Let There Be Rock

Well, I got to go to the concert yesterday. I didn't buy the tickets until the day of, meaning ordinary lawn seats were $45 each. God help you if you wanted orchestra seating up front. Actually, I ended up getting 4 tickets, since the special 4-pack actually ended up being cheaper than 3 tickets. Besides myself, I got my sister and cousin to come with me for company. They weren't too enthused at first, but ended up having more fun than I did. I, of course, can't divulge the details of that fun, as it would be breaking sibling code. I don't rat on them for doing things that are illegal at their age, and they don't ask what's in those big black trash bags I hid in the basement.



Anyway, Crue Fest was pretty sweet. The bands involved were, in order of appearance, Trapt, Sixx AM, Papa Roach, Buckcherry, and Motley Crue (or, if your prefer, Mötley Crüe). I had mixed feelings about the earlier acts. Frankly, I think Sixx AM sucks, plain and simple. I've got nothing against emo rock in general, but I think if you're going to pour your heart out in your lyrics and make yourself sound like a whiny, overly emotional puss, you could at least write some halfway decent music to go with it. For example, see Three Days Grace, or if you're really feeling adventurous, My Chemical Romance.

Trapt and Papa Roach were okay. But of course, Buckcherry kicked all their asses, as I knew they would. Buckcherry just has a charisma and connection with the audience that most bands can't match. A lot of people ended up without shirts on once they started playing Crazy Bitch.

But, of course, the boys of Motley Crue stole the whole damn show. The guys are getting a little old, but they still know how to have a good time. Tommy Lee is a character, and Mick Mars is still an absolute beast on the guitar. Watching him shred actually gives me a hard-on. Or maybe it was all the half-naked women licking each other on the video screen. Meh, I'll say it was both.

The one kink in the show was Vince's voice. Somehow, they messed with the audio equipment in order to offset the obvious effects of old age on his voice, so he would still sound how he used to. Good idea on paper. The unfortunate result was that he ended up sounding like Foamy the Squirrel. It's sad, considering how perfect he sounds on the new album. Maybe it was just a one-time fluke with SPAC's equipment, but whether it was intentional or not, it was weird to listen to. Anyway, it wasn't a deal-breaker for me. Vince's animated onstage performance and signature style more than made up for it.

Of course, like most rocks shows, much of the real show was going on in the audience. A lot of people were safe and sound in the orchestra seating, but we were up top on the lawn, right in the middle of the madness. Pretty much everyone there was either drunk, stoned or both. Beach balls and lighters were flying throughout. At least a dozen fights broke out, wherein the SPAC security got to demonstrate how bad at their job they really are. One guy actually got his nose broken, but was too drunk to even realize it. And this was all just halfway into Papa Roach's set. By the time Crue came on stage, there were devil horns and body surfers as far as the eye could see. Things only slowed down for the encore: a spirited rendition of Home Sweet Home, during which there wasn't a dry eye to be seen.

Once it was over, the ride home was obviously a madhouse. We sat waiting in line to get out of the parking lot for about 45 minutes, give or take. We ended up getting home around 12:30pm. That probably doesn't sound to bad, until you consider that we got there at 4pm, and the show started around 5. That's one mother of a concert.

So, all in all, Crue Fest was a very fun experience, and I'm glad I got to go. Before the show ended, Nikki Sixx gave his promise that we'd meet up again next year for Crue Fest 2. I don't know how official that is, but if it's true, you can guess who'll be buying his tickets ahead of time next year.

Now, in other rock news:
Ratner Pitching Guitar Hero Film
God help us all...