Motley Crue
LIVE: ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA 02.17.06
by Paul Autry
Even though I had my alarm set for nine in the morning, I didn't roll my lazy ass out of bed until eleven. I usually start my day with a cigarette and a cup of coffee. However, that wouldn't be my routine today, especially since I got up late. You see, today was my birthday and I wasn't gonna sit around the house waiting for people to come knockin' on my door to wish me well. No, no, no...not this birthday. I wanted to get out of the house by noon because I had somewhere special to go...and I had a five hour drive to get there. Well, my wife had to drive because that's one thing that I simply don't do. I'm not right in the head enough to get behind the wheel of a car. Anyway...we were going to Erie, Pennsylvania to see the greatest show on earth...and, yes, it is the greatest show on earth because I have the DVD and I know what I'm talking about. So, what am I talking about? I've got two words for you...Motley Fuckin' Crue! Yes, I was going to witness the rock 'n' roll circus known as the "Carnival Of Sins Tour," which, if I'm not mistaken, is one of the top five tours of the year. Don't know the actual number. But, as far as I'm concerned, it should be number fuckin' one...and, if you don't agree with me...blow it out your ass.
Anyway, the five hour drive didn't seem as long as I thought it would be. I figured I would end up falling asleep and my wife would wake me up when we got there...or if we got lost, which we didn't. We got to the Erie Civic Center about two hours early, which was pretty good when you consider how many times I made my wife stop somewhere so I could get a cup of coffee. It was pretty easy to find, especially since my wife is a human road map. Any show I ever went to, with the exception of one or two, she found it right away. We roll into Erie, we go down every street we were supposed to go down and, before I knew it, we were there. She could've found that place with her eyes closed. Any live show review of mine that you read, well, you wouldn't be reading it without her. Remember that.
So, we pull into the parking lot and head into the building to pick up our passes...and thus begins what I like to call a bad experience at a great show. I get up to the window, whip out my identification and I mention that I'm here to pick up my ticket/pass. They weren't there. I was told to try back later. Ah...no big deal. I was drinking coffee for five hours. It was time to find a bar. You need to have alcohol in your system if you're gonna attend a Motley Crue show. After all, this is Motley Fuckin' Crue we're talkin' about. They're the band that gave the term sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll a good name. Anyway, I found a nice little establishment a few blocks down the street called Park Place. I went in, had a few drinks, left before I ended up fall down drunk. I wanted to have a good time. But, I also wanted to remember it.
We go back to the Civic Center to see if our ticket/pass had arrived yet and, this time, there was a line. We had to stand there in the freezing cold for about 30 minutes or so. We finally get up to the window again. I give my name, my identification...the ticket/pass isn't there. I'm asked if they would be under any other name since they weren't in mine...which was strange because, during the process of getting these things, I had to let whoever was in charge of this sort of thing know my name. So, I assumed that's what they would be listed under. The only other thing I could think of was to mention Ballbuster Magazine. No such luck. This was not something I wanted to deal with after being on the road for five hours. As I'm getting ready to walk away, the lady asked me who got the ticket/pass for me. I mention the man behind the magazine, David La Duke. Guess what...that was the answer to the million dollar question. That also raised another problem. They couldn't hand them over to me since they were in David's name and not my own. I had to have someone call up front and change them over. If not, I was fucked. Luckily, I had the information on me that I needed. I had to go back through the crowd in order to get outside so I could make a phone call since I couldn't hear a damn thing in the building. A few hundred Motley Crue fans make a whole hell of a lot of noise. Anyway...don't know who he was. But, I was told that if there was a problem, I was to call Marty. Pulled out the number, gave him a call...and I got a damn voice mail. I thought, this isn't gonna be good. I left a message, told him who I was, why I was calling and within five minutes, I got a call back. I was impressed. I told Marty what the problem was, he told me to hang tight, he'd call me right back. Well, by this time, I had to piss like a race horse and I couldn't hold it any longer. I was drinking coffee for five hours and my little trip to the bar didn't help either. I had to go...and there was no way I could stand in line for another 30 minutes just to get into the building and take a squirt. So, cell phone in hand, I went around the block, found a nice dark alley and I was getting ready to do my business behind some dude's van until my wife yelled that there were people coming. Well, I figured I would go the end of the street to see if I could find another place to take a pee. As luck would have it, there was a fence there. We couldn't get out that way. So, I'm standing there freezing my ass off, I'm about ready to piss my pants and I'm waiting for Marty to call me back. I couldn't wait. I went back behind the van, pulled my stuff out and I took a nice hard piss. My wife, once again, mentioned that somebody was coming. I didn't care. I stood there and I did my business until I had no more business to do. Then we went back to the car to wait for the phone call. By the time we got back to the car, the phone rang. Marty had someone else on the line and I believe his name was Chris. I had to tell him what I told Marty about the ticket/pass. He told me to go back to the window and by the time I get there, it would be taken care of and he told me to enjoy the show. Now, I hope I got these two names right because these guys were on top of this shit. They were polite and very professional. I was impressed. Hey Motley...if you're reading this...give those guys a raise...or at least buy 'em a fuckin' beer. They deserve it.
Anyway, another 30 minutes or so standing in line, freezing my ass off...and this time, there's a little side story. I got into a conversation with some dude who was talkin' about football and he mentions a running back or something. I'm not into football...I didn't have a clue as to who he was talkin' about. So, I said to the guy, "Dude, I'm not into the whole sport thing. I like rock 'n' roll, alcohol and porno." So, to put it in a language I understand, he mentioned that the guy he was talking about is to football what Jenna Jameson is to porno. Anyway, this bitch in front of me turns around, gives me a dirty look...seems she was offended because "her daughter is only thirteen years old, thank you very much." Luckily, I didn't run into this bitch after the show because I was curious as to what her thirteen year old daughter thought of those wonderful "fuck" words that Motley Crue used through out the show...or the lesbian sex, or the tits, or the chick who blows sparks out her ass right before Nixxi Sixx does his solo. Trust me...she wasn't offended. She was just a stupid bitch and I hope to God her eyes grace this article.
Where was I??? Oh, yeah...we got our ticket/pass and now we're standing in the main line where they search you before you get into the show. Anyway, since I have a photo pass, I have my camera in hand as well as the pass. I get up to the guy who's doing the searching, show him the camera and the pass. This is where the fun begins because, before I get into my little rant here, I should point out that the show had already started. This guy calls over a security guard and I have to show him the pass. He asked where I got it and I told him. He asked if it was real and I'm like, "Well...DUH!" He calls over another security guard, this one takes the pass, tells me to wait with the second guard that was called over. Yeah, right...like I'm gonna go anywhere. As he's walking away with the pass, I tell him not to lose it. He gives me this look and he goes wherever it is he had to go. God knows how long I'm standing there. It was at least 15 minutes if not more. Put it this way...by the time he got back to tell the other two guys that the pass was real....(insert a huge "NO SHIT!" here)...there were maybe a dozen or so people left standing in line. Now...we get inside, show our ticket to the man with the flashlight, he shows us how to get to our seat. We get there...and, let me tell you, Motley Crue knows how to treat the press. We got a great seat by the side of the stage. Six rows up I believe it was. You could see everything...with the exception of Mick Mars, who pretty much stayed on his side of the stage for the entire show. I didn't get to see too much of Mick. Bummer.
I forget what song they were doing when I finally got to where I was supposed to be because, needless to say, I was a little pissed off at having to miss a few tunes and I know one of them was "Shout At The Devil." Anyway, since the show is already in progress, my wife takes off her coat and, being the wonderful person she is, she decides to go grab some beer for me. Again...this is Motley Crue we're talking about. You need beer. While she's gone, I figure I might as well snap off a few pictures because I'm not gonna do it while I'm holding a beer. We just paid $300 for this camera and I wasn't about to ruin it by spilling beer all over it....and, yes, I'm speaking from experience. I'm on my third camera...I'm not ready for number four just yet. I get about three pictures into it...none of which came out...and, wouldn't you know it, here comes security. Of course, I show him the photo pass. He askes me to come with him to the bottom of the stage where he introduces me to another security guard/event staff/whatever. I'd like to use the term asshole to describe him and the other four guys that already got this show off to a bad start for me. Anyway...I show this guy the photo pass. His response...oh, you're gonna fuckin' love this one...he tells me that the pass is only good for the first three songs. Great...at least I have some idea of how many tunes I had to miss because some asshole didn't believe the photo pass I had in my hand was the real deal. $300 for a camera and I've got nothing to show for it. FUCK YOU!
Of course, being the kind of person that I am, I figured I would turn the flash off and I'd get a few good pictures to go with this article anyway. No such luck because there was a security guard standing pretty much next to me for the entire goddamn show. Gee, thanks. So...I'm pissed...and here comes my wife with the beer. She notices that I'm in a foul mood, I tell her why and I proceed to watch the show while sucking down a few cold ones.
Bad experience. Great show.
Fuck. I would end this article right here. But, this is Motley Crue we're talking about and I wouldn't do that to them. Besides, the people I had to talk to at the begining to straighten out the whole ticket/pass thing did a great job. I have nothing bad to say about 'em. Maybe they could give those security guards a fuckin' lesson on how to do a better job. Anyway...like I said, it was a great show. I could probably get away with saying nothing more than it was a raw version of what you'll see on the "Carnival Of Sins" DVD, which every Motley Crue fan should own. No exceptions. But, there was a lot of stuff that stood out in my mind and I'm gonna roll through some of it here for you because, if you're reading this and you're thinking about going to a Motley Crue show, I'm seriously gonna suggest that you quit thinking about it and just fucking go. You will not be disappointed.
The first thing I remember was the fire. During "Louder Than Hell," they had these flames shoot up from all over the stage and, remember, I'm six rows up and, no kidding, I could feel the fucking heat coming off of these things. Even my wife was shocked, she had this look on her face that was like, "WOW!" The funny thing is, the only thing that was going through my mind at the time was, there's two of these flames coming up right next to Tommy Lee's drum set and I'm thinking, if I can feel that shit from where I was standing, that's gotta be hell on Tommy Lee's back. The dude didn't miss a beat. I'm suprised that shit didn't melt the paint off his tattoo's.
Ah, let's see...I'm probably not going in the order of the tunes. But, I'm just trying to paint a picture here for you. Deal with it. Anyway, during "Home Sweet Home," Vince came out and got the crowd to do a sing along during the first verse. Then he walked off the stage and Tommy Lee, who was on fire the entire night, told the crowd that we were gonna sing that shit again...and he got 'em going. Vince came out again and they tore into the song. Some people might say that "Home Sweet Home" is their greatest song. I don't know if I would agree with that or not...my choice would be "Shout At The Devil." But, I will say this...you haven't lived until you've heard "Home Sweet Home" live and in person. It might be a ballad on the record. But, in concert, it's a goddamn monster.
That's just the ballad. Think about what they can do with a full blown rock song. During "Wild Side" and "Kickstart My Heart," it was just an amazing wall of fuckin' sound. They were louder than Armageddon. Don't forget...they threw some explosions on top of it. I noticed some cracks on the sidewalk on the way out and I don't think they were there before the show. Know what I'm saying?
Of course, we can't forget about Tommy Lee's amazing drum solo...and how he "flies" around the arena. That was a sight to see. You know...I wanna know what Tommy Lee was drinking because I want some of it. The dude's a show all by himself. He was louder than the entire audience combined and, if you would just leave him alone to do his thing for as long as he wanted, I'm sure the band and every one in the audience would drop before Tommy Lee would be ready to call it a night. If I ever get the chance to speak with him, the first question out of my mouth will be, "How the hell do you do it?" Hell, when the show was done and over with, he was the last one to leave. I guess the rest of the band figures, "Fuck it...we can't out do Tommy. Let's just say goodnight and wait for him on the bus or back at the hotel."
There was also a tender Motley Crue moment during the show. Nikki Sixx pulled a little girl out of the audience. I'd say she was ten years old...if that. . Nikki held her up and said that she was the most beautiful girl in the building. Who said rock 'n' roll had to be dirty all the time?
They ended the night with an explosive version of "Anarchy In The UK," which had to drain the audience of what little energy they had left. I was more than a little disappointed that I didn't get to see the entire show. But, what I did see was more than enough for me. My faith in rock 'n' roll is stronger than it's ever been before and I have Motley Crue to thank for it. So, the next time I turn on the radio and I hear some shit music, which is 99.9% of the time, I'll thank God for Nikki Sixx, Mick Mars, Tommy Lee and Vince Neil for being out there on the road, keeping the rock 'n' roll fire alive and for feeding all of the hungry animals who still have a taste for this kind of music. There are some of us who enjoy having our ass kicked every now and then and Motley Crue is kind enough to give us the beating we crave.
Legends never die. If that's true, Motley Crue will live forever.