CRÜE GO OUT WITH A BANG
Metal mayhem hits capital
Mötley Crüe brought an arsenal of pyro and lasers to Canadian Tire Centre on Sunday to make their final show in Ottawa an explosive blowout. No tears were shed over this classic rock act retiring from the road; instead, the band members made sure that fists were pumping and heads were banging in a crowd close to 10,000 strong.
In case you hadn’t heard, the concert was part of what the Hollywood foursome promise is a final farewell tour. The end of 2015 marks the end of Mötley Crüe as a touring act, a decision the band members have reportedly agreed to in writing.
As singer Vince Neil declared, it was a show 35 years in the making. “We’re going to spend the night celebrating all those years of Mötley Crüe music,” he said. Celebrate was the key word — crying in your beer was not an option.
As expected, the band blazed through a comprehensive selection of hits, kicking it off with Girls Girls Girls, which was, of course, performed with a pair of leggy female dancers. A rather sludgy version of Wild Side came next, followed by the riff-packed Primal Scream, the thunderous Same Old Situation and the kissoff of Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
Bassist Nikki Sixx gave a farewell speech of sorts, in which he told a story about repeatedly stealing his grandfather’s pocket knife until the old man bought him one of his own. The point? “If you want something bad enough, you can f**ing have it,” he said, giving credit to the fans for supporting them. “That is what it’s been like to be in Mötley Crüe. We just kept pushing through every obstacle.”
It was a bombastic performance with enough visual stimulation to mask any weak spots. Neil’s voice strained over the volume of the sound system, while guitarist Mick Mars looked as frail as ever, although his fingers flew on the fretboard. Sixx made sure the bottom end shook the foundations, and drummer Tommy Lee hammered the skins with unbelievable force. Lee also rode his kit on a slow-moving roller-coaster over the stage, proclaiming the rig a dream come true. Ultimately, it was a satisfying conclusion for all.
With Alice Cooper handling the warm-up duties, it was a classic metal fan’s whopper of a double bill. The veteran American rocker, known in real life as Vincent Furnier, an avid 67-yearold golfer, transformed himself into the cartoonish ghoul we all know and love, compressing his trademark circus-like performance into an efficient rundown of greatest hits.
Backed by a crack band with great playing skills and a knack for harmonies, Cooper’s voice cut through the mayhem with the force of a chainsaw. Songs like Under My Wheels, I’m Eighteen, Billion Dollar Babies, School’s Out and Poison, to name a few, were trotted out with enough intensity that the old hits felt surprisingly fresh.
Although it was a tightly paced show, the entertainment value was off the charts, a campy theatrical production that featured costume changes, props, fireworks, balloons, confetti and a cast of colourful characters, including a monster, python and sexy nurse.
\Far less widely publicized was the third band on the bill, a wellconnected New York City rock outfit by the name of The Cringe. Fronted by John Cusimano, who’s the husband of television personality Rachael Ray, The Cringe performed a set of energetic hard rock that included their own material as well as unoriginal covers of Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy.