Review: Motley Crue, Poison

Vince Neil of Motley Crue. Photos by Michael Ransdell/The Star

Defiantly dumb yet brilliantly entertaining, Tuesday's glam metal concert at Sprint Center was a celebration of sleaze and moral vacuousness.   Motley Crue and Poison, two cartoonish bands with roots in the '80s, created a decadent spectacle.  The New York Dolls, an influential band indirectly responsible for the evening's trashy aesthetic, served as the opening act.  

An irony-free homage to old-fashioned arena rock concerts, the event emphasized elements that have fallen out of favor in recent years.  Big hair, drum solos, catwalks, pyrotechnics and body-rattling volume thrilled a nostalgic audience of approximately 8,000. 

In spite of its thirty-year career, Motley Crue doesn't have enough solid material to effectively round out a ninety-minute set.  It didn't matter.  Even when the music was lacking during the quartet's ninety-minute performance, a constant barrage of special effects maintained interest.  And during a handful of memorable songs- most notably "Shout at the Devil," "Looks That Kill" and "Home Sweet Home"- the sensory overload was genuinely astounding.  

Motley Crue's set resembled a post-apocalyptic gentlemen's club that featured two athletic female dancers and vocalists.  Their frequently lascivious routines were upstaged by an even more impressive sight.  Drummer Tommy Lee was mounted on a circular track that allowed him to perform upside down.  The display was as impressive as it was ridiculous.

Bret Michaels

Just as Lee's non-musical endeavors have made him a subject of tabloid fodder, Poison's Bret Michaels has achieved a similar sort of celebrity status.  A reality show icon, Michaels seems to have completely overcome the severe health problems that resulted in a recent hospitalization.  The relentless energy and contagious good cheer he displayed in his saccharine metal band's 50-minute set delighted the audience. 

While Michaels and his band mates are barely serviceable musicians, they're outstanding showman.  Michaels even referred to a minor miscue in the introduction to the power ballad smash "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" as "a Spinal Tap moment," a refreshing indication that he's willing to laugh at himself.  

David Johansen

David Johansen and Sylvain Sylvain, the two surviving original members of the New York Dolls, also smiled through much of their forty-minute set.  Few in the early-arriving audience returned the gesture.  With the addition of seasoned musicians including guitarist Earl Slick, songs from the band's 1973 debut album like "Trash" sounded surprisingly polished.  Hearing the New York Dolls cement their legacy as punk innovators, however, didn't appeal to the baffled audience.

This unfortunate miscue aside, the concert, as the title of a Poison hit succinctly suggests, was "Nothin' but a Good Time."

| Bill Brownlee, Special to The Star

Comments

[Bob]

It appears the reviewer does not think they deserve a professional review. No set list? nothing but cliches?

Oh well I suppose that should be expected from backtomellowville.com, more geared towards symphonies than rock shows.

Along with the cliches, insults and barbs the least he could have done was post a set list so readers can see for themselves that the Crue has more enough solid material to effectively round out a ninety-minute set.

Wild Side
Saints of Los Angeles
Live Wire
Shout At The Devil
Same Ol’ Situation
Primal Scream
Home Sweet Home
Don't Go Away Mad
Looks That Kill
DrFeelgood
Too Young To Fall In Love
Girls, Girls, Girls
Smokin’ In The Boys Room
Kickstart My Heart

A great time was had by all, except it seems the reviewer, oh well... so it goes.

[Stephanie G.]

The concert was much better than this review.

[Green]

Did Tommy Lee toss his sticks intot he crowd, he usually does, would love to have one of those!

[cmoore]

Well said Bob. And Yes, Green, he punted each of them like a football into the crowd. Great show. Great energy, and after 30 years for Motley and 25 for Poison, their music and show still manage to bring in a crowd and provide more energy than any other show I've seen lately.

[Brian]

Poison should be the headliner of that show! Motley Crue was horrible.

[Tommy]

Was Nikkie Sixx actually spitting on people in the crowd? Thats what it looked like to me up front.

[Tom]

Brownlee is kind of a Madonna fan - he doesn't like good old fashion rock and roll.

[Brian]

I agree Tom. To call them "cartoonish" kind of tells you where he's coming from. But Motley Crue sucked. I was very disappointed.

[Natacha VonBraun]

Disappointing to hear people didn't seem to have that much regard for the remaining Dolls, without whom the other two bands probably wouldn't have existed.

[mikednkc]

Cure - It's not the band that sucks, it's Vince Neil. He cannot sing anymore, period. I saw them 2 years ago and the band was very tight, except for the fat d-bag frontman who sings the beginning of the verse and finishes it with a stupid yell

[mikednkc]

*Crue*

[Zard]

I have seen the Crue at least half a dozen times and last night was probably the best one yet. They were energetic and enthusiastic and Vince sounded great. Tommy put on his usual frenetic display and Nikki is always funny. They were definitely in better shape and it showed since the last time I saw them with Aerosmith in 2006. Not sure why the haters say they sucked.
Brownlee's comment that they don't have enough material couldn't be further from the truth. Sure they haven't done much in 20 years but back in the day their albums rocked and were highly anticipated. Shout at the Devil, Theatre of Pain, Girls Girls Girls and Dr. Feelgood are all classics. Obviously Billy is not a fan.

[pellboy]

Very casual fan of the Crue, but even to me, Mr.Brownlee's comment about their lack of material to efficiently fill a 90-minute does seem a bit odd. They certainly have more hits/concert-friendly then many of the acts that get reviewed in here.

[Kurt]

I was surprised that there weren't more in attendance for this show. Kansas City needs to support more shows or, some of these shows may not return to KC on their next tour. You had 9,000 at Rod Stewart/Stevie Nicks and 8,000 for Motley Crue/Poison & New York Dolls at the Sprint Center. There were 5,000 at both Peter Gabriel and Huey Lewis & The News at Starlight. We do get good attendance for lots of shows but, not all of them. This is probably why KC didn't get the U2 tour and last time here was in Nov 2001 at Kemper Arena. Prior tours in KC by U2 were not sell outs and they remember it and than, skip us on tours.

[Bubba]

Kurt, PETER GABRIEL had a crowd of 7,000 +. I heard that from a reliable source. You're right about U2. I have an email pal in Toronto and she is going to catch KISS for the THIRD time since fall, 2009 - when they were at the Sprint Center. I had TOLD fans go see KISS now - as they might not return for another five years. They OBVIOUSLY sell good in cities like Toronto.

As for MOTLEY CRUE, I didn't even notice the fact (until later) that Sprint Center had the upper level 'curtained-off'. Glad I got to see the NEW YORK DOLLS. POISON was okay - more like a circus (in ways) but MOTLEY CRUE sure delivered the goods - a lot of surprises. Only let down was that I didn't see any women flashing the crowd - ALMOST a sure thing at a CRUE concert.

[Kurt]

Bubba, I was going with the attendance numbers by the KC Star reviewers. Their numbers cannot be too far off. I get the sense that sometimes these numbers are a little high and they round up the figures.

[Steve J]

We all said at the time New York Dolls was an odd match-up, and many people who did not go to this show would have seen them headline say at the Uptown or Midland.

[Green]

They are kinda cartoonish though, honestly, most musicians are, i wouldnt take that as a bad thing, can they be cartoonish in a positive way, not sure where Brownlee was going with it but I think he has a point, think about it, the hair, the dress, the actions, the stage, come on, tommy lee on drums, he is a character for sure!

[Kilby]

I agree about a New York Dolls show at a smaller venue here. Three CDs in since their re-emergence and there has not been a KC club show. Where's the love?? But as was written here, neither of these headlining bands would be around without The New York Dolls. Johnny Thunders was as true a Rock & Roll hero/f*ckup as Keith Richards ever was and I mean that in the best possible way.

KISS, AEROSMITH, THE RAMONES, GUNS AND ROSES, and even THE SMITHS have sited the Dolls as an influence. Their self-titled debut album from 1973, produced by Todd Rundgren, no less, is essential listening for any student of Rock History. I give props to Motley and Poison for bringing them to younger fans' attention.

[Vandelay]

I'm not a Crue fan at all, but I still recognized the titles of every song on their setlist posted above. So I agree, Brownlee's comment about not having "enough solid material" seems like a cheap shot.

[The ringing grows louder]

I had seen Poison a couple times and Crue about six times before. I thought this was the best I had seen of the Crue and even Vince. They were equally tight on the Cruefest tour about three years ago but Vince was not as good and skipped more lyrics then.
Probably most impressive last night was Mick Mars' playing, even in spite of his bone condition. During the drum solo we could see him leaving the stage, and he had to be helped by two people to get down a short flight of stairs. But he sure played great.
And this show was one of the most impressive stage/light shows I have seen in a while.
Poison did have high energy and Bret Michaels was infectous, but he has lost his high range, and I thought some of the songs, especially at the beginning of their set, were hardly recognizable musically if it weren't for the lyrics.
Dolls were interesting and enjoyable even though I wasn't familar with their stuff.
I bought tix a few weeks ago when they had a Rock special for $19.89 upper level (which turned out to be about $37 with fees). But they closed the upper level and everyone got moved to the lower. We ended up in section 115 at the side of the stage. Our view of Tommy was blocked, so we moved to the next section and were able to stay there until people came for their seats about a third into Motley Crue.
Not sure about the reviewer's crowd estimate; looked to me like the entire lower bowl was mostly full by the time Crue played. Don't know how many that is, but it seems like it would be more than 8,000 since there anre't that many seats in the upper level.

[ABC]

Awesome high energy concert. The Crue had it going on. Crowd could of been better, they were more focused on taking pictures than yelling, shouting or fist pumping. Put down the damn cameras!

[Bubba]

Kurt, I looked around as PETER GABRIEL was in the third song of his first set and it DID appear to have approx. 6,500 to maybe 7,000 in attendance. Plus, a security guard there had 'hinted' that the show was semi-close to a sell-out. Which of course it wasn't. It DEFINITELY was a decent-sized crowd. GABRIEL might be back in the next few years.

[Trucker]

FKN-A Bubba, king of KC concerts. I am betting he was the only one who went to both the Crue and PG, what a stud.

===============================

As far as idiot moron pukes, like ABC and offthemark and hank, continuing to be overly concerned with watching what other people are doing instead of watching the show, there is a place in Washington D.C. for you losers. Maybe get a job with the antiAbortion league.... or maybe get a life of your own you fkn loser idiots.

Let people do what they want. Get your (brown)(narc)nose out of our business.

[Don't like Trucker/Rocker/Troll]

Go away, dude. Seriously.

[Trucker]

Lol, good to know I have so many fans/stalkers.

[ABC]

Hey Trucker,

I went to both PG and Motley, I guess you don't know me. I went to both concerts without a camera and had a great time.

Boy are you an angry dude. Have a beer and....

[Trucker]

Dont wanna know you either.
No autographs, back it up, no autographs.

[Bubba]

Trucker, thanks - but I actually know SEVERAL patrons who attended both CRUE and PETER GABRIEL. Main reason I went was to experience songs like "Biko" and "Red Rain" performed live - plus the cheap seats were affordable.

Had it not been for the NEW YORK DOLLS, I may have totally passed on the CRUE and the circus-like (anymore) POISON. The world world may never know.

[ABC]

Trucker must not of read the part where I said..Awesome high energy concert. Thr Crue had it going on.

He must of been one of the pukes with a camera.
Oh, I was in section 116.

[Kurt]

I remember seeing Motley Crue in July of '87 at Kemper Arena. Whitesnake was the opener. It was the tour with the drumset that did 360 degree turns and moved near the crowd also. The show was Las Vegas like in it's excess and was all red and crome. It had speakers rimmed with lights that came up from the stage also.

[_]

Seeing Motley Crue for $20.00 in 2011 is a bargain. I dont quite understand all the "cirucs" talk, and cartoonish nonsense. If they did not put on a show, people whould whine about that.... people are gonna complian, it is the nature of the beast, and what make s it so much fun.

$20.00 = a REAL bargain, esp considering it is a real venue, with plumbing, a roof, walls, HV/AC and real toilets compared with that myth people tell here where people claim $34.00-$$350.00 is a bargain at the fkn dump.

[Cyberbullies are SO brave]

Trucker/Rocker/Crybaby is simply a immature, lonely so and so crying for attention. Ignore him and he STILL won't go away, because sadly, THIS is all he has in his life. His boss at Burger King is always on his back because he can't quite get the fries right and this is how he vents. I'll bet he has NEVER been to a concert, but boy, does he have a %$#@ing five cent opinion about everything. How sad it must be to live his life....such as it were. If someone edits this blog, it's about time to pull the plug on someone who calls EVERYONE who doesn't agree with him a "pussie, or "fkn loser idiots." It goes too far. You just know if you were to confront him in person, he would wilt like a dead flower. But yeah, BTR needs to deal with this guy before we find out his identity. Then all bets are off.

How about that NY Dolls opening set, though??

[No autos]

So many fans/stalkers, but it is kind of creepy. No autographs.

[No autos]

Isnt it funny how these trolls start sht, and then when gets it thrown back them, they run whining to DAD!!!... "wha wha wha" "BTR needs to deal with this guy", "wha wha wha"

Piece of advice, dont start nuthin, andt here wont be nuthin.

[Green]

Something tells me those 20 dollar bargin tickets would not be on the floor right in front of the stage like that of Crossroads, of course Sprint does offer ac, restrooms, chairs, ... but you cant compare a upper level seat at sprint to a ga ticket that could put you 5 feet from the stage at crossroads. Also curious if the 20 dollar seats were a special offer to fill the place up after a lack of sales?

[George]

Sure, why else would the tickets be reduced. But the show was awesome for that price. We bought the tickets at the sprint center so we didn't have to pay the TicketBastard charges and it was only $45 for 2 tickets. We ended up sitting in sec 105 which were great seats.

[Green]

Thats a great deal George

[Pot calls kettle black, news at 11]

"Isnt it funny how these trolls start sht"

[John Polk]

Kansas City does miss a lot of great concerts due to attendance and other factors.

Someone mentioned U2 not coming here because of past attendance but that was only a partial reason. From what I've "heard" through the U2 network is that Live Nation did talk with the crew at Arrowhead, but the construction prevented them from confirming a KC date for the first round. As for this current US tour dates, I'm not sure why Arrowhead wasn't selected as it holds a lot more people than the baseball stadium in St. Louis.

As for why many concerts don't sell out I believe it is truly ticket prices and the economy. Many people are tight on money so spending $100+ for a decent seat at a show isn't feasible, and paying $250 or more for a great seat is just too much.

Just my two cents.

[NEW]

Hey John. My guess is that STL was choosen because the market is almost twice the size as KC. But the construction issue makes a lot of sense. As for attendence, this seems to be an issue in most mid-market cities, not just KC. For examples, U2 did not sell out Invesco Field in Denver either and that was a Saturday night show. I agree that part of the problem lies in the price points which are too high. At least in U2s case. Even nosebleeds were $80 after Bastard fees. It's nice to see people were given a break on this show even if it does provide fodder for Dump Troll (although his argument will lose some merit when one considers the $9 Miller Lites at SC vs the $4 Boulevards at the dump). New York Dolls alone are easily worth $40, let alone $20.

[Kurt]

I check Billboard online weekly and it always reports U2 shows as sell outs. I was able to pull up a $55 ticket for U2 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, MO so, it's not sold out yet. Billboard did the same with Bon Jovi and reported all shows by them as sell outs. Bon Jovi didn't sell out the SC with 12,000 in attendance a while back. I'm not sure where Billboard gets it's info either.

[Kurt]

New, I did some research and Kansas City metro area has 2 million in it. St. Louis metro area has 2.8 million in it. It's larger but, not twice the size of KC. Denver metro area has 2.5 million in it. I looked it up in the Almanac with Census info.

[fodderizgood]

uuuuuuummmmmm.... fodder, nom nom nom nom nom......

[Green]

I would most likely pass on U2, not sure why, I like some of there stuff and they bring a spaceship with them but something pushes me away, maybe i am scared of stages that look like spaceships.

[Me3]

How about....
if U2 wants be all Louis CK about it and they hate Kansas City and they do not come here, then I why would I give a fk about a band with that has sound coming out of the speakers than there are musicians on the stage? I dislike artist using backing tracks "live" in concert, except for Britny Spears, but at least she is a slut.

[US4]

And... I meant slut is the very best way possible, everyone knows the poor thing is just a manufactured sound selling device, eye candy, she cant really sing, so it is what it is, and she is honest about it, but U2 is not honest about it.

In U2 concerts there is more sounds there than people on stage making those tcounds, go watch for youself.

Not to mention, I am always suspect when the spectacle (spaceship claw thingy) get more attention than the music.

anyway..... even the name is lame...
"U2"? ......LMFAO, is that the laziest name ever, or what? (at least since UB40)

Talk about no imagination. bono? edge? What are they? trying to win the shortest names contest?

[The more you know]

Your attempt at comedy is "lame." Anyone who refers to a woman they don't even know as a "slut" is lame. Also, anyone that uses "LMFAO" is lame. That's just common knowledge.

[takes one]

Anyone who claims to know and write the exclusive definitions of what is lame, or not lame, and actually posts it on a blog is lame. In other words STFU CUZ UR MAKING LMFAO.

[NEW]

Thanks for fat checking, Kurt. I thought STL was 3M and KC was only about 1.8M but maybe that was the 2000 census.

Who knows? Maybe 2.5M was their cut off or they just didn't want to concentrate 2 shows in mid size markets so close together and opted for the larger market. Just speculation on my part. Regardless, it does appear that overpriced stadium shows are having a tough time selling out in mid size markets.

As for back up tracks in a live environment, I tend to agree with the consensus out here. Its a pretty cheap move. At least the Who and Floyd would bring touring musicians with them when needed.