History – and indeed my own tastes – may have proved me wrong on the relative influence on both records but I was musing on this on the way to the NEC. This was the sort of gig that grunge was supposed to kill, this type of arena rock wasn’t supposed to survive the great Seattle cull and while both these bands had their dodgy spells – Leppard recording the underrated “Slang” album and Crue the fairly awful “Generation Swine” record - as they tried to compete in this brave new world, both are here, still playing big tours and still unashamedly over the top rock n roll.
Indeed “over the top” is an epithet that could be applied to Steel Panther too. However RTM has seen tonight’s opening act before and doesn’t intend to make a repeat effort. If I was forced at gunpoint I could just about listen to “Death To All But Metal” but there’s no rifles here so they are given a wide birth this evening. People seem to like them, some even find them funny, but then people say the same about Alan Carr, it doesn’t make it right.
This tour is billed as a co-headliner, but sometimes these things tend not to be what they appear. A few years ago Leppard toured with Whitesnake and even David Coverdale was reduced to mincing round on a tiny bit of the stage in front of the clear main band’s gear. There are no such issues tonight and both bands bring their full shows.
So Motley Crue take the stage to more pyrotechnics than you found on Guy Fawkes Night as they launch into “Wild Side,” which they follow with the fantastic “Saints of Los Angeles” the title track of their most recent album from a couple of years ago.
Motley’s charm isn’t that they are great musicians; indeed Vince Neil’s famously erratic voice isn’t great tonight, but rather that they are the archetypal American rock group. The sort of band that thinks “if less is more then think how much more more could be.” So it is that we get the most stunning drum solo I have ever seen from Tommy Lee. Not musically you understand, in fact, I am not even sure he was playing anything, but it soon becomes clear what the Ferris wheel is in the middle of the stage for, its so Tommy’s drum kit can go round and round it, stupid. Because who hasn’t wanted a drummer to play upside down? Because who hasn’t wanted to watch that drummer pluck a fan out of the crowd so he can hand upside down too? No one, that’s who.
After that we have to focus on the songs and luckily Crue have plenty. If “Primal Scream” doesn’t get you then “Dr Feelgood,” or “Girls, Girls, Girls” might. And if all else fails there’s the tour–de-force that is “Kickstart my Heart, “then they are gone, with more explosions and throwing buckets of fake blood over the first few rows, naturally.
Def Leppard are fairly normal in comparison, barring a massive array of video walls behind them, they play a gimmick free set. You wouldn’t expect anything else from the Brit stalwarts though, as they have always remained down to earth blokes for global superstars.
You also sort of know what set they are going to play, and they give the audience 90 minutes of greatest hits, bar opener “Undefeated” from new live compilation “Mirrorball” and an encore of “Wasted” from debut album “On Through The Night.”
Of course they have earned the right to do just about what they like in their over 30 years at the top and they have a formidable arsenal of songs to do it with.
So “Rocket” is almost casually knocked out second song in, and followed with “Make Love Like A Man.” There’s a couple of cheesy ballads, an acoustic section and an first airing for ages for “Gods of War” before the whole thing turns into almost an rock n roll jukebox. Don’t believe me? Try “Armageddon It” “Animal,” “Photograph” (during which thousands of old Leppard photographs are shown on the screens) and “Pour Some Sugar on Me” one after the other, before they return with the familiar words “Do you wanna get rocked?” and “Lets Get Rocked” takes things up a notch further.
These are massive songs that are meant to be heard in arenas on big stages. They are huge and dumb and fun. They aren’t going to change your life, but they might just make it just a little bit more carefree for a couple of hours, and in that respect tonight did it’s job and then some.
And if that’s not enough for you, whatever, nevermind.
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