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 For a day of Idol-atry see A Considerable Town. |
at the Great Western Forum, March 23
With midgets, motorcycles, scantily clad dancing girls, deafening explosions, porn on the jumbo screens, fireballs, fireworks, fire-eaters, clowns, a “tittie cam,” and a woman who bent over and made sparks shoot from her crotch, you wouldn’t think to describe this sold-out Mötley Crüe performance as lacking much, but sadly, it was.
Yes, despite the solid set churned out by the original members of the Crüe — whose first LP, TooFastforLove,came out 22 years ago (!) — there was something missing at the heart of the show. Not any of the sideshow attractions, nor Tommy Lee flying from two airborne drum sets high above the stage, nor Mick Mars’ flawless guitar work, could hide the truth: Instead of a celebratory return to the notorious group’s hometown, the show was the same old arena-rock situation we’ve all seen before — devoid of any passion, recklessness or actual danger.
That said, the Crüe easily ground out the hits, and from the opening strains of “Shout at the Devil” to the entirety of “Looks That Kill” and the urgent sugarmetal of “Dr. Feelgood,” the aging quartet evoked memories of their golden days — especially extreme-makeover survivor Vince Neil. Yeah, he flubbed some lines, and just didn’t sing little portions of others. But when he did belt it out, the act seemed as natural as raising one’s hand to form the horns of Satan.
A special moment was realized when Gunner Sixx, the teenage son of bassist/mastermind Nikki, joined the band on rhythm guitar for a cover of “Helter Skelter.” The poor kid was frozen stiff, totally terrified — which proved that rocking out in front of tens of thousands of fans isn’t as easy as it looks, and also delivered a human element to the otherwise (over)polished night.
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