Saints, they ain’t!

After our AC/DC concert in December of last year, I got bit by the concert bug. There were so many concerts I wanted to see as a teenager, but being a PK with strict rules and guidelines (not complaining, just saying!) I was only able to attend such venues as Amy Grant, Whitney Houston, and Billy Joel. My inner rock chic was deprived. Thank goodness some of my favorite rock bands from the 70’s and 80’s have emerged back on the concert scene. One in particular on that list is none other than the infamous, Motley Crue. Scott got the tickets, and for two months I stared at them in anticipation. Then when the concert date arrived I was surprised to hear myself yelling at my inner rocker chic – are you crazy?!? Why are we going to a concert on a Wednesday night? Don’t you know we have children to pry out of the bed in the morning? Do you think your 16?? Thankfully my alter ego took over, and we made it out of the house.

The concert opened with two bands – Theory of a Deadman and Hinder. We were not interested in the first band, so we arrived 30 minutes late. By the time we went through security and found our seats, we heard about five minutes of Theory. Not too bad, sounded pretty good. Set up for Hinder was a piece of cake. With a tug on the gigantic muslin to change out backgrounds and roadies switching out equipment, Hinder was up and running within 30 minutes. During the wait, we partook in one of our favorite pastimes – people watching. I always enjoy this hobby, and the crowd did NOT disappoint. The 1980’s were calling! - asking for wardrobe, make-up and hair spray back! On the main floor, there were two dudes dressed as Neil and Sixx from 1984. (I was dying to get my picture with them!) A girl in front of us who I named “Ms. New Jersey” (Sorry – don’t mean to offend anyone, but you had to see her), had hair teased four inches above her forehead and a skirt with the same measurements above her knees. I did not follow in the fashion trend for the evening. I went as “Rocker Sheek”, but the fad was “Rocker Street” as in “Lady of the Night”. I’m sorry, but if you are sporting a muffin top, bat wings, and a non-supportive bra, PLEASE DO NOT wear tube tops that show your mid-drift! But the shock of the night did not come from the fashion show at hand, but a mother with two kids in tow – a boy and girl, ages roughly around 5 and 7. We turned to the people around us, all of which said the same thing… “Guess she couldn’t find a babysitter!” (Special thanks to Ms. Heiselman and Mr. Dave for watching our two munchkins! You both ROCK!)


I had not heard of Hinder, but Scott said they were supposed to be pretty good. And that they were. The music was incredible. The lyrics – well, I couldn’t help but laugh. They were at the same level as the rock song from the movie “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”. If you did not see the comedy flick, the name of the song is called “Inside You”. And within ten minutes of the show, I wanted to wash the lead singer’s mouth out with soap. All I could think of was those kids in the crowd! Minus the blunt song lyrics and the “f” word being used every two seconds, Hinder really did put on a good show. But we were anxious to see the main attraction. Once the second band had stopped playing, we waited another 45 minutes. In the meantime, we were distracted a bit from our people watching. It became more of people listening – to the over-zealous Crue fan behind us. Why didn’t I bring a bar of Irish Spring with me!

Finally the moment we had been waiting for began – the lights were turned down, behind the black curtain – a spotlight on an angel, in the background the voice of a preacher, then a silhouette of the devil – and that’s all you are going to get from me. AC/DC’s intro was rated R. Motley Crue’s – XXX. Below are clips from the show including the intro, and it’s been censored. I’m sorry to disappoint, but even my inner rocker chic has boundaries.

The stage set up was amazing, as you will see in the video clips and photos. This was my first concert with major pyro. My right ear was in pain during most of it, and would not stop ringing. I’ll have to say their new song “Saints of Los Angeles” is awesome, but saints they ain’t! (nor the crazy fan behind us that sang louder than Vince Neil!) I don’t think I would have had enough soap for that venue… in more ways than one! Hinder was X-rated due to lyrics. Motley Crue due to visual effects on the THREE BIG SCREENS. Those kids got some kind of education! I was astonished at what X-rated, split-second clips were flashed on the screen – and some more than just a few seconds. Tommy Lee came out at one point, took a sip of jagermeister and ordered the crowd to pass it around. (YUCK – don’t they know where his mouth has been!! ) Nikki Sixx also talked to the crowd, throwing out water bottles. All I could think of is – wouldn’t that hurt!? Scott found out later of an earlier concert where a fan was not too thrilled of being hit with a FULL water bottle. After seeing the video clip of Sixx’s tantrum, what little respect I had for him is long gone. I can’t even post a link to an article about it due the vulgarity of what he did and said. Mick Mars, even though looking like a corpse, still can rock it out. There were no encores due to the status of his health. They played most all of their hits, and was so happy to hear them play “Girls, Girls, Girls” live. So another rock band gets checked off the list. Did I enjoy the concert?– YES, despite the X rating and verbal abuse. Would I go to another one of their concerts? – NO!

Two things about the videos – 1. Sorry for the short clips – between the band and the guy behind us cussing, we had to limit what we filmed. And 2. It was the first time we used the video feature on the Sony Cyber-shot. We didn’t figure out how to zoom in until it was too late.