I wonder at what point in the tour Axl pulled the plug on releasing the album.
I wouldnt be suprised if Brain was planning on coming back after the birth of his baby, but when on leave he found out the album was on hold yet again.

I cant remember what the speculation on the boards were, it was a very exciting time. A great tour lined up with Axl telling us the album was coming out that year. Brain leaving was not a huge event.

Bizarrely enough, the excitement GNR fans experienced in 2006 blows this wet fart of an album release out the water.

I believe Axl pulled the plug on that RIR show, Buckethead then quit because he had had enough of the timewasting and shitting on fans, and Axl Spinmaster Rose put out his press release to save his own face.

Bucket was out playing gigs immediately afterwards, Rose never surfaced for another 2 years, 4 years after the 2002 debacle, and the album still never surfaced for 4 years after Bucket leaving. Buckethead was still the main man on that album and the same vocals were on it.

http://forum.nin.com/bb/read.php?9,2787 … msg-280701

Trent Reznor today:

"... was it something I said? Wow.

For the record - Robin is not leaving the band."

Isnt this tour an elaborate specialised production?
It could be the live show is the work of a specialist production company who have all the equipment, knowhow and expertise to make this particular stageshow. Its not your average roadies using hired equipment directed by Mr Reznor putting on that show. There will be a a small number on the payrol who are there only because of this production and will no doubt have something else lined up for 2009.

The tour was always scheduled to end this production in 2009 since it was very expensive to maintain. He hoped to try and get that special performance completed and filmed before the end of the year, while he had all the right people under contract.
"This tour and a lot of the personnel involved finish at the end of this leg, so we can't push filming into Jan / Feb"

There is no option now, these people are leaving and that version of "the tour" was never scheduled to continue after december.
Its not a case just dialing up some people, professionals such as these can have their calanders booked more than a year in advance, even longer.

The schedule, budget, arenas, crew etc are all planned out way in advance, you cant just chop and change from that management plan because the windows of opportunity for change and the budget are all very tight.

In the section of IRS where Axl starts singing "feeling like I've done way more than wrong" etc, I think the music in that section has been rerecorded with Ron as the main gutarist and Frank on drums. Then it goes back to the original version after Axl says "...like a broken record for so long..."

I noticed it sounded different on first listen, and I'm positive its been cut n pasted into the song.
I dont know why they never just rerecorded the whole song instead of pasting the new in with the old.