Mötley Crüe

The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas presents… Mötley Crüe moved in at the Joint last week for a three week stint as hosts of the carnival ‘extravaganza in Sin City’… the festivities started February 3rd and will continue on with the show through February 19th as the Crüe make history as Vegas’ first hard rock residency. Said to be the biggest Mötley stage production to date, fans had high expectations as they made their way in for this weekend’s spectacle of light and sound…

Masses of fans lined up early to get the best floor spots, and the entire Joint usher staff was decked out in ringmaster garb as guests made their way into the venue for a night of thrills and mayhem. As the fanfare got underway fans were treated to an introduction to the event by a costumed monsieur of ceremonies, then the curtains drew back and the show began… Mötley hit the stage and slammed into “Live Wire”, the single that got their career kick-started, and Vince Neil took center stage leading the Crüe into a ferocious start as they poured it on for a sold out floor. The crowd was wide open with horns in the air and singing so loud you could barely hear Neil, as Mötley propelled from “Live Wire” right into “Wild Side” with showgirls and pyrotechnics lighting up the stage while Nikki Sixx pumped his fist in the air and the crowd followed suit.

The show started hard and kept the pace with classic Crüe tunes “Too Fast For Love” and “Shout at the Devil” as a dazzling display of 100 foot video screens lit up the stage and more flames and pyro exploded into the air. “Saints of LA”, “Afraid”, and “Same Old Situation” rounded out the first act and the stage went black.

Crüe reappeared airborne as a circular metal stage drifted down from the rafters carrying all four members for a ‘second act’ slowdown, as the band set into an acoustic version of “Without You”. There were a million phones in the air as the revolving stage hovered above the crowd, and Crüe continued with a well suited “On with the Show” and built up the pace a little for the final acoustic “Don’t Go Away Mad” before the set came to a close and the stage again faded to black.

The next act began and set the stage alight as Crüe kicked it back into high gear with “Looks that Kill” and the stage filled up with Bond-esque girls on video screen as well as live on stage. Guitar master Mick Mars took the stage thereafter for a screaming guitar solo featuring three hologram-like ‘Micks’ playing together and then disappearing one by one until the real live Mick remained, to shred and lead bandmates into “Piece of Your Action”, a real high point in the show. There were four stars on stage, but Mars seemed the heavyweight of this set, ripping through hit “Scream” as aerialists hang from the ceiling and the song crashed on and on… All the way in the back of the room you could still feel the heat from the pyro as flames let up the stage and “Scream” came to a finish.

The now ‘mistress’ of ceremonies returned to give us a mid-show introduction to the players… ‘the man who came back from the grave to zombie rock you… half-man half-metal cyborg guitar god.. the man who every single man in the room wants to be… and the man who has banged more chicks then everyone in the room put together…!’ Over the top? Well yes, but this IS an extravaganza after all. The players hit the stage again and rocked into “Dr. Feelgood”, as hanging dead girls came alive, and Mars once more took center spotlight to rip through the leads and Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee pounded out the rhythm.

Tommy Lee took the limelight as his 360 degree ‘rollercoaster’ lit up and he took a ride round and round and pounded out a breakneck solo mid air. After a lucky winner also took a ride, Lee returned to solid ground and the show continued with giant circus-themed curtains falling across the back of stage and balloons dropping from the sky, with Vince leading the group into “Smoking’ in the Boys’ Room” as the room literally turned in to a big top. The grand finale started with the revving up of a motorcycle (no real cycle on stage this time, but the ghost was still there) and Crüe powered into “Girls Girls Girls” as the stage filled with stilt walkers, ‘little crüe’, clowns and dancing showgirls… Once again Mick Mars took the lead and led into “Kickstart My Heart” as Mad Max-like mohawked fire breathers and dancers turned the show climactic, and confetti blasted from the sky and covered the crowd. Vince Neil kept the energy high throughout the show and was a consummate showman to the end, as he yelled a final ‘thank you and goodnight’ before the stage went black.

After a few minutes of cheering and chanting for more, the spotlight stopped on Tommy Lee floating back down from above on the circular stage, seated at a grand piano as he began the opening musical strains of Crüe’s ballad “Home Sweet Home”… an army of fans sang along for the last number of the night as the two hour ‘Extravaganza of Sin’ came to a close.

The show will go on until February 19th, with rumored surprises for the final date. More info and tickets at http://www.ticketmaster.com/venueartist/360450/910417 or visit motley.com.