Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash recently opened up about the band’s recent tour in the middle of pandemic during an interview with the Daily Star. According to him, life on the road amid the restrictions had a ‘super positive’ effect on the band.
Back in 2020, Guns N’ Roses announced a North American stadium tour, as well as several festival dates, named as a new tour instead of a continuation of the ‘Not in This Lifetime… Tour.’ Their first concert date took place as scheduled on March 14, 2020, in Mexico City as part of the Vive Latino Festival. Their remaining Latin American dates had to be postponed in the middle of the rapid advance of the COVID-19 pandemic indefinitely.
On May 11, 2020, the band announced on Twitter that the European leg of the tour, which was originally scheduled to begin on May 20 in Lisbon, Portugal, had been canceled. A few months later, the band announced 8 new Oceania dates. Eventually, their tour properly began on July 31, 2021, at Hersheypark Stadium with 15.000 fans seeing the band perform. Since then, Guns N’ Roses has been continually touring, their next date being on May 21, 2022, at Daytona Beach.
Since they were able to get back on the road with restrictions and precautions against the coronavirus pandemic, Guns N’ Roses members haven’t been able to tour as they used to since they had to spend most of their time in their hotel rooms.
During a recent interview, Slash reflected on touring in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak. According to the musician, their fans had the craziest energy during shows, and the effect of the pandemic on the band was incredibly positive.
The reason behind this was the fact that they weren’t permitted to party and celebrate which allowed them to only focus on the performances. As a result, their energy shined on stage and every member enjoyed playing music which is unbelievable if you ask Slash.
According to the Daily Star, Slash said:
“Onstage it was incredible, the audience had this crazy energy. The effect on the group as a whole was super positive. No after-parties, no record execs, no celebrations, and frankly it showed onstage. The crisis restored our communal passion for music. We’ve never enjoyed playing music so much.
All of our entourage wore masks; there was never any contact with the outside world. No one was invited to the concerts; there were no after-parties. We would go straight from the hotel to the venue and back to the hotel until it was time to travel to the next town.
If you told me that in the ’80s, I wouldn’t have believed you. I think it was a little glimpse of what’s to come. I think we are going to have to live with the virus and adapt to it.”
Guns N’ Roses performed on more than 20 dates so far, and they have more than 30 to go until their very last show on December 10, 2022, at Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand. The only thing their fans hope not to see is more rescheduled dates and cancellations which is why the GNR members stay in their hotel rooms the whole time.
