His career is a shambles. It was in 2002 when he had a superstar backing band and (as we now know) an incredible collection of songs.

I will forever remember the security guy at the Tacoma Dome concert showing me the handout everyone working at the venue received: 6,166 people in attendance. They had curtained off whole seating areas because they were empty.

For reasons we still don’t know, Tacoma was the first night of the tour due to Axl not showing up in Vancouver the night prior.

At the show he dove deep into nostalgia, with only a few token new tracks included.

New people and new songs at his disposal, but he chickened out and did oldies, which cheated us fans, cheated the band, and invited comparisons to the original lineup.

And then of course the tour collapsed a few weeks later for reasons, again, we still don’t really know.

Team Brazil does nothing we can point to as advancing this band’s legacy. They have brought us horribly designed merch and a nostalgia tour that is on fumes.

They aren’t managers in the classic sense of coaches who have one eye on the microscope (addressing immediate, everyday concerns) and one on the telescope (plotting out long-term goals).

By all appearances they are yes-men who keep Axl happy in whatever mood he’s in that day.

James can confirm but I think posting links to download official material would get the site in trouble.

Plus, honestly, as much as the band disappoints us with foolish choices, when they actually release music we need to step up and support them.

"You be rippin' off the fuckin' kids / While they be payin' their hard earned money ..."

I don’t think anyone can stop a person from playing a song any more than demand permission to play a song beforehand.

It would be a damned fun show.