Guns N' Roses delayed tour to finish album

Guns N' Roses canceled the first two dates of its North American tour in order to finish the band's long-delayed Chinese Democracy album, according to Southwest Florida's News-Press.com. The group was supposed to begin the trek on October 20th in Jacksonville, Florida, but that date and an October 22nd gig in Nashville were both scrapped. Promoter John Stoll said that the shows were canceled because singer W. Axl Rose was "putting the finishing touches on the new album," and not because of low ticket sales.

The Jacksonville concert was rescheduled for October 31st.

The Guns N' Roses tour opened on Tuesday night (October 24th) in Sunrise, Florida. Reviewer Leslie Gray Streeter of the Palm Beach Post called the show "the most exciting, gut-pumping, lighter-flicking thing seen so far this year in South Florida," but chided Rose for keeping the audience waiting until 11:20 p.m. for the band to hit the stage.

GNR plays on Friday, October 27th, in Estero, Florida.

As for the release of Chinese Democracy...to paraphrase the band's manager, there are nine Tuesdays left in 2006.