Motley Crue-The Final Tour (with Alice Cooper) 8.8.14

Post #380

(Concert date: August 8th, 2014)
Motley Crue were one of the best known metal bands of the 1980's to come out of LA and were a dominant force in the hair/glam metal scene for over a decade. They set some notorious standards for the decadent lifestyle clichés of heavy metal, rock and roll culture during this era. With this tour, they we giving all their fans from over the years a chance to see the original line-up one final time. To make the 'Farewell Tour' even more convincing, the band signed a cessation of touring contract! Whether that holds true or not, time will tell, but for this night I was treating it as my last opportunity to see the Crue in concert!

Their opening act was the shock-rock veteran, Alice Cooper! Alice opened the show in style as he delivered a great set of songs ranging from classics like 'No More Mr. Nice Guy', 'I'm 18', and 'Billion Dollar Babies' to some later-era selections like 'Dirty Diamonds' and 'Feed My Frankenstein'. The best was his closing number, 'School's out', where he seamlessly incorporated a verse from Pink Floyd's 'Another Brick in the Wall, Part II'. (this version of the song has a studio-recorded version on Alice's all-star collaboration with Johnny Depp: Hollywood Vampires!)

Then it was time for Motley Crue! Their set opened with the autobiographical 'Saints of Los Angeles', and from the start they were off and running. While I truly enjoyed everything they played, I did have a couple favorites that stood out above and beyond the rest of the show. ‘Saints of Los Angeles’ is an undeniably great song. Their early number ‘On With the Show’ was memorable and not necessarily expected. Then when they played a portion of Sirius’ arena rock staple ‘Rock n Roll part 2’ as an intro to ‘Smokin’ in the Boy’s Room’ I felt I had truly heard something special.

They finished off a great set, compiled of all their greatest hits, heavily focused on their late-80's heyday. Truly, when it comes to farewell tours, I don't think you can expect a deep set list to go beyond the major hits and fan-favorites. The only thing is I wish they had toured more consistently, but between break-ups and reunions, revolving doors of members, and health issues, they really didn't have a chance to be consistent. At least they gave the fans this farewell tour. For that I'll always be grateful.

Thank you to Vince, Nikki, Mick, and Tommy, for creating the music you did, performing it for us one last time, and best wishes for you all.

Setlist ALICE COOPER
-(The Underture)
-Hello, Hooray
-No More Mr. Nice Guy
-Under My Wheels
-I'm 18
-Billion Dollar Babies
-Poison
-Dirty Diamonds
-(Drum Solo)
-Welcome to My Nightmare
-Feed My Frankenstein
-Ballad of Dwight Fry
-I Love the Dead
-School's Out (w/ verse from Another Brick In The Wall-Pink Floyd)


Setlist MOTLEY CRUE
-Saints of Los Angeles
-Wild Side
-Primal Scream
-Same Ol' Situation
-Looks That Kill
-On With the Show
-Too Fast for Love
-Rock N' Roll Pt.2/Smokin' in the Boys Room
-Without You
-MF of the Year
-Anarchy in the UK
-Dr. Feelgood
-In the Begining/Shout at the Devil
-Don't Go Away Mad
-Drum Solo/Guitar Solo
-Live Wire
-Too Young to Fall in Love
-Girls Girls Girls
-Kickstart My Heart
--------
-Home Sweet Home

Motley Crue- Shout at the Devil

Post #359
[Poll Winner: Favorite Motley Crue Album from the 80's]

Motley Crue released their first album in 1981, but it was their second album, Shout At The Devil in 1983, that solidified their status among the developing Los Angeles "Glam Metal" scene, as well as establishing their trademark sound.

This album has stood the test of time with die-hard Crue fans for its level of grit, power, and consistency from track to track. Shout at the Devil yielded 4 singles and 2 music videos, which served to make the band a regular presence on both hard rock radio stations and MTV in the early 1980's. It wouldn't be until seven years later with 1990's Dr. Feelgood that the Crue had another album with more than 3 singles.

After Shout at the Devil, Motley Crue gradually pushed for a more marketable sound, and steadily included more and more ballads on each successive album. This made them accessible to a wider fan-base. This was all well and good for a 'hair metal' band seeking global success, and almost every band from this era did the same. But for new fans seeking to discover the darkest, grittiest, heaviest, and also one of the best albums Motley Crue ever recorded, you need look no further than Shout at the Devil.

Singles released from Shout at the Devil:
-Shout at the Devil
-Helter Skelter
-Looks that Kill
-Too Young to Fall In Love


HappyHeadbanger's Recommended Tracks:
-Bastard
-Knock 'Em Dead Kid
-Danger

DEADMANSWAKE-New Video of Motley Crue cover!

Post # 277
By design or by coincidence the Chicago-area female-fronted metal band DEADMANSWAKE released their first official music video, a cover of Motley Crue's classic 'Kickstart My Heart', mere days before the Crue themselves announced their upcoming farewell tour: All Bad Things Must Come to an End.

This song is featured on the new Motley Crue tribute album, Down at the Whiskey: A Millennium Tribute to Motley Crue's Greatest Hits 1981-2013. You can buy it through amazon.com

For now, enjoy this hilarious video by DEADMANSWAKE...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-3NRQ5h9VM&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D2-3NRQ5h9VM&app=desktop

Heavy Metal Madness-Second Round Summary: Part 1

Post #204
With the second round of Heavy Metal Madness, the choices got tougher, the votes got closer, and all-in-all the excitement multiplied as more bands were ultimately eliminated from this competition. As the polls closed, 8 more bands got one step closer to the championship of heavy metal.

Here's how the first half of the 'Sweet Sixteen' was decided...
In the Thrash/Classic Metal bracket:
METALLICA beat ANTHRAX 39-7
and IRON MAIDEN beat PANTERA 30-15
This sets up next month's match between Maiden and Metallica, one that I think might just determine the eventual champion, but the only way to know for sure is to keep voting...

In the Alternative/Grunge bracket:
FOO FIGHTERS beat RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE 23-18
and SOUNDGARDEN upset PEARL JAM 23-20
...Two very tight matches right up to the end!

In the Classic Rock bracket:
BLACK SABBATH dominated RUSH 35-9
and KISS (#5 seed) beat MOTLEY CRUE (#4 seed) 30-12, a close match in seeding, but an upset nonetheless.

And finally, in the Hardcore/ Death Metal bracket:
DISTURBED beat NIGHTWISH 26-12
and AVENGED SEVENFOLD beat KILLSWITCH ENGAGE 25-13


The second half of this round is underway now! Keep the votes coming, and check back later to see who has advanced.
The first half of the Sweet Sixteen round begins on July 20th!

My suggested songs for those bands eliminated this past month:
Anthrax-I'm Alive
Pantera-Mouth For War
Rage Against The Machine-Bulls on Parade
Pearl Jam-Spin the Black Circle
Rush-Working Man
Motley Crue-Dr. Feelgood
Nightwish-Nemo
Killswitch Engage-The End Of Heartache

Happy Headbanging...

Heavy Metal Madness-First Round Summary (Part 2)

Post #191
As February passed, and Winter gave way to an early spring, voting here at www.happyheadbanger.com continued for the bands in Heavy Metal Madness 2012... We saw more decisive victories, upsets and close contests in the second month of voting. Many favorites are one step closer to the coveted title of 'Best Heavy Metal Band' for this blog. Here's a break-down of the voting results for Round 1, Part 2!

Black Sabbath dominated The Who 36-10
Rush upset Aerosmith 30-17
Kiss beat Alice Cooper 29-16
Motley Crue bested Def Leppard 34-11
Nightwish had the biggest upset this month, knocking off Slipknot 29-23
Disturbed beat DragonForce 28-17
Killswitch Engage narrowly escaped Children of Bodom 25-18
and Avenged Sevenfold topped Trivium by the comfortable margin of 32-11...


Now for my recommended tracks for those bands that are now eliminated from this contest:
The Who-'Won't Get Fooled Again'
Aerosmith-'No Surprise'
Alice Cooper-'Poison'
Def Leppard-'Armageddon It'
Slipknot-'Snuff'
DragonForce-'Through the Fire and Flames'
Children of Bodom-'Needle 24/7'
Trivium-'A Gunshot to the Head of Trepidation'

Keep checking in at this blog, and voting for your favorite bands! Tell your friends and fellow metal-heads to check out this competition too! The more votes we get, the more validity is attributed to the results!

Motley Crue

Post #93 Poll Winner: Favorite Hair-Metal band.
As the 70's turned over to the 80's, the heavy metal scene was on the brink of a new era. In Los Angeles the scene that was about to hit big was glam-metal or hair-metal. It was to be an era of heavy metal where the songs were focused less on speed and more on catchy melodies and attitude. One of the first bands that developed a following and went on to be one of the most popular LA bands for the 80's was Motley Crue.

Motley Crue lived the excessive lives of rock-stars to the fullest, and the lyrics of their music often reflected that lifestyle. They prided themselves on their reckless nature. For several years they attracted like-minded fans, but also wrote many catchy tunes. Their success followed the trend of their music which improved in quality with each album, culminating when Dr. Feelgood, their 5th album, reached #1 on the US Billboard charts.

Shortly after, they released their first 'Best Of' compilation, Decade of Decadence, before original vocalist Vince Neil left the band for a solo career. It would be many, many years before the band would see success like this again. But this is the era for which they are still best remembered.

For the best of Motley Crue from the 80's check out these tunes:
-Live Wire
-Shout At The Devil
-Looks That Kill
-Wild Side
-Dr. Feelgood
-Kickstart My Heart
-Rock N' Roll Junkie
-Primal Scream

Motley Crue: Saints of Los Angeles

Post #51
There seem to be many 80's heavy metal bands that are making a comeback in the last few years. Sometimes these efforts aren't all they're anticipated to be, but with Saints of Los Angeles, Motley Crue prove that some reunions are worth the effort. This album is a pleasant surprise for a previously dormant Crue-fan like myself.

The biggest positive about this album is of course the fact that it features the original line-up of the band: Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, and Tommy Lee. What's more is the fact that they have recaptured their classic sound & style in their music. The songs on this album sound like they'd fit right in along with classics like "Girls, Girls, Girls", "Kickstart My Heart", or "Shout at the Devil". Enough time has passed for the Crue, that rather than being criticized for reclaiming their 'old-school' sound they're being praised for it- and deservedly so.


The themes and subject material for this album also return to familiar territory. The fast-paced & reckless life-style of rock'n'rollers indulging in their excess & their fame are depicted in a semi-biographical context. As Nikki Sixx said upon the album's release, the band tried to write an album "loosely based on The Dirt", the band's juicy, detailed biography. The album plays like an 80's Glam-band's roller-coaster career.


For my picks from this great, return-to-form album from Motley Crue, try listening to:
-Face Down in the Dirt
-Saints of Los Angeles
-Animal in Me (For not having as many ballads as some of the late 80's Crue albums, this is probably the closest to a ballad you'll find on this album.)
-Just Another Psycho (This one really got stuck in my head while I had this CD checked out from my library!)

Check out the band's website: http://www.motley.com/