By Andrew Bansal
January 28th 2014, Hollywood CA: After 33 years of rock n’ roll debauchery, Los Angeles hard rock veterans Mötley Crüe announced their retirement and final tour at a press conference in their hometown on Tuesday January 28th. Spanning more than 75 million album sales, the Crüe has been one of America’s most popular rock bands over these past three decades with seminal albums such as ‘Too Fast For Love’, ‘Shout At The Devil’, ‘Theater Of Pain’ and ‘Dr. Feelgood’ and bombastic live performances. Now, they’ve finally decided it’s time to call it quits and pass on the baton to the next generation, but not before a final swan song.
The band started off the farewell run of shows with an appearance on the late night television show ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ and played a free mini-concert for their LA fans. Out of the five songs they played, two were recorded for broadcast and the rest were just for the attendees’ eyes and ears only. The fanfare surrounding this show was quite evident from the large number of people gathered in line several hours before the band hit the stage here. At around 6 PM, the gates were opened and the people waiting in the queue were smoothly escorted inside the outdoor parking lot behind the El Capitan Theater in the heart of Hollywood. While they waited, the ongoing studio recording of Jimmy Kimmel Live was being shown on a giant screen, and this episode featured interviews with the great Morgan Freeman and the talented actress Anna Faris. After the second interview, the show went into a commercial break and all was in readiness for the Crüe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhHDvFfRf8E
Jimmy Kimmel introduced the band onto the stage and they began the show with ‘Kickstart My Heart’, going into ‘Primal Scream and ‘Wild Side’ and ending with ‘Shout At The Devil’ and ‘Live Wire’. Fans were having a great time as they rejoiced in the music and showmanship of the four members on stage. With an impressive stage production consisting of top-notch lighting, screens and fancy microphone stands, the Crüe certainly delivered in terms of the visual aspect, and for the most part, their musicianship itself met the expectations of fans and critics alike.
Nikki Sixx on bass was his usual dynamic self, Mick Mars on guitar laid down the riffs and solos solidly, and Tommy Lee brought forth an energetic exhibition on drums, but perhaps the only weak link in this otherwise excellent Mötley Crüe performance was singer Vince Neil. In all honesty, he sounded much better than the last time Metal Assault witnessed a Mötley Crüe live show at Ozzfest in 2010, and wasn’t as lackluster as expected, but it has to be said, with no disrespect whatsoever, that he sounded out of breath and looked out of shape, and pointed the microphone towards the audience for the chorus parts much too often. Granted that a band like Mötley Crüe is more about the whole package rather than individual performances, the Crüe could certainly benefit from a physically fitter and vocally stronger Vince Neil for their farewell tour to be remembered fondly, and this performance should serve as a lesson in that regard.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg4ajfWaHBU
Talking of the farewell tour, Mötley Crüe have announced an extensive run of dates in North America with special guest Alice Cooper, the first leg kicking off in July and going through August and the second leg spanning the months of October and November. On the first leg, the two groups will play at the Hollywood Bowl on Monday July 21st and Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre in Irvine on Tuesday July 22nd. Besides North America, this farewell tour is expected to visit the rest of the world as well, and the dates for those territories will be announced at some point.
Overall, this Mötley Crüe performance at Jimmy Kimmel Live left the fans largely satisfied and the band’s farewell tour is going to be a much anticipated event in every town it visits.
Set List:
01. Kickstart My Heart
02. Primal Scream
03. Wild Side
04. Shout At The Devil
05. Live Wire
Visit Mötley Crüe on the web:
Motley.com
facebook.com/MotleyCrue
twitter.com/MotleyCrue
Mötley Crüe & Alice Cooper ‘The Final Tour’ Dates:
JULY
2 Grand Rapids, Mich., Van Andel Arena
4 Milwaukee, Summerfest
5 Noblesville, Ind., Klipsch Music Center
6 Cincinnati, Riverbend Music Center
8 Columbus, Ohio, Schottenstein Center
9 Maryland Heights, Mo., Verizon Wireless Amphitheater
11 Des Moines, Wells Fargo Arena
12 Wichita, INTRUST Bank Arena
13 Tulsa, BOK Center
15 Cedar Park, Texas, Cedar Park Center
16 Dallas, Gexa Energy Pavilion
18 Albuquerque, Isleta Amphitheater
19 Phoenix, Ak-Chin Pavilion
21 Los Angeles, Hollywood Bowl
22 Irvine, Calif., Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
23 Mountain View, Calif., Shoreline Amphitheatre
25 Reno, Reno Events Center
26 Ridgefield, Wash., Sleep County Amphitheater
27 Auburn, Wash., White River Amphitheatre
29 Wheatland, Calif., Sleep Train Amphitheatre
30 Chula Vista, Calif., Sleep Train Amphitheatre
AUGUST
1 Salt Lake City, USANA Amphitheatre
2 Denver, Pepsi Center
3 Kansas City, Mo., Sprint Center
5 Sturgis, S.D., Sturgis Buffalo Chip
6 Sioux City, Iowa, Tyson Events Center
8 Tinley Park, Ill., First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
9 Clarkston, Mich., DTE Energy Music Theatre
10 Toronto, Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
12 Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Blossom Music Center
13 Burgettstown, Pa., First Niagara Pavilion
15 Pelham, Ala., Oak Mountain Amphitheatre
16 Atlanta, Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood
17 Tampa, MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
19 Charlotte, PNC Music Pavilion
20 Virginia Beach, Farm Bureau Live at Virginia Beach
22 Bristow, Va., Jiffy Lube Live
23 Camden, N.J., Susquehanna Bank Center
24 Mansfield, Mass., Comcast Center
26 Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Saratoga Performing Arts Center
27 Allentown, Pa., Great Allentown Fair
29 Wantagh, N.Y., Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
30 Holmdel, N.J., PNC Bank Arts Center
31 Darien Center, N.Y., Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
OCTOBER
10 Oklahoma City, Chesapeake Energy Arena
11 The Woodlands, Texas, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
12 Bossier City, La., CenturyLink Center
14 Louisville, KFC Yum! Center
15 Nashville, Bridgestone Arena
17 Hollywood, Fla., Seminole Hard Rock
19 Jacksonville, Veterans Memorial Arena
21 Greenville, S.C. Bon Secours Wellness Arena
22 Greensboro, N.C., Greensboro Coliseum
25 Atlantic City, Borgata Events Center
26 Montville, Conn., Mohegan Sun Arena
29 Syracuse, N.Y., The OnCenter
NOVEMBER
5 Biloxi, Miss., Mississippi Coast Coliseum
6 Southaven, Miss., Landers Center
9 Moline, Ill., iWireless Center
11 Green Bay, Resch Center
12 Madison, Wis., Alliant Energy Center
13 Omaha, CenturyLink Center
15 St. Paul, Xcel Energy Center
16 Fargo, FargoDome
18 Edmonton, Alberta, Rexall Place
19 Calgary, Alberta, Scotiabank Saddledome
21 Vancouver, British Columbia, Rogers Arena