A BBG! Reader Reviews Motley's Live Show
Thursday, September 4, 2014 at 12:01AM Today's post comes from regular reader Devin.
I saw Motley Crue and Alice Cooper August 1st at USANA Amphitheater in West Valley Utah. I missed some of Alice Cooper's set because we were late but he put on a really good show for all that I saw. He played "I'm Eighteen," "Under My Wheels," "Poison," "Feed My Frankenstein," "Ballad Of Dwight Fry" and closed with Schools Out" and mixed it with Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall." Really entertaining.
Crue opened with "Saints Of Los Angeles" then went right into "Wild Side" and "Primal Scream." The amps and drum riser I thought were cool as hell. I think Vince sounded good but sounded better in 2011 when I saw them last. A big part of the show came from the Dr. Feelgood album like usual and that was definitely cool. The biggest highlights for me was "Too Fast For Love" and "On With The Show," which is one of my favorite Motley songs. Nikki's speech and "Anarchy In The UK" was probably my favorite part. "Sit down and pretend we're in church" Brotha Sixx!!! My only complaint was the drum solo. I was kinda bummed we didn't get the full thing, but they couldn't do it due to the arena, but some things you can't control. Tommy hung upside down over the stage and was really entertaining. I just didn't like the music he played for it, the dubstep isn't my taste.
Later on came a "Kickstart My Heart" which got everyone pumped back up. They came on for the encore, playing "Home Sweet Home." I heard the guy next to me tell his daughter that he's waited years to see Motley and that this song alone was a dream come true. They got on this stage that rose above the crowd and they played the best version of "Home Sweet Home" I've heard. They showed clips of the bands history on two huge screens. I admit it got emotional for me when the guitar solo hit because I knew it was almost over. I got the chills on the last two verses and ending of the song. My review is probably a bit biased but I don't care. Their music was a huge part of my life and I'm glad I got to see them again. As Vince Neil said to the crowd, "We'll miss you fu%^ers"
Reader Comments (20)
That said, who knows what the future will bring. There will be a lot of pressure (and money on the table) for the guys to play some shows when the Dirt movie comes out in a few years.
Just like the Scorpions, Priest, KISS, etc, these guys generally love what they do and can make a s**tload of money doing it. Can't see them giving it up for good.
I don't think any of them will ever be more successful with their solo/side projects, than they have been as the Crue.
What about the pact they signed in blood during the press conference to announce the tour saying this is the last tour ever?
Sorry to hear "The Chipmunk" still isn't in fine chipmunkian form as the 4 times I saw them from 2007 to 2010. During those 4 shows, Neil sang full-throttle and nearly every word, the difference of frequency not that significant.
I also Neil twice more as a solo act, once on the final REAL SHIPROCKED before it split in half, the other forming The Monsters of Rock Cruise. But speaking of "half", his performance was completely HALF-assed, so bad that those TESLA dicks, who were seated in the audience, got up and left after the 5th song.
The second time I saw Neil solo was at M3 as an opener for The Scorpions, a show that also featured Cinderella and KIX. Man that was large but so was Vince's head to the point where he barely sang and tried rather half-heartedly to blame it on the sound equipment.
Glad when I saw CRUE (with opener, POISON!). in 2010, they were SO ON! I will much prefer the memory of that amazing show, from NIKKI having to jump down into the audience just an arm's length away from me only to watch him tussle away with some kid who was shooting video with a Nikon Digital Camera with a 10,000 Zoom Lens, to NEIL in full form, sounding like he was a kid, to MARS just ABSOLUTELY nailing it to LEE up in his "Drum Coaster" when he actually bothered to drum his own silly face off!
What a story! \m/
p.s. Still, I predict these guys are going to get more and more passionate as the end of CRUE gets closer and closer.
As for Metalboy!, nice dig on Tesla being dicks.
Lmao. You're obviously not a fan of the "real" Crüe.
Okay, Jack, for real? Tesla acted like complete self adulating jerks on the last Monsters of Rock Cruise back in March. What a bunch of a*sholes.
And the hilarity of your statement that the album with Corabi was their best.
You really are The Class Clown around here, Jack! I thought I was until I read your comments above.
Gallogs and others point to another issue that "true Crue fans" want to put to the side: VN can't sing now (and, really, wasn't ever known for his pipes). My instance of "do as I say and do": Van Halen. DLR couldn't really sing back in the day and can't sing now. But I _prefer_ (note the term usage) watching DLR over VN now, and actually think the new DLR VH output (one album only, granted) is better than most MC output since the lacuna with VN. Why? I think the schtick it better and more compelling. It is up for debate, sure. But that is my point: put it up for debate and don't act like a scribe from on high gave you a gift of second sight.
I also defend my posts on Corabi-era MC. But I get why others don't agree. Fine. I also get why some people mark that album as the high point (or, perhaps, the point before it all started to go sideways). Like I said on a previous post, I rank it pretty high/near the top. It was fresh sounding, angry feeling, and broke out of a rut that they seemed to be falling into ("Primal Scream" aside). I think Badlands is right: what, after that, in terms of overall consistency, comes close? Crickets. What, before that, stands above? I suggested TFFL and understand SATD (my first MC album). Again, I just disagree with the order that some of you have put forth.
I will also give VN his due (and have done the same for others in the band): not too long ago, he was still an okay live singer/more vocalist and a pretty darn good stage presence. Maloney-era Crue did great live. MC with post-jail TL did great too (even if it was a bit thuggish of him to shout out to his friends the way he did). But that isn't now. And the band now, live and on wax (a joke, really, about the moment in time when most of these bands were slicing us with their energy), is "going through the motions" (not something Buck Dharma or Eric Bloom do. . . to . . . this . . . day, partially because they still have a bit of fire in their Oyster souls and need the cash more than MC do).
Which album was the best from MC? Well, I know at least one person who "actually" knows. But I also know that advice is best ignored when it punctures the bubble of qualified opinion and deflates a few lines of unqualified boasting.
"It's a game, it's a game,
no let's call it a shame
'Cause there's no one to blame just to pay
You were a friend for a day,
so don't cry if I say
That you got what you want, it's OK."
And it really is. No one gets hurt with opinions. But, more and more, no one changes them either. I'm fine with that too. Just give me something to discuss and debate. Don't let the scrolls in your house unfurl on the hubris-induced clicks of your mouse. That was meant to sound bombastic.