They may be touting a semi-reformed lineup, but plenty has changed for Guns N’ Roses since their Live Era glory days. They’re older, soberer and more likely to hit the stage a few minutes early than they are to start a riot.
But it seems the band are trying to recapture at least some of the debaucherous rock n’ roll steeze of their heyday, which you can see is on full display in this picture from the archives:
(via weheartit)
Now, there are claims that the Gunners have been mass-inviting legions of babin’ models to attend their US shows for free, complete with supposedly complementary front-row tickets and backstage passes.
There’ve been numerous reports coming through from fans on the MyGNR forum whose model m8s (the kind who are likely to confuse Rocket Queen for Kim Kardashian’s latest lipstick range) have been getting this kind of free VIP treatment.
For instance, this one story from a fan in Phoenix is likely to trigger your appetite for destruction:
“My girlfriend’s sister is a model here in Phoenix. As I was driving with my GF to the concert she texted us and said that she got backstage tickets to the GN’R show from her modeling agency.
“She then said she was too lazy to go the the show (she sucks). She said the tickets weren’t transferable so she literally threw them out. Fast-forward to me arriving at the concert where I go to scan my pit tickets (hard copy tickets) only to find out they were fake and I got robbed. So moral of the story – fuck models who get free tickets and throw them out.
While other megafans who forked out the big bucks for legitimate top-notch tickets reckon they’ve encountered some of these modelicious ~Guns N’ Posers~ in the front row, and have been thoroughly unimpressed by their behaviour. Which, paradoxically, has been less than model. Here’s what another Gunners fan says:
“They were a nightmare! They blocked the view, kept putting their heads together to read texts, fluffing up their hair, applying lip gloss, turning round and looking at the paying fans with disgust, laughing at some who were really into the music. Not nice… and then they get to have every fans dream – go backstage and party.
“The annoying thing is if as a fan you manage to buy front-row tickets they cost an arm and a leg while these airheads get them for nothing, look bored and don’t appreciate what they are seeing. It’s beyond disrespectful to fans who wait years for a tour and then get bored Barbie dolls in front of them blocking the view.”
TMZ further claims that the GNR team fired off an email to an LA-based modelling agency called Photogenics, inviting every female model on their roster to the band’s big hometown show at Dodger Stadium.
“We’re told the 50 or so models who accepted got hooked up with free seats in the first couple rows, backstage passes and a spot on the guest list at the Roosevelt Hotel after-party,” it reports, and fans on the MyGNR forum have also backed up these claims.
“I noticed this in Nashville,” writes one. “Someone in GN’R has these fake young girls show up and stand in the pit. They take their photos as if they’re fans and use it for social media. I saw it with my own eyes and I’ve been ignoring saying something about it on here because I didn’t wanna piss on anyone’s parade or be negative for the sake of being negative. But this is definitely true.”
While another has shed more light on how the whole thing apparently works:
“Models get ‘free tickets’ but the agency is paid by GN’R to select X amount of women, put them in a van and make them show up at the concert. It is part of their job. They cannot refuse, like you cannot refuse a task given by your boss at the office. Most probably they know only one song of this band and they would not pay one single penny from their pockets to see them on their own will.”
Finally, TMZ adds: “There’s only one rule: no boyfriends or non-models allowed. The invite strictly forbids +1s. Translation: Leave your ugly friends at home.”
Ouch.
Well I suppose the lyrics of the song aren’t, “Take me down to the Paradise City where the grass is green and the majority of the girls are middle-aged mums who used to be hot maybe 10 years ago.”
Still, it’ll be interesting to see whether #GnFnR keep up this tradition when they bring their Not In This Lifetime Tour to Australia in February 2017. If you ask us, their new keyboardist Melissa Reese is babin’ enough, as well as being super-talented.
Either way, on a totally related note, does anyone know of any top notch Sydney modelling agencies who might be looking to recruit a mid-twenties music journalist with zero modelling experience? It’s for a friend.
Read: 13 Things That Could Legitimately Happen On Guns N’ Roses Australian Tour
Watch: Guns N’ Roses – Paradise City Live At Dodger Stadium LA 2016
