Live-Metal.Net - Concerts: Cruefest

As Mötley Crüe bassist/band leader Nikki Sixx told it from the stage, headlining its own festival has been the band’s dream for more than 20 years. The overall results of that dream becoming reality were a little mixed, but that’s mostly because more bands equal less Crüe.

The original “bad boys of rock”—Sixx, guitarist Mick Mars, drummer Tommy Lee and vocalist Vince Neil—have pared their show down to 90 minutes from the two-and-a-half-hour spectacle of their “Carnival of Sins” and “Red, White & Crüe” tours of 2005. That should be a crime for a band with a catalog full of anthems and a new album (Saints of Los Angeles) that is its best work in nearly two decades. Only two new songs—the title track, on which the singers from the other four bands joined Neil, and “Mutherfucker of the Year”—found their way into the set list, and they seemed a natural fit with the classic tunes so many of us have come to know by heart, whether we’re Crüe Heads or not.

In true rock n’ roll fashion, the show wasn’t flawless. Mars’ guitar cut out at the start of “Sick Love Song” and he couldn’t find his way back into the song when it finally started working again. “Mick!” Neil said, feigning exasperation as the band stopped, then restarted the song from the beginning. But not even that gaffe would halt the momentum or dampen the fans’ spirits. And that technical mishap aside, Mars’ biting guitar tones were the glue that held most of the songs together.

The show ended with a poignant rendition of the timeless ballad “Home Sweet Home,” which featured Lee on piano longer than the recorded version.

MÖTLEY CRÜE SET LIST: Kickstart My Heart, Wild Side, Shout at the Devil, Saints of Los Angeles, Live Wire, Sick Love Song, Mutherfucker of the Year, Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away), Same Ol’ Situation, Primal Scream, Looks That Kill, Girls, Girls, Girls, Dr. Feelgood, (Encore) Home Sweet Home

The fest kicked off at 5 p.m. with Trapt, whose safe rock radio fare seems to be the antithesis of that the Crüe has always been about. The day picked up with Sixx:A.M., Nikki Sixx’s side band that recorded the soundtrack to his Heroin Diaries book. Their rock-opera-esque material isn’t the best fit for a summer festival, but the hit “Life Is Beautiful” was a big-time crowd pleaser.

Up next, Papa Roach electrified the crowd with a high-energy set. I’ve never been a fan (too much pseudo-rapping in the early days and their newer songs sound too generic), but I must say that the improvement since the first time I saw this band (Ozzfest 2001) was remarkable. Seven years ago, the onstage antics of frontman Jacoby Shaddix, especially during “Broken Home,” felt phony and forced. He has grown into a charismatic performer, and if not for a few older songs in the set, I would have thought this was a completely different band.

If any band on today’s music scene is a good match for the Crüe, it’s Buckcherry. Still riding high from the success of their 2006 release 15, the band introduced a couple songs from its upcoming album Black Butterfly and cranked out hits like “Lit Up,” “Everything,” “Sorry” and a 10-minute-plus version of the smash “Crazy Bitch.” It’s hard to imagine a band doing a better job of setting the stage for Mötley Crüe.

When talking about the band’s long-held desire to mount a tour like this, Sixx promised to return for a second Crüe Fest in 2009. I’ll see you there.