The hype began building several days ago. People all over the Okanagan Valley were talking about the Motley Crue show coming up in Penticton’s South Okanagan Events Centre. Some of the biggest entertainment media companies in North America came to town, including TMZ and ET Canada. There was talk of motorcycle gangs and extra police and searches and all that. The Crue rolled into town a couple of days early to get ready for this show and the beginning of their largest Canadian tour ever.
Big Wreck opened the show and did all that you hope for out of a support act; they delivered a solid set of rock tunes at an energy level that brought the heat up another notch from where it was heading into the night. Lead vocalist and guitarist Ian Thornley led his cohorts through their material with both charisma and assurance in a way that stopped short of the arrogance and attitude that often plagues rock stars doing arena gigs. Full marks to this band in doing the opener thing so well.
With most eyes on the stage at one end of the arena, the Motley Crue processional entered from the other end of the events centre. Scantily clad women carrying MC banners and the rest of the personnel wound their way through and around the crowd to get to the center of the stage where they climbed up onto what would serve as their performance platform for their hour and a half metal machinations. Vince Neil waving one of the MC banners around whipped the already jacked audience into a near frenzy. It was about that time that the unmistakable odor of weed filled the concert bowl and the party was under way.The Crue played both newer and older songs, much to the chagrin of some who really only wanted to hear their older tunes from back in the 80s. Plenty of the older hits were performed, including Live Wire, Girls, Girls, Girls, Dr. Feelgood, Kickstart My Heart, and Don’t Go Away Mad. The Dr. Feelgood album produced a lot of hits for them and they were delivered with the energy they deserved.Vince Neil rocked the metal band frontman thing and belted out songs with total rock star attitude and gusto. No one would accuse the man of having the smoothest moves on the stage, but he did prowl with ferocity and an unwavering sense of command and control. This is a metal band after all, and Neil is a huge part of why they stand amongst the top of the genre. The voice was strong and the energy up where it needed to be.Tommy Lee played with the fire he is known for, even revered for among metal drummers. Yes, he is a bad ass and has earned his notoriety, but the man knows what he’s doing behind the kit. The genre demands serious energy, attitude and power from the drummer and Lee definitely had those in spades last night. Of course, one of if not the highlite of any recent Motely Crue show is the 360 degree roller coaster drum solo. Lee did not disappoint and even invited a member of the audience to join him.Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars worked in tandem to lay down the groove and foundation for Neil’s vocal flights and added to the energy emanating from Lee’s thunderous kit. The Crue are a tight band, and Sixx and Mars are a huge part of that. They just get it done with a minimum of flash and fanfare. Mars did go some places in his solos that hinted to a vastly deeper and broader musicality than this band could allow.Only complaints would be that it actually was a little louder than it needed to be and spots could have been used more often on Mars and Sixx. Having said that, this was a very good show. Motley Crue gave notice that they will be bringing their A game to venues all across Canada on this biggest ever MC Canadian tour.
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