Photos By Laura Fox (LLFoxphotos); Review by Laura Fox and Dave Fox
Motley Crue claims to be “The World’s Most Notorious Rock Band,” and I don’t think anyone has ever challenged them on that. Their massive drug and alcohol abuse, shocking behavior, and complete debauchery are portrayed (accurately, according to the band) in the 2019 Netflix documentary, “The Dirt.” But that stuff happened over 30 years ago. How do they look and sound now, you might wonder? Pretty damn good is the answer.
The band, which consists of Vince Neil on lead vocals, Mick Mars on guitar, Nikki Sixx on bass and Tommy Lee on drums, played a super-high energy 15-song set at Lucas Oil Stadium on August 16, 2022, in Indianapolis. They were the last act of a five-band show with co-headliners Def Leppard on The Stadium Tour in North America.
Striding onstage to “Wild Side,” the band played hard and fast through all their heavy hits. About halfway through the set, they did a mashup of covers, introduced by Sixx as “Motley Crue karaoke,” then slowed it way down for “Home Sweet Home.” After a quick break, they came back to finish the set with a bang, ending with my personal favorite, “Kickstart My Heart.”
Although I had heard that Neil’s vocals were rough at previous performances, I thought they were fine. He struggled a little on the very high notes, but most people probably didn’t even notice. Mars’ fingers were lightning fast on the guitar, and Sixx was as much of a badass as ever. Lee started out strong but looked to be in pain by the end of the set, probably because he’s been touring and playing “against doctor’s advice” since breaking his ribs in February. He seemed just fine, however, when he came out from behind the drums and asked to “see some “ti**ies.”
Crue’s set was truly impressive, with scary, futuristic-looking structures that created an apocalyptic feel. The graphics were great, too. I would have given the production score an A+, but the live-feed cameras following everyone around were kind of distracting. And although Dave enjoyed the Nasty Habits dancers/singers, the mom in me wanted to dress them in warmer clothes.
Here's our report card for Motley Crue:
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