It was an infamous day in Vancouver music history. It was Nov 7. 2002—15 years ago— the “Guns ‘n Roses Riot erupted outside what was then General Motor place. I remember it well, because I was supposed to the co-MC of the show. My radio partner at the time, Dean Hill, and I were finishing our shift on air around 7pm and were about to head down to the arena to introduce the band when we got a phone call. It was the show promoter telling us that Axel Rose was NOT in Vancouver. In fact he hadn’t even left L.A. The show probably wasn’t going to happen. We were told to sit tight.
I remember Dean and I went to the Lennox Pub on Granville at Robson, had a beer and waited to be updated. Then we got a call back. “The show’s off, don’t come down here, the crowd knows and it’s getting ugly”
To see the results, check out the video. It was not pretty, and it made news around the world. We’re still not exactly sure why Axel didn’t show up. Maybe we’ll never know.
