Hi there! I'm Baz Von Poley, and I just got finished watching Mötley Crüe at the Office Depot Center in Ft. Lauderdale. If you didn't already know, tonight was the kickoff of the US tour, and the Crüe fucking killed! If they played like shit, I'd be the first to tell you, but they didn't. Everything sounded fan-fucking-tastic.
Here's how it went down. I got there on time but had to wait in a huge line to pick up tickets. I really did see Iron Maiden's drummer Nicko McBrain -- he was standing right next to me as I was in the line at Will Call. I had to wait so long that I actually missed the beginning of Mötley's set. I think Nicko might have as well, but that's no one's fault. There had to be over 10,000 people entering the venue all at one time with even more lined up outside waiting to get in. I should've showed up at like 4 in the afternoon if I wanted to catch the very beginning of the show. So take note -- if you're picking up tickets at the venue, do yourself a favor and SHOW UP EXTRA FUCKING EARLY.
I have no idea what went on before the Crüe hit the stage. By the time I got to my seat, they were on their third song, which would suck, but my seat was in the 6th row so I really can't bitch about anything because I had an awesome view the rest of the night!
Here's some random shit that happened throughout the show:
The entire stage was set up to look like a circus tent. There was a 'big top' over the stage with red and white stripes, and it was all grimy and dirty looking. It gave a decadent carnival kind of vibe to the whole scene.
Mick played the whole show, but I didn't see him move at all. Almost like someone waiting to take your order. He could have been fastened to a pole for all I know! He remained motionless practically the whole time, except for his hands, which were dead-on. He sounded fantastic! I was really impressed with Mick pulling it off.
As motionless as Mick was, Nikki made up for it. He was all over the place, running back and forth across the stage. I was close enough to look up his nostrils, and he had that 'evil eye' look he does going on quite a bit. But it looked like he was having a blast.
Vince did good too. He looks like he's kept off the weight he lost in his "remaking," in fact, looks better than he did at their surprise reunion show late last year. He's a master emcee and he kept everything going. Except for a bit of audience participation, he sang all the words to the songs, and many he sang all the way through on his own! At one point Vince was wearing a Miami Dolphins jersey which had the name "Neil" on the back of it and the #69. He wore it for 2 songs. #69, incidentally, belongs to Dolphins player Keith Sims, who owns a bunch of Dunkin Donuts in southern Florida. Oh, but during "Primal Scream," Vince slipped and fell and looked like he hurt his finger.
Anyway, the only thing that disappointed me a bit, other than missing the beginning of the show, was Tommy's drum solo. Don't get me wrong -- he played great all night. You can say a lot about Tommy, but he's an insane drummer. But for his drum solo, Tommy was strapped on to a harness thing and flew in the air from one side of the stage to the other, almost looking like he was on a flying trapeze. Up in the rafters on both sides of the stage was a drum kit (yes, there were 3 sets of drums in the show), so Tommy would "fly" to one side, play some shit, and fly to the other to continue. But his solo was all kinds of techno sounding. Actually, now that I think about it, his solo sounded like something that Sheila E from Prince's band would have played back in the 80s. The whole time he was flying around, they were showing this Kaleidoscope-looking imagery on the big screens. Trippy, yes, but the techno drum sounds didn't quite fit. Oh well, I'm sure someone out there will tell me I'm a jackass for having an opinion.
Speaking of people flying in harnesses, throughout the show, there were half-naked hottie chicks flying around in the air! It was a sight to behold. These were bonafide playmate-style hotties in leather g-strings going back and forth above the stage while the band was playing. I spent more time watching them than I did watching the band! What can I say? I'm a guy, and I'd rather look at half-naked chicks than a bunch of guys in their 40s and 50s playing Crüe songs. Even if they were the Crüe!
During one of the intermissions, they played this really fucked-up movie thing with all kinds of disturbing video imagery. One part showed buzzards ripping flesh from some kind of dead thing. Human, animal, I really couldn't tell. That's when I went to go get a beer. Some chick cut in line in front of me and when I called her on it, she bought me a beer! That more than made up for it.
The only other thing that comes to mind that I should mention is the insane amount of pyro. There were flashpots, plumes of fire, and shit exploding all night. At the very end, it was almost like being in downtown Baghdad when the bombing began. I seriously saw burning bits of ember and it almost looked like shit was about to catch fire. And there was quite a bit of smoke at the very end too... including a lot of pot smoke! Nothing wrong with that, but when I close my eyes, I can still see impressions of the light from the explosions burned into my retinas. Crazy shit!
So that's my recap of the opening night of the Crüe tour in Ft. Lauderdale. Be sure to check it out. If you're a Crüe fan to begin with, you'll dig it. Much better than the last time they toured 6 years ago. (Yes, it's been that long!) And if you've never seen them before, this might be your only chance to see all the original members put on a show like this, so don't fuck around! Make your plans to go check it out when it comes near you.
Oh yeah, I made friends with a chick that somehow smuggled in a digital camera, and she said she'd send me tons of pics. I'm actually supposed to hook up with her for drinks at some dive called Grady's Bar & Grill, so that's where I'm headed. Hopefully I'll be sending in photos from tonight's show at some point tomorrow! Not too early though. I'm feeling a bit, I don't know... lucky. We'll see.
I'm out like the tens of thousands of people who are still trying to get out of the Office Depot Center parking lot.
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
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1 comment:
This is awesome. Where did you get it?
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