Motley Crue was in Louisville's beautiful Palace Theatre on November 11 for a reunion show in some sense. The last time the Crue played here, it was with a different singer, but original singer Vince Neil is back and you can definitely feel the longtime chemistry between the members of the band.
Opening the show with "Dr. Feelgood," from their 1989 release of the same title, Motley Crue took the stage with a hunger similar to that of the days when they first broke onto the metal scene in L. A. in the early eighties. One thing that the Crue has done - unlike some of their Eighties' cohorts - is that they have managed to survive the test of time. Although they may not get frequent radio airplay the their style is not always the "in" thing, they have been together as a band pretty much through thick and thin for going on twenty years now. That is something to be proud of.
Although Vince Neil's voice was suffering from road wear, he still did a good job of belting out both classic and newer Crue tunes. The band included fan favorites such as "Shout at the Devil," "Live Wire," "Looks That Kill," "Smokin in the Boy's Room," "Wild Side" and "Home Sweet Home." Also included were "Bitter Pill" and "Enslaved, from the new CD Greatest Hits.
Drummer Tommy Lee and bassist Nikki Sixx were in good form, but guitarist Mick Mars took the prize on this night, performing his solos on every song dead-on perfect. Mars is somewhat under-rated as a guitarist, but he shouldn't be!
Two especially awesomely done tunes done by the band on this night were "Primal Scream" from Decade of Decadence and "Ten Seconds to Love" from Shout at the Devil. Every member of the band was on it for these tunes.
Let's hope these guys keep giving us good time rock 'n 'roll metal for another "decade of decadence."
Long live the Crue!!