Metal Sludge The Power and the Glory
MÖTLEY CRÜE REUNION TOUR KICKOFF! 
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Last updated 2/17/2005 11:58:06 PM ET
Hi there! I’m Baz Von Poley, and I just got finished watching Mötley Crüe at the Office Depot Center in Ft. Lauderdale. If you didn’t already know, tonight was the kickoff of the US tour, and the Crüe fucking killed! If they played like shit, I’d be the first to tell you, but they didn’t. Everything sounded fan-fucking-tastic.
I’m at a real computer now and the live updates I sent in from the arena are laughable. It was like playing Chinese Telephone with Metal Sludge’s senior editor Jani Bon Neil all night! It was impossible to type on that little BlackBerry thing, and when I tried to phone in a report, neither one of us could hear each other. So you can basically disregard my live updates below unless you’re really cranked up about reading a clusterfuck of misinformation.
Here’s how it went down. I got there on time but had to wait in a huge line to pick up tickets. I really did see Iron Maiden’s drummer Nicko McBrain — he was standing right next to me as I was in the line at Will Call. I had to wait so long that I actually missed the beginning of Mötley’s set. I think Nicko might have as well, but that’s no one’s fault. There had to be over 10,000 people entering the venue all at one time with even more lined up outside waiting to get in. I should’ve showed up at like 4 in the afternoon if I wanted to catch the very beginning of the show. So take note — if you’re picking up tickets at the venue, do yourself a favor and SHOW UP EXTRA FUCKING EARLY.
I have no idea what went on before the Crüe hit the stage. By the time I got to my seat, they were on their third song, which would suck, but my seat was in the 6th row so I really can’t bitch about anything because I had an awesome view the rest of the night!
Here’s some random shit that happened throughout the show:
The entire stage was set up to look like a circus tent. There was a ‘big top’ over the stage with red and white stripes, and it was all grimy and dirty looking. It gave a decadent carnival kind of vibe to the whole scene.
They played over 2 hours, with 2 short intermissions during the show, and one encore at the end. They played a lot of old school stuff and the hits you’d expect to hear: Live Wire, Red Hot, Looks That Kill, Helter Skelter, On With The Show, Afraid, Same Ol Situation, Glitter, Without You, Home Sweet Home, Ten Seconds To Love, Too Young To Fall In Love, Don’t Go Away Mad, Sick Love Song, Wildside, Girls Girls Girls, Kick Start My Heart… a few others I’m missing. I talked to a chick that was writing down the setlist song by song and in order and she said she’d e-mail it to me, so we’ll post it when we get it. They played their new songs "If I Die Tomorrow" and their cover of "Anarchy in the UK" (the last song of the night) from the Red White & Crue CD. Someone told me they opened with "Shout at the Devil," and I guess I missed "Too Fast For Love" as well. 
Mick played the whole show, but I didn’t see him move at all. Almost like someone waiting to take your order. He could have been fastened to a pole for all I know! He remained motionless practically the whole time, except for his hands, which were dead-on. He sounded fantastic! I was really impressed with Mick pulling it off.
As motionless as Mick was, Nikki made up for it. He was all over the place, running back and forth across the stage. I was close enough to look up his nostrils, and he had that ‘evil eye’ look he does going on quite a bit. But it looked like he was having a blast.
Vince did good too. He looks like he’s kept off the weight he lost in his "remaking," in fact, looks better than he did at their surprise reunion show late last year. He’s a master emcee and he kept everything going. Except for a bit of audience participation, he sang all the words to the songs, and many he sang all the way through on his own! At one point Vince was wearing a Miami Dolphins jersey which had the name "Neil" on the back of it and the #69. He wore it for 2 songs. #69, incidentally, belongs to Dolphins player Keith Sims, who owns a bunch of Dunkin Donuts in southern Florida. Oh, but during "Primal Scream," Vince slipped and fell and looked like he hurt his finger.
Anyway, the only thing that disappointed me a bit, other than missing the beginning of the show, was Tommy’s drum solo. Don’t get me wrong — he played great all night. You can say a lot about Tommy, but he’s an insane drummer. But for his drum solo, Tommy was strapped on to a harness thing and flew in the air from one side of the stage to the other, almost looking like he was on a flying trapeze. Up in the rafters on both sides of the stage was a drum kit (yes, there were 3 sets of drums in the show), so Tommy would "fly" to one side, play some shit, and fly to the other to continue. But his solo was all kinds of techno sounding. Actually, now that I think about it, his solo sounded like something that Sheila E from Prince’s band would have played back in the 80s. The whole time he was flying around, they were showing this Kaleidoscope-looking imagery on the big screens. Trippy, yes, but the techno drum sounds didn’t quite fit. Oh well, I’m sure someone out there will tell me I’m a jackass for having an opinion.
Speaking of people flying in harnesses, throughout the show, there were half-naked hottie chicks flying around in the air! It was a sight to behold. These were bonafide playmate-style hotties in leather g-strings going back and forth above the stage while the band was playing. I spent more time watching them than I did watching the band! What can I say? I’m a guy, and I’d rather look at half-naked chicks than a bunch of guys in their 40s and 50s playing Crüe songs. Even if they were the Crüe!
During one of the intermissions, they played this really fucked-up movie thing with all kinds of disturbing video imagery. One part showed buzzards ripping flesh from some kind of dead thing. Human, animal, I really couldn’t tell. That’s when I went to go get a beer. Some chick cut in line in front of me and when I called her on it, she bought me a beer! That more than made up for it.
The only other thing that comes to mind that I should mention is the insane amount of pyro. There were flashpots, plumes of fire, and shit exploding all night. At the very end, it was almost like being in downtown Baghdad when the bombing began. I seriously saw burning bits of ember and it almost looked like shit was about to catch fire. And there was quite a bit of smoke at the very end too… including a lot of pot smoke! Nothing wrong with that, but when I close my eyes, I can still see impressions of the light from the explosions burned into my retinas. Crazy shit!
So that’s my recap of the opening night of the Crüe tour in Ft. Lauderdale. Be sure to check it out. If you’re a Crüe fan to begin with, you’ll dig it. Much better than the last time they toured 6 years ago. (Yes, it’s been that long!) And if you’ve never seen them before, this might be your only chance to see all the original members put on a show like this, so don’t fuck around! Make your plans to go check it out when it comes near you.
Oh yeah, I made friends with a chick that somehow smuggled in a digital camera, and she said she’d send me tons of pics. I’m actually supposed to hook up with her for drinks at some dive called Grady’s Bar & Grill, so that’s where I’m headed. Hopefully I’ll be sending in photos from tonight’s show at some point tomorrow! Not too early though. I’m feeling a bit, I don’t know… lucky. We’ll see.
I’m out like the tens of thousands of people who are still trying to get out of the Office Depot Center parking lot,
Baz Von Poley
If you care, here are Baz’s earlier updates sent live from the 2/17/05 show:
Holy fuck! Right now, at this moment, I’m watching the Crüe!
Oh yeah, I’m Baz Von Poley, reporting to you LIVE from the Office Depot Center in Ft. Lauderdale. Technically, it’s Sunrise, Florida, but who cares about all that bullshit, ’cause the Crüe is back and ON STAGE NOW!
Unless you’ve been living in a cave the last few months, you know that Mötley Crüe has reunited and their US tour kicked off tonight right here in Ft. Lauderdale. Well, they played the other night in Puerto Rico, but that was just a warm-up gig. Tonight’s the real deal!
So as the evening ensues, I’ll be sending in my updates and they’ll be posted here in real-time at Metal Sludge. What will the setlist consist of? What’s this whole ‘carnival theme’ about? Will Tommy’s drumkit take off and fly around the arena? Will Mick be able to stand up the whole time? These questions and more will all be answered within the next few hours. So keep checking back because you’ll read it here first! Live updates below:
2/17/2005 10:23:06 PM ET
TONS of fucking pyro! And girls! This rocks. Sorry again, hard to type. Will have full report after the show, but will keep sending updates.
2/17/2005 9:54:47 PM ET
They’re 3 songs into the set now! Just starting into Dr. Feelgood. Fucking killer. They’re playing all old school Crue. Setlist will come after the show, for now I’m gonna ROCK OUT! More shortly!
(Editor’s note: I’m doing the best I can here with what Baz e-mails me from the scene. The above note actually came through like this: "THY3 SGNS IN SET.NOW STRT DRFELLGOOOD FFUCK KILER PLYAING OLDSCHOOL CRUE/WiLLESNED SETLISTA FTER SHOW GNNE ROCK OUT NW MORE SHRTLEY BYE!" Baz will call after the show and fill in all the gaps, so keep checking back… – Jani Bon Neil)
2/17/2005 9:24:07 PM ET
Damn did I fuck up! The Crue did NOT hit the stage as indicated in my last update. The lights went down and I thought they were gonna play, but wrong I was.
They showed a movie, it lasted about 15 minutes or so and it was FUCKING VIOLENT! I’ll detail more in my recap later. They also had video cameras panning into the crowd and I saw myself on the giant screen! Everyone yelling and screaming and there’s me looking down and trying to type on a BlackBerry thing in the dark. Figures.
There was a Web site address that flashed across the screen at the end of the flick, I think it was www.disastermovie.com but I’ll have to check that out later to be sure too.
I’m glad Jani Bon Neil is on hand to fix my typos and make sense of these updates. Very fucking hard to type on a tiny keypad in a crowded arena.
OK NOW the Crue is hitting the stage! More soon!
Updated 2/17/2005 8:47:02 PM ET
Shit! The Crue just hit the stage and it’s FUCKING LOUD! just like it should be. More in a few… hard to type……
Updated 2/17/2005 8:10:20 PM ET
Holy hell! I can’t believe the Crüe is finally doing this. Anyhow, I’m at the venue. I got here about 6:30 and had to wait in a long-ass line to pick up my tickets. Standing right next to me the whole time was Nicko McBrain from Iron Maiden! Even Nicko had to wait in the line at Will Call.
They wouldn’t let anyone bring cameras in, but nobody even balked at my nifty BlackBerry Wireless device thing that Sludge set me up with to cover this event. So I’ll be sending in quick little recaps throughout the night and will let everyone know what’s going on as it happens! How cool is that? I rule.
Anyhow, I just got my seats and they’re pretty close to the stage, so I couldn’t be happier about that. I heard there’s over 10,000 people still standing outside. This place is fucking huge! It’s several stories high and I guess the Florida Panthers hockey team plays here. Hockey in Florida? Go figure.
So that’s it for now. More updates to come shortly!
Updates will continue as the night ensues! Keep checking back! Fuckin’ A!
Baz Von Poley
