What a load of bull****. I seriously doubt that one single fan was there to see GNR drink alcohol on stage. If that had gotten dropped from the show, who gives a ****? Who would have even noticed???
Axyl basically says in the same breath "I take responsibility for the cancellation" and "we wouldn't budge on the alcohol rule and we knew you'd riot if we cancelled a show over alcohol, so it's not our fault that these two fire marshalls actually read the code."
Dumbasses. Lots of alternatives:
Do the show, drink offstage if you really need to be drunk to perform, move on.
Do the show, drink tea onstage from a bourbon bottle if you really feel like that's part of your artistic image, and move on.
Do the show, drink offstage, and tell the fans that the ******* firemarshalls won't let you drink onstage so they'll just have to live without that charming part of your usual performance, and move on.
Do the show, drink onstage. pay the ******* $250.00 fine, and move on.
By either Axyl's or the fire marshall's account, there was no reason to cancel. That venue should sue the piss out GNR for breach of contract.