Arena Rock: Motley Crue and Steve Earle
Motley Crue
Mötley Crüe
Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, Jan. 23
Bands left over from the ’80s bring a few things to mind—big hair, men looking like women, and loud, balls-to-the-wall music. Through the years, one band that’s been synonymous with the term “glam rock” is Mötley Crüe, whose recent performance in Victoria proved that, even at their age, they can still rock.
Known for their raunchy shows, which include drummer Tommy Lee throwing a bottle of Jägermeister into the crowd or the infamous (and self-explanatory) titty-cam, this band has been through hardship and heartbreak, but still manage to put on one hell of a party.
Kicking off the show was Australian band Airbourne, whose high-energy performance got even those who had never heard of the band on their feet.
The only bad thing about their performance was their guitars were completely out of tune, which ended up ruining their last song, “Runnin’ Wild.” Still, these guys proved why they’re being touted as the second coming of AC/DC.
The second act of the night was the Joe Perry Project, featuring none other than the lead guitarist of Aerosmith, Joe Perry. I had mixed feelings about this band—they had great energy, and amazing guitar work by Perry, but something was off with their singer.
It may be the fact that he came out shaking maracas, or perhaps it was because he was eerily reminiscent of Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler with his singing.
It was obvious why Perry picked him to front his side-project after hearing him belt out Aerosmith songs like “Toys in the Attic” and “Walk This Way.”
Finally, it was time for Mötley Crüe to take the stage—they started their set with a burst of pyrotechnics and their hit song, “Kickstart My Heart.”
This band’s spark for music has not died at all over their 29-year relationship, with every note coming alive at the touch of their fingertips.
Guitarist Mick Mars’ solo was a change from the hard-hitting pace of Mötley Crüe’s usual music, finishing with a rendition of “Voodoo Child” by Jimi Hendrix, which came as a wonderful surprise.
The Crüe finished big with an encore of “Home Sweet Home” and “Dr. Feelgood,” with the most pyrotechnics I’ve ever seen.
The band’s performance was the best I’ve seen all year. For any Crüe fan that hasn’t experienced the band’s amazing aura, I highly recommend doing so soon, before it’s too late.
-Alli Pickard
Steve Earle
UVic Farquhar Aud., Jan. 24
A 55-year-old, long-haired but balding, big, grey-bearded guy from Texas who’s very critical of the government sounds more like the crazy uncle you’d avoid at a family dinner.
But this “crazy uncle” also happens to be one of the greatest songwriters to have ever lived, touring in support of an album of songs by Townes Van Zandt, arguably the greatest songwriter to have ever lived.
This bearded near-senior is Steve Earle, a legend in the world of country music, and he was recently up at UVic to play some music.
Earle opened his set with two Van Zandt covers, followed by “Fort Worth Blues,” a song of Earle’s written about the passing of Van Zandt, which featured a five-minute spoken-word intro to the song about the story of why Earle wanted to record a Van Zandt tribute album. Van Zandt was Earle’s hero. Both as a musician and as a human being,
Van Zandt was Earle’s biggest influence and teacher. Van Zandt died in 1997, when he still had more of a cult following.
But over the last couple years Van Zandt’s prestige has grown; the new record from Earle has certainly helped.
Earle played just as many Van Zandt songs as he did his own, and of Earle’s own it was everything you’d want to hear, with him nailing classics like “My Old Friend the Blues” and “Goodbye,” as well as newer favorites like “City of Immigrants.”
The show also featured Earle in his usual anti-establishment train of thought, as he had lots of things to say about the current state of the world.
The Hardcore Troubadour, as Steve Earle is known, started his encore with a Tom Waits cover and ended the show with his biggest hit to date, “Copperhead Road.”
The crowd went crazy, Earle’s beard shook as he sang, and I left knowing that I’d just seen a legend perform.
-Peter Gardner
CCSS Nexus promo