Motley Crue’s final show reviewed

May 13, 2015 11:23 am 1 comment Views: 8

Crue world … Vince Neil doing it one last time on Motley Crue’s farewell tour.
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THESE days farewell tours either mean someone’s close to death or close to bankruptcy.

So devalued has the ‘last tour’ concept been of late that American hard rockers Motley Crue had to show fans a legal document stating that this is indeed The End, friends.

For their final lap around the globe, the Crue are going out on top. Quite literally, in the case of Tommy Lee’s jaw-dropping roller-coaster drum kit. The only nostalgia is the old songs; there’s no messing around with vintage photos or flashbacks. Everyone knows the deal.

But it’s always been about more than the music with Motley. They’re some of the last men standing from the iconic, fetishised LA hard rock scene of the ‘80s. They offer an authentic flashback to that lifestyle that seemingly only exists in parody bands now.

Rock’n’load … of course Motley Crue have hot backing singers.
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Read their incredible band biography The Dirt and it’s a miracle they’re still here; fingers crossed the upcoming movie version of the book doesn’t go soft rock on us.

And there’s always that fascinating dynamic with heterosexual men expressing their admiration for men in stage make-up and bold stage costumes, something that wouldn’t generally happen outside of a hard rock concert.

The make-up helps cover up the years of hard living, something opening act Alice Cooper knows too well.

Now 67, Coop, like Kiss, benefits from being able to paint on that trademark make-up and still look like he did 30 years ago.

Cooper is also the most over-qualified opening act of the year — his prop’n’roll show paved the way for Motley Crue and countless others.

And while the Crue are ending, Cooper still clearly loves doing his schtick (the onstage decapitation, the swords, the electrocution) and shoehorns the best moments from his long career into an impressive 50 minute set. His young bad are tighter than Alice’s trousers, and those trousers are sprayed on. You see a *lot* of Alice for a small amount of time hangin’ with Mr Cooper.

Alice in wonderland … Fans were happy to be hanging with Mr Cooper.
Source: Supplied

There’s a special energy watching people watching Crue for the last time. When frontman Vince Neil mentions this is the final tour, it’s greeted with boos. Grown, grizzled men are emotional by the end realising their favourite band are soon to be no more.

Cynics would suggest Crue’s offstage antics are more memorable than their songs, but at their loudest and finest with Dr Feelgood, Girls Girls Girls and Kickstart My Heart they offer a hard rock experience that is in danger of becoming a dying art now they’re closing for (show) business.

The Crue’s not-so-secret weapon has always been Tommy Lee (he’s done for drummers what Tiger Woods did for golfers) and his ‘Cruecifly’ on this tour is the roller-coaster-shaped elephant in the arena as soon as you walk in and take it in. You have to wait a while for it to get used, but it’s certainly worth it.

Tommy Lee’s Cruecifly in Melbourne

History has shown Lee likes to defy gravity behind his drum kit, and it’d be very hard to top playing drums while travelling above the heads of fans and never missing a beat.

Lee’s musical tastes may also be a little more broad than your average Crue fan — he’s toned down the dubstep soundtrack to his drum antics, but you don’t expect to hear Tommy Lee drumming along to INXS and Disclosure with Sam Smith during a Motley Crue concert.

Mick Mars, who seems to be more active than recent tours, serves up the kind of extended guitar solo you just don’t see anymore (some would say for good reason) while Nikki Sixx gets to prowl around with an actual flame thrower attached to his guitar for Shout at the Devil.

And let it be known, the Crue are making sure there’s no money left in the pyrotechnic and fire budget after this tour ends where it started, in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve.

Motley Crue play their final Rod Laver Show, like ever, tonight. They play Allphones Arena in Sydney on Saturday, Brisbane Entertainment Centre Tuesday, Adelaide Entertainment Centre May 21 and Perth Arena May 23.

Get there by 7.30pm to see Alice Cooper.