MÖTLEY CRÜE: Tour Kickoff Review Posted Online

Metal Sludge has posted a detailed review of the opening night's performance on MÖTLEY CRÜE's "Red, White, and Crüe 2005...Better Live Than Dead" trek, which officially kicked off Thursday (Feb. 17) in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The review reads as follows:

"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 two hours, with two 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', 'Shout at the Devil', 'Same Ol' Situation', 'Home Sweet Home', 'Too Fast For Love', 'Ten Seconds To Love', 'Too Young To Fall In Love', 'Don't Go Away Mad', 'Kick Start My Heart'... a few others I'm missing. They played their new songs 'If I Die Tomorrow' and their cover of 'Anarchy in the UK' from the 'Red White & Crüe' CD.

"Mick [Mars, guitar] 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 [Sixx, bass] 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 [Neil, vocals] 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 two songs. #69, incidentally, belongs to Dolphins player Keith Sims, who owns a bunch of Dunkin' Donuts in southern Florida.

"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 three 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 then 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 six 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."

Set List:

01. Shout At The Devil
02. Too Fast For Love
03. On With The Show
04. 10 Seconds To Love
05. Red Hot
06. Too Young To Fall In Love
07. Looks That Kill
08. Live Wire
09. Girls, Girls, Girls
10. Wild Side
11. Don't Go Away Mad
12. Primal Scream
13. Glitter/Without You
14. Home Sweet Home
15. Louder Than Hell
16. Dr. Feelgood
17. Afraid
18. Same Ol' Situation
19. If I Die Tomorrow
20. Sick Love Song
21. Kickstart My Heart
22. Helter Skelter
23. White Punks On Dope
24. Anarchy In The U.K.