Photo: WENN
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, Mötley Crüe are currently on their last farewell tour. Tonight, the Hollywood big-haired foursome say goodbye to London for the final time.
Special guest, Alice Cooper, warms up the crowd accordingly with giant ghouls, sexy nurses, executioners, guillotines and giant balloons joining him on stage. The "Godfather of Shock Rock" reels off hits like ‘Poison’, ‘Feed My Frankenstein’ and ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’; it’s a gritty, dramatic and glamorous set. As Cooper closes with ‘School’s Out’ remixed with Pink Floyd’s ‘Another Brick in the Wall’, it’s kind of unbelievable that this sexagenarian is still able to pull in the crowds like it’s 1975.
But tonight is all about Mötley Crüe. Bursting on stage to ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ it’s clear that the night is very much the farewell tour and is comfortable as an old leather jacket. It’s a tightly packed set with pyrotechnics, costume changes, props, explosions and go-go dancers not wearing very much - we wouldn’t expect anything less. As they blaze through their discography, classics like ‘Dr Feelgood’ and ‘Smokin’ in the Boys Room’ sound as good as they did thirty years ago.
However, time has passed. Frontman Vince Neil lets the crowd sing the intro of ‘Shout At the Devil’, his voice can’t reach those notes like he used to. But any weakness isn’t too noticeable. Neil’s vocals may have thinned but he’s still a showman and there are definite glimpses of the blonde-haired 25 year-old in there somewhere. Besides, with all the explosions and flames spurting from basses, it’s easy to be distracted.
Bassist Nikki Sixx is as animated and outlandish as ever. Donning his trademark make-up and paying homage to ‘Theatre of Pain’, he urges us to make our dreams come true. Sixx doesn’t dwell, and after a spew of “Fuck yeahs!” the band launch into a cover of ‘Anarchy In The UK’ whilst Sixx smashes his bass.
The show is ridiculous in its exhibitionism and certain moments are truly unbelievable. At one point drummer Tommy Lee is lifted into the air. He performs his rotating airborne drum solo above an audience of 12,000 strong. It’s hard to process what you’re watching - and, judging by the thousands of smartphones filming every second, it seems like the crowd can’t believe it either. Interaction on stage is kept to the bare minimum and the set is a tad staged given the band’s once hell-raising reputation.
It isn’t the purest set, but that’s not the point. This rock ‘n’ roll circus is a celebration of “34 fucking years of Mötley Crüe” - as Neil aptly puts it. As they say their final goodbye, ‘Home Sweet Home’ is the closest thing anyone is going to get to sentimentality, but there’s no emotional fuss – it wouldn’t have been fitting.
It’s a spectacular end to an incredible run. They don’t make ‘em like they used to.
