Words and pics by Paul Miles
“Rock’n’Roll can save the world, all of us together. And the chicks are great!” Almost Famous
After a 3-hour road-trip from Houston–detouring via the city of La Grange, while of course cranking ZZ Top, I pulled my hired, black Dodge Charger into a San Antonio parking lot and strolled a couple of blocks to The Alamo.
Checking out the city’s number one attraction where the legendary Davy Crockett met his maker during the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, I was soon approached by a lovely, young Texas Ranger, who asked me if I was by any chance in one of the bands performing at that big old concert taking place today. Although I assured her I wasn’t, I suspected it was my Australian accent that had her perplexed enough to ask for a selfie with me anyway, “because you look like you should be.” It was my introduction to ‘Southern charm’ – my first day in The Lone Star state.
The summer sun shone through the cloudy Texan sky, and my mesh hat, while the high humidity had sweat glands working overtime on the walk to the Alamodome – the city’s football stadium. More rock fans joined the procession as we got closer, with most wearing select t-shirts of their favourite team: Team Joan Jett, Team Poison, and Team Def Leppard, but I noticed they were mainly sporting tonight’s headliner Team Motley Crue.
Making my way inside the huge venue, I was pleasantly surprised the stadium roof was closed over, and the air-conditioning was cranking. I had no sooner arrived at my floor seat when Classless Act took the stage to jumpstart proceedings. These young rockers based in Los Angeles have a few music videos and a debut album out, but I found I actually enjoyed them even more in the live setting. The zany energy of singer Derek Day was put to perfect use on the stadium’s runway stage.
They drew me in so much that during their swinging second song Give It to Me, I decided I’d chance my luck with occupying a closer empty seat until the ticket holder arrived, so I could get a better look. The middle-aged lady a few seats to my right looked over to me once they finished their self-titled final song Classless Act and advised, “Them young boys did real good! That guy on the right [rhythm guitarist Dane Pieper] reminds me of Slash.” I don’t think she knew that Slash’s son was actually their former drummer.
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts took to the stage next, opening with Victim of Circumstance, but they really got the swelling crowd going with their next song Cherry Bomb, from Jett’s previous band The Runaways – ‘70s babe legends.
After their cover of Crimson & Clover I felt the atmosphere kick up higher with each subsequent hit, as they closed their set with I Hate Myself for Loving You, (I’m Gonna) Run Away, I Love Rock’n’Roll, and Bad Reputation.
Knowing I had a decent break until the next band, I wandered the stadium to get a drink and see what dinner options were on offer. What I did discover, was the venue seemed way under-prepared for the thirst of classic rock fans – long lines snaked from every outlet and didn’t seem to be moving fast.
Thinking it was probably just because I chose to go during the break I decided to head back in because I didn’t want to potentially miss any of Poison as I’ve seen so much talk online about how they’ve been stealing the show.
Back on the floor near the stage, a salt-of-the-Earth couple from Austin named Jenny and Bill, wearing Size XL or XXL faded Motley and Poison t-shirts with the sleeves somewhat jaggedly cut out, complimented me on my hat. Hearing my Aussie accent when I thanked them kicked off a delightful discussion about where to get the best cowboy hat, cooking and eating rattlesnakes, the biggest rodeo to check out if I stay longer and the easiest way to make BBQ sauce for ribs. I just didn’t have the heart to tell them I don’t eat meat.
The chat ended when the house lights went black and Welcome to the Jungle by Poison’s fellow 80s Sunset Strip alumni Guns ‘N Roses blasted out of the PA before Poison took to the stage, opening with Look What the Cat Dragged In. I looked over at Jenny and Bill mid-song with a friendly smile – he didn’t see me while he was headbanging furiously with horns repeatedly being thrust into the air, and Jenny gave me a wink as she teased out some hairs that had got stuck on her freshly applied lippy.
Also sporting a cut-off Poison tee with his stylised blue denim jeans heartthrob frontman Bret Michaels
danced and pranced up and down the runway stage, pointing, nodding, and smiling to a good 78% of audience members along its both sides. Throughout the set, his demeanour was infectious, his soul was genuine, his vocals were bang on, and it was a great reminder to the crowd that rock’n’roll is more entertaining when it’s fun!
Lead guitarist CC Deville also ventured down the runway with his long straight hair flowing from under his red leather top hat… and thankfully minus the Covid beard he shaved off as the tour began.
When his guitar solo ended, he launched into Fallen Angel and I switched my iPhone to Video mode, filmed its start, and WhatsApped it to my daughter back home on the other side of the world. You see, it’s been one of OUR songs since she shed tears as a 4-year-old when she couldn’t go to see them with me on their first tour of Australia back in ’89. That song always reminds me of her and now this recalled memory reminds me that all these songs tonight are someone’s memories – markers of moments in time that become or remain special in some way and forming part of the soundtrack to life. That’s what nostalgia is all about, and there was plenty of it positively filling the Alamodome tonight.
Before I even realised it, the song had ended, and Poison was playing Unskinny Bop next. I glanced over to Jenny and Bill again, hoping they were still enjoying themselves, and I copped an eyeful of Jenny with her hands under her titties, bopping them all about in her XL Poison shirt, while Bill smiled at the foreplay. Perhaps this was THEIR song.
I left them to it and headed all the way to the very last row in the nosebleed seats at the rear to take in the full stadium view. I’ve never been that good at guessing crowd sizes but I would say it was in the 35,000 – 40,000 range. It was from this vantage point that I enjoyed the band’s two biggest hits to close their set Every Rose Has Its Thorn and Nothin’ But a Good Time.
Walking back to my seat near the stage, I obliged in helping to take a photo of a mother and her six- year old son, Cody. He was grinning from ear to ear, experiencing his first-ever concert. I asked him who he wanted to see the most, and he said Joan Jett, proudly pointing to his t-shirt of her. They arrived after
Classless Act so Joan Jett & The Blackhearts will forever remain Cody’s answer to that life question of, “Who was the first band you ever saw in concert?” I told him that Joan Jett will be a cool answer for him and when I answered David Bowie to his return serve question to me, he was quick to further impress me by singing The Jean Genie chorus. I high fived him, and Mum for her parenting done right.
English rock veterans Def Leppard hit the stage next with their recent single Take What You Want, from their twelfth studio album Diamond Star Halos released just a few months ago, before ripping into Let It Go from 1981.
I enjoyed seeing them last at Tokyo’s Budokan four years ago, but tonight I struggled to get into them in
Texas. I wasn’t sure if it was the distraction of singer Joe Elliott’s new hairstyle that seemed exactly the same as my late Nanna’s, or if I needed to satisfy my hunger.
Biting the bullet, I opted to join the line for some food and a drink, pleased that it was shorter than before. I listened to the entire rest of Def Leppard’s set as I inched closer in that line – I’ve never experienced such slow and incompetent servers. The guys behind me were also gobsmacked and laughed between swear words at the comedy of our futile situation. At least Bringin’ on the Heartbreak sounded great from there, and I noted the biggest audience cheer was for Pour Some Sugar on Me. I then paid US$24 for a regular soda and a popcorn – that’s 35 Aussie dollars!! Granted the one size popcorn bucket was much bigger than my head though.
As I shoveled the popcorn into my mouth, my mind went back to when I made the pilgrimage to Los Angeles to be there for The Final Show on New Year’s Eve in 2015 – Motley Cue’s last-ever concert. I drank the Kool-Aid and was somewhat peeved when they reneged on their promise of not being like other bands that do comeback tours. However it seemed that the delays to this tour caused by the pandemic had given me more time to come to accept their decision to tour again, and I was now
genuinely looking forward to seeing them play for the 26th time.
The main event began with a Motley Crue News Network video transmission that conveyed the motto “The Future is Ours” before they played Wild Side and Shout at the Devil, which keen listeners would note had a vocal sample from Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song mixed into its ending.
From one album’s title track to another, they tore into Too Fast for Love next, which produced another great nostalgic moment as old photos and memorabilia items displayed on the giant video screens like a digital scrapbook. The montage flooded my emotions, peaking as they then moved into Don’t Go Away Mad, since its tempo changeup towards the end of the song always gives me goosebumps.
While many see singer Vince Neil as the band’s weakest link and mock him mercilessly he is actually
performing much better this tour than his reputation precedes. Two things stand out like dog’s balls to me: firstly, he is singing a noticeably higher percentage of the lyrics in every song – perhaps more than he ever has, and secondly, the speed in which he moves around the stage is noticeably slower as a trade-off – perhaps as slow as he has ever moved around. Sure, the vocals are filled out with backing tracks too, but the Crue has been augmenting their live sound as far back as at least 1987, as they strive and typically succeed at bringing fans a brilliant rock’n’roll production experience, show after show.
“How about a couple of oldies for ya?” Vince soon asked the crowd, “One from our first album [Live Wire] and one from our second.” Their three scantily-clad singing and dancing girls dubbed The Nasty Habits joined the band on stage again for Looks That Kill. Two of them gyrated away, high up on spiky platforms with design elements reminiscent of the band’s music video from 1983, while a video of a cyborg styled Asian woman played behind them on the giant screens as a further tie-in to the original video – yet updated in alignment with The Future is Ours theme. It’s just another example of how past nostalgia and the future have been woven into every detail of this grand-scale production.
The band’s million-selling autobiography The Dirt was recently turned into a hit Netflix movie and has been credited for attracting a whole new generation of fans, ultimately leading to this stadium tour and
concert tonight. So, with the Crue’s most recent single being the title track from the accompanying
soundtrack, The Dirt featured video snippets from the movie and a sample of Machine Gun Kelly’s
vocals, who acted as Tommy Lee in the movie. I thought the song sounded great and was well received
by the crowd – certainly better than their previous singles All Bad Things and Sex were on past tours.
As the performance went on, I found myself drawn to watching and admiring the guitar work of Mick Mars more and more. He is the standout of the band to me, in a less-is-more kind of way. Understated
and highly underrated, the magic of Mars is the dexterity and agility of his hand movements all over his
instrument to create such guitar melodies, while so much of the rest of his body is rigidly calcified from
his disease.
Motley’s driving force Nikki Sixx soon took centerstage to thank the audience for coming. Admiring the
crowd size, he said, “Texas doesn’t fuck around,” while saying he believed the heavy metal horns originated in this state. After wiping his face with a towel, he looked into the audience and asked someone, “You want this towel? It’s just like the one I gave your mother in 1987.” The rap ended with the ‘Motley Crue Karaoke segment,’ comprising a medley of cover songs the band has recorded over the years. It was my least favourite portion of the show.
Next it was Tommy Lee’s turn to address the crowd, prior to playing the piano opening to Home Sweet
Home. He confessed to the crowd that he recently went on a bender when he posted a dick-pic on his
social media accounts. “Usually, I’m a titty man, so I like to see titties,” he further informed, “but tonight
it’s equal-opportunity night. Tonight, I want to see everyone’s dick. C’mon, pull your shit out. Pull your
fucking junk out – let’s go!” Yep, that’s Tommy!
As Dr. Feelgood got underway, green laser lights shone from the stage and all around the massive venue, harking back to the eighties and the ones used in the opening of their Dr. Feelgood world tour, when such lasers were considered groundbreaking production (even though they pilfered that idea from Neil Diamond.)
Two giant inflatable cyborg females suddenly appeared on stage at the start of Girls, Girls, Girls, dwarfing the band members and their Nasty Habits. Referring to his second ex-wife Sharise, Vince sang the verse lyric, “Tropicana’s where I lost my house,” switching out the word heart for house. It’s little moments like these that provide easter eggs for the more diehard fans to enjoy.
The Crue’s performance and the event closed out with Primal Scream and then Kickstart My Heart for its finale, with a few bangs and some dry ice jets blasting skywards, as the four Motley members took a bow to the San Antonio crowd and promised they’d be back. The thought ran through my head that I’d most likely see them again next when The Stadium Tour expectedly tours Australia in the not- too-distant future.
Heading out of the venue, I met three saucy Texan ladies dressed all in black, with a few scattered and faded tattoos under their suntanned skin. They had just come out of the ladies’ room and filed in behind
me in the crowd exiting. “Howdy! Where are you off to now? Wanna come keep the party going?” they
offered.
When I said, “I’m headed home, thanks,” they asked me where that was, again looking somewhat perplexed by my Aussie accent.
“Tonight, it’s Houston,” I said. “I’ve got a three-hour drive back there now.”
“Well, you just let us know any time you wanna party with us, you hear?”
I think those Southern ladies are most likely still partying away in The Lone Star state now.
Thanks to Tim Mclean Smith, Better Noise Music, Live Nation and Maric Media.
About the Author: Paul Miles spent two decades documenting the history of Motley Crue and publishing it via his Chronological Crue website and paperback book series. You’ll see he gets the biggest thanks of all in the Acknowledgements section of The Dirt and he wrote the liner notes in the band’s Live: Entertainment or Death double album. His latest book recently released worldwide is Horseshoes & Hand Grenades – the autobiography of former Motley Crue singer John Corabi.
