't come to amicable terms yet and maybe never will. You get angry because it becomes more evident that a full fledged reunion will not occur (any time soon). Also, Axl has been really vocal about his problems with Slash and there are rumors that he demands a public apology and until that happens... well...

Slash: If he did have problems with Duff joining for a few songs, he did not make it public. Also, if he did, the RNRHOF occurred AFTER that and they are buddies again., on good terms, so I don't think Duff sees this as a problem and, if my instincts are to be right (given what I read about his life and modus operandis in the GNR days) he probably spoke to Slash prior to accepting the offer.

I completely agree. Been thinking about this for a while and it makes the most sense. I always thought that, in Axl's mind the triad of Axl, Slash & Duff was replaced by Axl, Finck & Tommy. Perhaps it is 96 in his mind all over again.

Once, in 2001 I travelled 2k miles to see them in Rio.

In 2010, they played in my neighborhood. Damn, was I excited back then! Chinese songs being rotated, setlists changing slightly from show to show, Axl singing well...

Now they're playing in my neighborhood again. Literally 5 miles from where I live. I was waiting the first shows of the tour to test the waters and I don't regret my decision of no spending one more buck on this nostalgia act.

I'd rather save the money to make something else.