Live Review: Mötley Crüe

                                                       Photo credit: Dave Youdell

27 September 2011

by Poppy Reid

Friday September 23
Sydney Entertainment Centre

It may have been announced as a mini-tour, taking in just three Australian dates, but Mötley Crüe’s Sydney show was bigger than all the glam-rock vets' hair put together.

Returning with the original lineup, vocalist Vince Neil, guitarist Mick Mars, bassist Nikki Sixx and stickman Tommy Lee wasted no time reminding the black sea before them exactly why they’re still touring after thirty years and why it was worth it for most 40-something nostalgic parents to lock in a babysitter and take a hard, fast roll down memory lane.

From the elaborate stage set, complete with suspended, swinging microphones, three massive LED screens, Lee’s circular edifice-like structure and six fire and smoke canons at the front of the stage, it was any wonder bodies began spilling over the barricade before the band had even finished opening track Wildside.

A giant ball of orange ignited the entire stage during Too Fast For Love before a silver spandex and denim-clad Neil pretended to control the preceding explosions with his hand theatrics, and Sixx chucked his hanging mic into the crowd, letting it swing back and almost hit him.

“Holy shit it's been a long time,” said Neil, “and we're fucking back man.” He then reminded himself that some of us weren’t even born when they started out. (Looking around the packed Entertainment Centre, I begged to differ).

A glittery grand piano was brought onstage for Home Sweet Home, Lee’s first solo performance for the night. Dripping in sweat and eyeliner, the rocker greeted us with “Yes all the beautiful people in Sydney, What the fuck is cracking?” Mars then joined him on guitar while Sixx and Neil stood awkwardly over the piano. Wrapping an Australian flag from a crowd member around his shoulders, Neil had us like patriotic putty in his hands. “Man we gotta come out here way more often than every couple years,” he said.

Although the set list was entirely fan-picked, it’s highly doubtful the crowd asked Mötley Crüe to mash Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) with a cover of Cee-Lo Green’s Fuck You, but judging by the flying black underwear aimed for the stage, the mix was monumental.

When the band exited and the stage went black, it meant only one thing: Tommy Lee was about to do something dangerous. The drummer did not disappoint as he seared into his only Australian 360° solo for the tour; sliding his whole kit up and down the circle frame, Lee got halfway before screaming, “Here we go motherfuckers!” Throwing his stick high in the air while his entire kit sat at 180°, the frame shook as he pounded the skins to electro beats. “You know I’ve got an extra seat up here.” The screams of middle-aged women incited one man to cover his ears; the same guy looked on enviously as a security guard lead one lucky fan to her seat next to Lee. The pair hung upside down and whizzed in full circles while Red Hot Chili Pepper’s Rollercoaster Of Love blasted our eardrums.

:: View all the live pics from the night here.

Before final tracks Looks That Kill and Live Wire, Sixx took the time to introduce each band member and make us boo Brisbane and Melbourne - unnecessary counterparts to a Mötley Crüe concert - but it was pleasant to see most of their traditions had remained in tact.

When the anarchists returned to the stage in grey boiler suits, we knew we were in for one hell of an encore. Kickstart My Heart was a blur of lights, constant fireworks, Neil’s high-pitched screams and instrumentals tighter than his silver pants; this is one band who’s unabashed ‘80s sentimentality will never get old.