GUNS N' ROSES Bring Out Rarities At 2023 Tour Launch In Abu Dhabi

GUNS N' ROSES kicked off their 2023 tour earlier today (Thursday, June 1) in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, at the prestigious Etihad Arena, the largest indoor multi-purpose venue in the UAE, with a seating capacity of over 20,000.

The Axl Rose-fronted outfit opened the concert with "It's So Easy" and followed it up with the "Use Your Illusion I" number "Bad Obsession", which hadn't been played by GN'R since February 1993. For the fifth song of the set, they played the "Use Your Illusion II" track "Pretty Tied Up", which hadn't been performed since April 1992. Later in the show, GUNS N' ROSES played their cover of U.K. SUBS' "Down On The Farm", which appeared on GN'R's 1993 covers album "The Spaghetti Incident?" but hadn't been played by the band since December 2006. About halfway through the regular set, GUNS N' ROSES performed "Anything Goes", a song from the band's classic debut album "Appetite For Destruction", which hadn't been played live since August 1988.

GUNS N' ROSES' setlist was as follows:

01. It's So Easy
02. Bad Obsession (first time since February 6, 1993)
03. Chinese Democracy
04. Slither (VELVET REVOLVER cover)
05. Pretty Tied Up (first time since April 6, 1992)
06. Welcome To The Jungle
07. Mr. Brownstone
08. Hard Skool
09. Double Talkin' Jive
10. Reckless Life
11. Absurd
12. You Could Be Mine
13. Down On The Farm (UK SUBS cover) (first time since December 20, 2006)
14. Rocket Queen
15. T.V. Eye (THE STOOGES cover) (Duff McKagan on vocals, live debut)
16. Anything Goes (first time since August 1, 1988)
17. Civil War (Jimi Hendrix's "Voodoo Child" outro)
18. This I Love (first time since November 14, 2018)
19. Live And Let Die (WINGS cover)
20. Estranged
21. Slash Guitar Solo
22. Sweet Child O' Mine
23. November Rain
24. Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
25. Street Of Dreams
26. Nice Boys (ROSE TATTOO cover) (First time since February 11, 2017)
27. Knockin' On Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan cover)
28. Nightrain

Encore:

29. Patience
30. Don't Cry
31. My Michelle

In a recent interview with Guy "Favazz" Favazza of the St. Louis, Missouri radio station KSHE 95, GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Richard Fortus said that fans may get to hear some different songs on the band's 2023 tour. "Hopefully we'll shake things up a bit and switch around songs and stuff like that," he said. "But a lot of times every night is different, 'cause we don't have setlists, so…"

Pressed by Favazz about how Fortus and his bandmates know what is coming up next when they don't have a setlist, Richard said: "Our singer. Axl, he's got a button he can push that cuts off the mic from the [front]… which usually is used to tell jokes. But he'll just say, 'What do you guys wanna do?' And somebody else will say something or he'll say, 'Let's do this.'

"There's blocks of songs that we'll do together," Fortus explained. "And sometimes it's a real surprise… And we're well rehearsed. We soundcheck for at least an hour every day. Slash [GUNS N' ROSES guitarist, man, he loves to play — he loves to play… I get to play with that guy every night. It's pretty cool."

GUNS N' ROSES' North American tour will start on Saturday, August 5 in Moncton, NB at Medavie Blue Cross Stadium, and will visit historic venues across the country such as Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts on August 21 and Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois on August 24. The tour concludes in Vancouver, British Columbia at BC Place on Monday, October 16.

GUNS N' ROSES launched its long-rumored and long-awaited reunion tour with an April 2016 club show in Hollywood and appearances in Las Vegas and at California's Coachella festival.

GUNS N' ROSES' reunion tour features classic-lineup members Duff McKagan, Axl Rose and Slash, backed by Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer, keyboardist Dizzy Reed and second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

GUNS N' ROSES released a new four-song EP, "Hard Skool", in February 2022. The effort, which is exclusive to the GUNS N' ROSES' official store, contained the two new songs the band released in 2021 — the title track and "Absurd" (stylized as "ABSUЯD") — as well as live versions of "Don't Cry" and "You're Crazy".

The band is now reportedly working on a new studio album — the first under the GUNS banner since 2008's "Chinese Democracy" and the first to feature Rose, Slash and McKagan since 1993.

GUNS N' ROSES are scheduled to play around 40 concerts between now and this fall, including a run of European shows and the aforementioned dates in the United States and Canada.

Photo credit: Katarina Benzova