In February, Guns N’ Roses announced a global stadium tour starting in June in Tel Aviv and eventually touching down in the US come August. Well, tonight (Thursday, June 1) GN’R kicked off that tour a few days earlier than initially announced, playing at the Etihad Arena in the United Arab Emirates, where they broke out some rarities.

Beginning the show with “It’s So Easy,” Axl Rose, Duff McKagan, Slash, Dizzy Reed & Co. followed up with “Bad Obsession” (from Use Your Illusion I), which they hadn’t played since February 1993. Later, they played Use Your Illusion II track “Pretty Tied Up” for the first time since April 1992.

Also during the show, GN’R played their cover of U.K. Subs’ “Down On The Farm,” which appeared on their 1993 covers album The Spaghetti Incident? and hadn’t been played live since December 2006. They also performed “Anything Goes” — from their debut Appetite For Destruction –which hadn’t been played live since August 1988.

Watch some fan-shot footage of GN’R playing the United Arab Emirates below.

SETLIST:
01 “It’s So Easy”
02 “Bad Obsession” (first time since February 6, 1993)
03 “Chinese Democracy”
04 “Slither” (Velvet Revolver cover)
05 “Pretty Tied Up” (first time since April 6, 1992)
06 “Welcome To The Jungle”
07 “Mr. Brownstone”
08 “Hard Skool”
09 “Double Talkin’ Jive”
10 “Reckless Life”
11 “Absurd”
12 “You Could Be Mine”
13 “Down On The Farm” (U.K Subs cover) (first time since December 20, 2006)
14 “Rocket Queen”
15 “T.V. Eye” (The Stooges cover) (Duff McKagan on vocals, live debut)
16 “Anything Goes” (first time since August 1, 1988)
17 “Civil War” (Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child” outro)
18 “This I Love” (first time since November 14, 2018)
19 “Live And Let Die” (Wings cover)
20 “Estranged”
21 Slash Guitar Solo
22 “Sweet Child O’ Mine”
23 “November Rain”
24 “Wichita Lineman” (Jimmy Webb cover)
25 “Street Of Dreams”
26 “Nice Boys” (Rose Tattoo cover) (First time since February 11, 2017)
27 “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” (Bob Dylan cover)
28 “Nightrain”

ENCORE:
29 “Patience”
30 “Don’t Cry”
31 “My Michelle”