Guns N Roses 2012 Tour Dates and Kickoff Performance in NYC During Fashion Week (Video)

The distinctively amazing voice of Axl Rose leading Guns N Roses filled Roseland Ballroom in NYC. The intimate concert kicked off a series of Guns N Roses 2012 tour dates in major cities in the United States and Europe.

Wearing a black cowboy hat and sunglasses, Axl Rose belted out familiar favorites such as “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Nightrain,” “Patience,” and “Paradise City.” Axl Rose parted with the original line-up and current band members include Tommy Stinson of the Replacements. Some of the new players have been with the band longer than the original line-up.

Rolling Stone reports Axl Rose's longtime personal assistant, Beta Lebeis, took the microphone and had the audience sing “Happy Birthday” to Axl. On February 6, he turned 50 years old. Afterwards, Axl said, “I've been in this band now for 25 years. That's half my life – definitely the better half.”

After Axl Rose, keyboard player Dizzy Reed has been with Guns N Roses the second longest. He joined the band in the early 1990s, prior to the Use Your Illusion album. It has become somewhat of a traditional for Guns N Roses to have club shows in NYC that coincide with Fashion Week.

Metro spoke to Reed about the Guns N Roses Fashion Week gigs. He said he found it a little baffling, indicating he doesn't quite know why they perform during this week. Reed expressed it was a cool thing to be a part of and a bit of a quintessential New York experience. Reed added, “And rock 'n' roll and fashion have always sort of been intertwined.”

Guns N Roses formed a hard rock band in 1985 in Los Angeles. The band has sold over 100 million albums around the globe. On April 14, 2012, Guns N Roses is scheduled to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Concertful reports the official upcoming Guns N Roses tour dates for 2012 are:

Wed. February 15, 2012 New York, NY (Webster Hall) United States

Sun. February 19, 2012 Chicago, IL (House of Blues) United States

Thurs. February 23, 2012 Silver Spring, MD (The Fillmore) United States

Fri.., February 24, 2012 Atlantic City, NJ (House of Blues) United States

Thurs. May 17, 2012 Dublin (The O2) Ireland

Tues. June 5, 2012 Paris (POPB) France

Sun. June 10, 2012 Lyon (Hall Tony Garnier) France

Mon. June 11, 2012 Strasbourg (Zenith Europe) France

Thurs. June 14, 2012 Toulouse (Zenith) France

Mon. June 18, 2012 Montpelier (Park & Suites Arena) France

Tues. June 19, 2012 Toulon (Zenith Omega) France

Fri, June 22, 2012 Milan (Arena Fiera Milano) Italy

Sat. June 30, 2012 Rybnik (Stadion Miejski w Rybniku) Poland

Sat. July 7, 2012 Sofia (Bulgarian Army Stadium) Bulgaria

Besides their NYC performances during Fashion Week, Guns N Roses historically appeals to an international audience as evidenced by their 2012 tour dates and locations. Below is a video of Guns N Roses performing "Nightrain" at Roseland Ballroom in New York.

Image Source: Wikipedia Commons