Bush Awes The Sunset Strip; Motley Crue Reminds Us Why Glam Is Dead

Rating:

By Tyler Crooks, August 20th 2011, The Sunset Strip, Hollywood CA: I arrived at the Sunset Strip Music Festival with high hopes and a hint of giddy anticipation. After check in, I wandered around the festival for a short while before meeting up with some friends at the Key Club to watch Love And A .38. Although I caught the last bit of their set, they were pretty good, and are definitely worth checking out. After hanging out for a bit, I headed off to the dreaded Whisky-A-Go-Go to see DC4.

As expected, their set was phenomenal, mostly playing tracks off their debut album "Explode". Jeff Duncan and his crew really brought the fire to the Whisky, giving their set 110% of their energy. They kicked the set off with the title track from their new album Electric Ministry and the crowd went nuts. Although they only played a micro-set of 5 songs, they really set the tone for the rest of the day. If you've never heard DC4, do check them out, you'll be glad you did!

Up next on the list was Bush. After about 20 minutes of waiting in the hot sun, they finally hit the stage, opening the show with their hit song "Machine-head". Gavin Rosdale was in full form as the band tore into the song. What I found to be really inspiring was the fact that Bush has been around since the early 90s and they're still as good as they were when their first album came out. Gavin's voice still sounds as amazing as it does on record, and their sound musically is tight and pristine. Whoever their sound guy was, he deserves a medal for his pristine mixing. The band went through their catalog of hits, as well as a few of their more obscure tracks. The highlight of their set was the performance of their most famous song, Glycerine. Gavin Rosdale performed about 80% of the song with just his guitar, and the band came out to finish the song in an explosive fashion. Their interaction with the crowd was fantastic, as Mr. Rosdale left the stage multiple times to go out into the divider between the crowd to closely interact with his fans; a true showman.

To kill time before Motley Crue's performance, I went off to the second stage to see Public Enemy. Why was a metal reviewer watching a rap group? Because they fucking rock! There's really not much I can say about their performance. It was incredible; tons of energy pouring out of all the performers, Flavor Flav's hilarious stage antics, and a special appearance by the one and only Scott Ian for "Bring the Noise". It was a trip, to say the least!

Now it was time for Motley Crue. Truth be told, I was never a Motley Crue fan. The only album by them I've ever cared for was Dr. Feelgood, and that was mediocre at best. I was hoping that their live performance would change my opinion. It did. But not like I expected.

After waiting for about 35 minutes, the band started with an unexpected and startling pyro blast, and opened the show with Wild Side. From the get-go I knew this was going to be a rehashing of every hit Motley Crue has ever had, and well...I was pretty much right.

They went through their standards; Saints of Los Angeles, Livewire, Shout at the Devil, etc.. I couldn't, for the life of me, get past the fact that Vince Neil is an absolutely terrible vocalist. I'm not trying to rag on the guy, but his voice is so shrill these days that it sounds like a 12 year old girl is screeching into the microphone. Of course, they did play some pretty good tunes where Vince's voice was listenable. Home Sweet Home was pretty good, and Dr. Feelgood was right on the money.

The one thing that really irked me about the show was how lazy the performance seemed. 7 songs in, they decided to let Tommy Lee do his horribly contrived drum solo on his ridiculous drum "roller coaster". If you've never seen it, his drum riser is this big huge steel loop which he rolls around on, as if it were a roller coaster. Honestly, I think Joey Jordison's setup in the Disasterpieces performance was more fun to watch. There was absolutely nothing entertaining about watching this, and his "solo" was comprised of simple beats and fills. Sorry, Tommy, you're a great drummer, but come on. Oh, and they brought Deadmau5 up onstage to ride with Tommy on his drum roller coaster. For what reason, I'll never know...

After the drum solo, Mick Mars came out to do his guitar solo. It was pretty good, although his tone seemed to be lacking something that I can't quite put my finger on. It sounded a bit weak, but overall, was pretty good. They did a couple more songs after the solos. Dr.Feelgood, Girls, Girls, Girls, and Smokin' in the Boys Room; not too bad, but they could have definitely picked some better songs.

Overall, Motley Crue's performance was pretty lackluster and rather boring, to be honest. I will say, however, that they give the fans exactly what they want, and you have to respect that they put their fans first.

You can find full set lists below.

(And before you decide to send me hate mail, I'm not bashing the Crue. They were gods back in the day, but even gods have to step down. They're simply not the same band they used to be, and I have to be honest.)

Bush:
Rating: 10/10

Machine Head
All My Life
Little Things
The Chemicals Between Us
Afterlife
Everything Zen
The Sound of Winter
Glycerine
Come Together (Beatles Cover)
Comedown

DC4:
Rating: 10/10

Electric Ministry
Rock God
XXX
Explode
Candy Caine

Motley Crue:
Rating: 4/10

Wild Side
Saints of Los Angeles
Live Wire
Shout at the Devil
Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.)
Home Sweet Home
Primal Scream
Drum Solo
Guitar Solo
Dr. Feelgood
Girls, Girls, Girls
Smokin in the Boys Room

Encore:
Kickstart My Heart

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