Guns N’ Roses Blame System of a Down’s Stage Setup + More for Late Rio Gig

Earlier this week we reported on Guns N’ Roses taking to their Facebook page to defend their two hour late start at the recent Rock In Rio Festival on Oct. 2. Their response was generally dismissive and projected a bit of a "too bad, so sad" sentiment without much regret.

Festival organizers didn’t seem too keen on the lackluster response calling out Axl Rose and his ‘lack of commitment and ‘respect for the public’ in a recent interview with Globo.com.

Now, in the wake of all of the controversy, Guns N’ Roses' publicity camp has released an official statement regarding the late start pointing the blame in a myriad of directions including Mother Nature, System of a Down's stage setup and ‘inadequate production':

“Guns N’ Roses would like to set the record straight on Rock In Rio. The festival's inadequate production and the downpour of rain delayed the event. Anyone who was there knows that System of a Down did not leave the stage until close to 1:15 in the morning. System's extensive stage production did not finish coming offstage until 1:45 a.m. GN'R's production was up and ready to go at 2:15 a.m. Axl got to the venue before 1 a.m. and he came ready to go onstage. The inadequate cover of the Rock In Rio stage caused a further delay when the soundboard went down due to water damage and was replaced as quick as possible. GN'R walked onstage at 2:40 a.m. and played for two-and-a-half hours in the pouring rain. GN'R would never seek to intentionally disrespect anyone, especially their fans."

If this were a one time occurrence, fans might be a little more understanding but Axl Rose has made a business out of being late and running the show on his time without much regard for anyone else, and judging from the band's Facebook response, that doesn't seem to be changing any time soon. So for those of you heading out to one of the upcoming Guns N' Roses show on their North America run, you might want to take the day after the show off from work. After all, as Rose said, "This is Rock N’ Roll! Treat yourself don’t cheat yourself!"