The Crue's carnival of the debauched rolls into town sippin' Jack and trashing hotels
For a band who hadn't played over here in Blighty for nigh on 14 years, it was of special interest to me as to how many tickets they would sell, and indeed in a music industry that has such fickle fans, to whom? As it turned out Cardiff International Arena is close to capacity, with a wide audience similar to that of Velvet Revolver's performance at the same venue a knuckle full of months ago.
There was an almost sense of hysteria building up after an announcement stating that Motley Crue would be on in 10 minutes, and this wasn't just at the bar, which was already overworked, understaffed and scandalously running out of alcohol.
After many gigs in small venues and a few in larger venues and stadiums, there were many things that I'd seen that were different from those before them. The first of these would be a short film beforehand with figurines of the band and their quest to carry on the tour even though the world is about to end. Interesting stuff, eh? It is then that you notice a box is sat innocently in the middle of the stage, and out jumps a little man with a great big smile, followed by two scantly clad females. As the red and white striped curtain raised aloft out of the box pops Mr Vince Neil, and in a blink of the eye the band blasts into 'Shout At The Devil', as we see the whole row of amps going the length of the stage, has behind them a wall of fire - the whole thing sent a shiver down my spine...
Carrying on with the old classic Crue, we have 'Too Fast For Love', '10 Seconds to Love' and the great 'Red Hot' which includes explosions so loud that many draws were soiled. Vince's voice is as good as it's ever been, although life has perhaps caught up with him, and whilst running around the stage, he misses words out every now and again. Mick Mars' guitar playing has never been in question, and considering his health problems, and rumours that he wouldn't make the tour some months back, his guitar playing is quite frankly flawless. Nikki Sixx has never been the best bass player in the world, but the fact that he writes the majority of the songs, and with his drive and ambition being the sole reason why the band has, not only lived to see tonight, but is here playing at all is enough for me...and Tommy? Well, Tommy is Tommy - One of the best drummers in the world and a real showman to boot. He encourages the crowd, and praises them all night and it's interesting that when the lights go down after a song, the chant you'll here is 'Tom-my'. Enough said.
We then have the marvellous 'On With The Show', 'Too Young To Fall In Love', 'Looks That Kill', 'Louder Than Hell', and the absolutely wonderful rawness and fast pace of 'Livewire' which finishes with so much smoke that you can't see the stage - which is on purpose as the lights go down and down come the screens again to tell us that there will be a ten minute break, and you can hear the disappointment in the crowd. However, as a clock counts down the ten minutes, everyone is shouting out the time remaining for the last minute...
Re-dressed and refreshed - it's worth pointing out that as I was in the balcony right at the back of the room and sweating in my seat, Tommy Lee had twenty-foot flames firing up either side of him and must have felt like beef on Sunday lunchtime. 'Girls, Girls, Girls' is a great excuse to have girls stripping and gyrating against each other, and folks that's just what we get. If this is too much than you can look at the screens which show pornographic imagery instead - boy, what I wouldn't have given for an extra pair of eyes...
Following with the newer and more popular stuff- 'Wildside', 'Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)', 'Primal Scream' and the wonderful ballad, 'Home Sweet Home' which the crowd sing the whole first verse of on their own, which gets an applause from the band.
After 'Dr Feelgood' we have the world famous camcorder for 'Titty Cam', directed by Mr Lee, it is the stage of the night fuelled by testosterone as he searches out girls to flash their twin assets at the camcorder (and for us on the big screen). It's derogatory towards woman, and something that I thought rock had moved on from - but goddammit was it great fun!!
We then had 'Same Ol'Situation', the single 'Sick Love Song' and their best song 'Kickstart My Heart' which starts with Mick Mars' guitar imitating a motorbike revving through the gears and breaks into a real humdinger of a fast, hard rock song that had every head nodding to the infectious beat like their lives depended on it. It's interesting that there are no songs from 'Generation Swine', which I feel is a highly underrated album, nor from their most recent studio album 'New Tattoo'.
Then we have the shenanigans of an encore, which I hate. I've never been a fan of shouting for a band to come out - if they want to play on, then play on. We paid our money, and I'm not going to beg! However when the curtain is raised again it was to be the best final song ever. The song, in case you were wondering was, 'Anarchy In The UK', and as good as it was, it really didn't matter! We had a giant clown's head with flashing eyes, midgets on unicycles wheeling around like they were kids playing, fire spinning/eating females, guys on stilts, trapeze girls swinging around the stage, clowns, women performing simulated adult acts upon each other, flames and explosions galore! Purely breathtaking...
This is what shows are all about, and Motley Crue, apart from playing great music are wonderful showmen. Nikki Sixx was very quick to point out that "This is definitely not a farewell tour! We are writing a new album and we will be back next year..." and after this performance, I for one will be back too. Long live The Crue!!