Someone is actually holding Axl Rose financially accountable if he brings his band, Guns N’ Roses, on stage late.

What a concept.

The clear thinking comes from organizers of Brazil’s Rock In Rio, where GNR will headline the closing night of this year’s festival on Sunday, October 2 in Rio de Janeiro.

It’s all done in the name of safety and security, of course, since GNR have a history with the legendary festival: in 2001, the band hit the stage almost 2 hours late, and everyone was fortunate that the fans waited patiently, without incident, for GNR to play.

It’s ten years later and some things haven’t changed in Axl’s World: it’s safe to say that most of GNR’s shows on the current 'Chinese Democracy' tour have started abnormally late, without much of an explanation from the band or its management. No statement. No apology. Seemingly no concern for unnecessarily wasting fan’s time and, in many cases, money, as people were forced to leave the late-starting shows early to ensure safe passage home at the end of the evening.

Rock in Rio's vice president Roberta Medina tells Época, Globo's weekly news magazine, that GNR’s appearance at the 2011 event was "the hardest to arrange on the history of the festival." She admitted that no other artists performing at the festival have had a "late" clause included in their contracts. "Bands are usually on time, but Guns is a different case," she said.
"Latenesses like the one in 2001 one can make the public feel uncomfortable and cause them to possibly start a riot."

Axl and his reps have reportedly signed off on the deal, so maybe they know something we don’t: say, GNR will start getting ready for Rock In Rio in June, in order to be on time for the October 2 gig? Is that enough notice?