Why Duff McKagan Defends GNR's Three-and-a-Half-Hour Concerts

It’s typically mentioned that there will be an excessive amount of of a great factor, and that definitely applies to concert events. According to Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan, although, there’s a great motive for the band’s resolution to play roughly three-and-a-half-hour dwell units.

A cursory look at setlist.fm confirms that Guns N’ Roses’ current reveals have lasted about 180 minutes. In a brand new interview with YouTube channel Heavy Music (uploaded on Dec. 16), McKagan addresses the divisive tendency: “Man, Axl [Rose] loves – you know, I think it’s – goddammit, it’s like, what songs do you take out, you know, if you wanted to play shorter?”

He continues:

Don’t get me flawed – my physique would find it irresistible if we solely performed two-and-a-half-hours. Most bands, like, play two hours. Two hours and 10 minutes or one thing, and we’re taking part in three [hours and] thirty [minutes]. I’d like to play shorter as a result of, simply, I’d be in much less ache the subsequent day. But, there’s simply too many songs, and other people keep for the entire thing. Nobody leaves, so it is, like, “Okay, they must be enjoying this.” We’ll whip out “Coma” or “Locomotive.”

We’re whipping out different songs. I actually love taking part in, um, “Bad Obsession,” ? “Pretty Tied Up.” It’s so nice. . . . We’ll play all of it. “Reckless [Life]” and “Shadow [of Your Love].” I’m Axl, and I’m, like, “Yeah, you sure, man? ‘Cause we’ve gotta play again in a couple nights.”

But he is a monster, man, that man. Axl. Like, his longevity. We’ve needed to cancel just one present due to vocals, as a result of he’d get a swelling – no marvel – swelling on certainly one of his sides. He’ll nonetheless wanna play the present, and the physician will probably be, like, “You could ruin your voice forever.” We canceled one [show] in Glasgow a few years in the past. We made it up.”

You can watch the full interview below.

READ MORE: Artists Who Released Two Albums on the Same Date

In case you missed it, McKagan recently revealed his favorite songs to play across multiple GN’R eras, and he also told Loudwire Nights host Chuck Armstrong that he already “got pretty close to” playing in his dream supergroup.

Of course, McKagan’s latest solo LP – Lighthouse – arrived on Oct. 20 via BFD. You can grab your copy here.

Earlier this month, Guns N’ Roses released their newest song, “The General,” which – like predecessors “Perhaps,” “Hard Skool” and “Absurd” – was written during the Chinese Democracy sessions. Plus, Loudwire crowned their seminal debut record (Appetite for Destruction) as the best hard rock album of 1987.

So, how do you feel about McKagan’s explanation? In general, do you enjoy extremely lengthy concerts? Let us know!