The new Guns N' Roses are halfway through the first leg of the Chinese Democracy Asian Tour, with a couple Japanese concerts remaining. The band opened the tour in Taipei, Taiwan (Dec. 11) and continued on to Seoul, Korea on Dec. 13. The excitement of the tour has fans traveling the world to get the first glimpses of the band as the tour to support the 2008 CD Chinese Democracy. The band performed in Korea for the first time in their 24 year career and plans are already in the works to bring GNR to South America in 2010, after a round of 13 Canadian dates. There are no US dates announced yet.

The setlists so far have been different for each show, but contain a good number of Chinese Democracy selections and a nice blend of classic tracks. The title track has served as the opening cut of each show and would be a suitable opener for the entire tour.

"Seoul, Korea! Very good to be here with you tonight, thank you for havin' us!' lead vocalist Axl Rose told the Korean crowd. "Come on, tell me the truth, you didn't think I was coming, did you?"

Fans of both generations of GNR should be pleased with the song selections we've seen so far as most of the hits from the past and present are being performed, including Sweet Child O Mine, You Could Be Mine, Street Of Dreams and Paradise City. Reports from the press and from the fans are saying that the band sounds better than ever. Band members Richard Fortus (guitar), Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (guitar) DJ Ashba (guitar), Tommy Stinson (bass) and Dizzy Reed (keyboards) have been given their chance to do solo numbers at each show.

Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal took a moment to check in with RockStar Weekly as he arrived in Japan for the second half of the Asian tour:

"Heeeey, just got to Osaka - the last two shows were such a pleasure, feels damn good to be back on the road," Bumblefoot told RockStar Weekly. "It's all a blur, and I like keeping it that way, only thinking about the next show, not the last show. But ya move ahead with a feeling that something special was shared in each place, makes it feel like coming home any time ya return. Now I have that connection to Taipei and Seoul that will always be there. It's the warmth and kindness of everyone there, they made it special, I can't thank them enough... looking forward to playing Osaka and Tokyo again this week, and starting off 2010 with Canada - see y'all soon! "

Next up on the Chinese Democracy Tour is Osaka, Japan on Dec. 16.

Photo from the Seoul concert reprinted from yonguksaram.com