2002.12.11 - MTV News - It's Extra Official: Promoter Says GN'R Tour Totally Off

IT'S EXTRA OFFICIAL: PROMOTER SAYS GN'R TOUR TOTALLY OFF
CLEAR CHANNEL SAYS ALL DATES ARE OFF, BUT WON'T SAY WHY.

ARCHIVE-JOE-DANGELO
12/11/2002

On Wednesday evening, concert promoter Clear Channel Entertainment confirmed what a source close to the band told MTV News on Monday — Guns N' Roses' tour has been canceled.

"The remainder of the Guns N' Roses concert dates promoted by Clear Channel Entertainment have been canceled," read a brief statement to the press. "Refunds will be available at point of purchase."

The string of shuttered shows runs through January. No reason was given for pulling the plug.

Earlier this week, Clear Channel would only confirm that shows from December 6 to 9, in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., were canceled, and earlier on Wednesday would only say that that evening's show was called off.

Word of the tour's premature end came after the band canceled a show Friday at Philadelphia's First Union Center. A minor disturbance followed, mirroring the scene that unfolded when the plug was pulled on the group's scheduled tour opener in Vancouver, British Columbia, last month.

http://www.mtv.com/news/1459114/its-extra-official-promoter-says-gnr-tour-totally-off/

Related article in Rolling Stone, December 12, 2002:
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Guns Tour Cancelled

Promoter pulls plug on troubled Democracy outing

The remaining dates of Guns n' Roses Chinese Democracy tour, the band's first in nine years, have been cancelled. After a series of cancelled concerts, Clear Channel Entertainment, the tour's promoter, finally made the tour's complete cancellation official on December 11th, but offered no explanation. Refunds for the nixed dates will be available at point of purchase.

The tour was troubled from its first night, in Vancouver on November 7th, when the GM Place Arena performance was called off just hours before show time. An hour-long riot ensued in which police used pepper spray on disgruntled fans who tried to break down the venue's doors.

The tour resumed without incident until last week, when the December 6th date in Philadelphia was cancelled without explanation after fans had filed inside the First Union Center and openers CKY had already performed. The band then scrapped seven additional dates of the tour, before finally ending the whole outing yesterday.

Guns n' Roses -- Axl Rose (vocals), Dizzy Reed (keyboards), Chris Pitman (keyboards), Brian "Brain" Mantia (drums), Buckethead (guitar), Tommy Stinson (bass), Robin Finck (guitar) and Richard Fortus (guitar) -- were out on the road in anticipation of the release of their long-awaited album Chinese Democracy, which still has no release date.

CHRISTINA SARACENO

https://web.archive.org/web/20030830024911/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/newsarticle.asp?nid=17193&cf=344

Another related article, NME, December 12, 2002:
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GUNS N' ROSES PULL REST OF NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

Concert promoters CLEAR CHANNEL issued a brief statement last night (December 11) confirming that the remaining GUNS N' ROSES dates are definitely cancelled.

The statement gave no explanation for the cancellation of the remaining 13 dates on their troubled North American outing.

It simply read: "The remainder of the Guns ‘N’ Roses concert dates promoted by Clear Channel Entertainment have been cancelled. Refunds will be available at point of purchase."

The highly-anticipated 32-date North American leg of their Chinese Democracy tour has been hit with problems since the first scheduled date in Vancouver was pulled on November 7, resulting in a riot by disappointed fans outside the GM Place venue. While the concert's organisers claimed Axl Rose failed to turn up, the singer hit back saying he was in the air and on his way to the show when the plug was pulled by promoters.

The tour finally kicked off on November 8 at Tacoma Dome, but a further three dates were cancelled last week, the first at Philadelphia on Friday (December 6) failing to go ahead at 11.15pm, which led to a minor disturbance among fans. The subsequent dates until December 9 were then also shelved.

Last night's statement has now finally put the brakes on the tour, which was scheduled to end at The Forum in Los Angeles on January 3.

These dates have been eagerly awaited by Guns ‘N’ Roses fans, with the Madison Square Gardens show on December 5 in New York selling out within 15 minutes when it went on sale on September 30.

https://web.archive.org/web/20030415103549/http://www.nme.com/news/103747.htm