So I’m going to speak to all this as an actual fan from the 80s - but not a huge fan.
The first time I saw Crue was in 2014. By this time, Vince had been an embarrassment to the band for well over a decade - fat, sure - but worse, he just didn’t give enough of a fuck to sing well. At the show I went to, he was just this side of incoherent. It was a shame too, because the band was (and still is, imo) quite good. Sixx had a bass guitar that was also a flamethrower - goddamn, that was cool. Tommy still had the drum kit that turned upside-down, neat. Honestly, the weak point in 2014 (aside from dumbass Vince, obviously) was Mick. He was going through a particularly bad time with his arthritic shit and I know it’s been hard for him, but in 2014 it was like they had him propped up with a board or something - and his playing sucked.
Fast forward to 2022. If you had told me I would have paid money to see this band 8 years later, I would have laughed at you. And to be fair, we didn’t go to see Crue, we went because Poison, Def Leppard and Joan Jett were also playing. All three of those bands were stunning. It was a great show. But what of Motley Crue?
Shockingly, Vince had made a lateral move in eight years. He still sucked, but he didn’t suck any worse. Tommy didn’t have the upside-down drums and Sixx didn’t have a flamethrower bass, but they still sounded great. It is claimed (by Mick) that they use a backing track. Nobody gives a fuck anymore. Honest to Christ, a band like Crue can’t possibly have enough guitars live to replicate their studio sound, so backing tracks are perfectly acceptable. What isn’t acceptable is when when what you do play live sounds like shit - and in 2014, that’s exactly what Mick Mars sounded like.
In 2022, however, he sounded fucking amazing. And he didn’t seem to be propped up anymore. I was honestly surprised. Even without the flamethrower and upside-down drums, their video/lights/effects were just mind-blowing. I don’t care what anyone says - I’d pay to see them again in this incarnation. It was that good.
So I’m going to speak to all this as an actual fan from the 80s - but not a huge fan.
The first time I saw Crue was in 2014. By this time, Vince had been an embarrassment to the band for well over a decade - fat, sure - but worse, he just didn’t give enough of a fuck to sing well. At the show I went to, he was just this side of incoherent. It was a shame too, because the band was (and still is, imo) quite good. Sixx had a bass guitar that was also a flamethrower - goddamn, that was cool. Tommy still had the drum kit that turned upside-down, neat. Honestly, the weak point in 2014 (aside from dumbass Vince, obviously) was Mick. He was going through a particularly bad time with his arthritic shit and I know it’s been hard for him, but in 2014 it was like they had him propped up with a board or something - and his playing sucked.
Fast forward to 2022. If you had told me I would have paid money to see this band 8 years later, I would have laughed at you. And to be fair, we didn’t go to see Crue, we went because Poison, Def Leppard and Joan Jett were also playing. All three of those bands were stunning. It was a great show. But what of Motley Crue?
Shockingly, Vince had made a lateral move in eight years. He still sucked, but he didn’t suck any worse. Tommy didn’t have the upside-down drums and Sixx didn’t have a flamethrower bass, but they still sounded great. It is claimed (by Mick) that they use a backing track. Nobody gives a fuck anymore. Honest to Christ, a band like Crue can’t possibly have enough guitars live to replicate their studio sound, so backing tracks are perfectly acceptable. What isn’t acceptable is when when what you do play live sounds like shit - and in 2014, that’s exactly what Mick Mars sounded like.
In 2022, however, he sounded fucking amazing. And he didn’t seem to be propped up anymore. I was honestly surprised. Even without the flamethrower and upside-down drums, their video/lights/effects were just mind-blowing. I don’t care what anyone says - I’d pay to see them again in this incarnation. It was that good.