My story of meeting Ron and Izzy in Oslo - oh, and hello! 
Mikkel 
2006/8/26
Hey guys,

I've just signed up here, but I've been lurking around these boards for ages 
and HTGTH is about the only GNR site I bother visiting, 'cause Jarmo is so damn cool. 
Y'all might have noticed my Roskilde pictures in the tour gallery!

Anyways, I thought I'd do a first proper post in this forum by telling you about meeting Ron and Izzy! 
I hope that will suffice as an alright "Hi, I'm new here" kind of post... 

Alright, so I was in Oslo to see GNR for the third time on this tour and ever, 
having also seen them in Paris and at Roskilde. 
Oslo was the best gig of them all... It was so epic - everyone were in great moods, 
security was great and friendly, and me and my sister could walk right into the exclusive area 
in front of the stage, although we got there after doors opened. 
(After spending 11 hours waiting for GNR in Paris, I decided to try a different method this time.)

Anyway, you've all heard about how fantastic the gig was and it happened over a month ago, 
so I'm not gonna bore you with old news, like.

So, the next day me and my sister were just cruising around Oslo, 
and we'd been walking up to see the castle, and then on our way back, 
down what I imagine to be the Rodeo Drive of Oslo, we passed Grand Hotel, 
and out the corner of my eye, not paying any attention, 
I thought I saw a familiar face. 
And sure enough! It was Ron, standing with his guitar bag outside the quite big band bus.

I went up to him and said hi, and he was super friendly from the get-go. 
I complimented him on a fantastic show the night before, 
and we just talked back and forth a bit, 
and he told me about how frustrating it was when the shows were running late, 
'cause he felt the same way as the audience - he just wanted the show to start! 
He didn't blame Axl for anything, 
but talked about how it just takes one person in an entourage of 16 to be late to make everyone late. 
He also told about their night out in Helsinki and hanging out with Raikkonen, 
with whom Axl and Frank had been racing some cars, 
which was why Axl had referred to Frank as his "partner in crime" at the show the night before. 
He also showed me his guitar and was in every possible way the coolest person to meet ever! 
My sister took a picture of us... Ron is the cool looking one... 
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Re: My story of meeting Ron and Izzy in Oslo - oh, and hello! 
Mikkel 
2006/8/27

Hey, thanks so much for the warm reception, I'm really happy about that! 

And yes, meeting GNR members coincidentally twice was too cool...! 
I met Slash after a Snakepit gig here in Aarhus in 2000, 
but I was so starstruck that I don't think I uttered a proper word at all. 
I did get his autograph, though... I was wearing my Kill Your Idols shirt, 
which, thinking about it, isn't so much a shirt that shouts "I'M A SLASH FAN"... I wonder why I did that... 

Oh yeah, and after the Paris show, Ron was outside with a bodyguard and fans were all around him, 
and I went up there, but Ron looked so knackered and sweaty, and he didn't stay for long... 
But again - consider the fan dedication when the first thing you do after a gig is to run outside to say hi! 

Anyhow, xBrownstonex asked for more pictures, 
so I compiled this little set of my more paparazzi-style shots... 
And Ron noticing us and his first pose! I hope you'll like them for what they are... 
You might see why I didn't post these the first time around...