Motley Crude live

County Rock Bar, Chesterfield

May 3rd 2019

Review by; Hungryasabadger

 

Being a huge Motley Crue fan my world changed forever on New Year’s Eve 2015 when the world’s greatest purveyors of sleaze-driven glam rock retired from live shows due to their highly publicised ‘cessation of touring agreement’.  I was heartbroken and have spent the last four years eagerly trying to fill the void with other bands of their ilk that are still touring but alas it appears that there is nothing like the real thing… or is there...?

 

The other night I was invited to go and see Motley Crude with a friend. Motley Crude are self-described as ‘The UK’s Number One Motley Crue Tribute Act’ and they were playing a small venue that I also had never heard of before – the County Rock Bar in Chesterfield.  At £5 for an advance ticket it seemed well worth a punt and had the makings of a good night out so I took my friend up on the offer and clad in my denim ‘battlejacket’ waistcoat and my best Crue t-shirt, we made our way to the County.

 

Firstly let me please give a special mention to the County.  What a cracking little venue!  It’s basically an old pub that has been converted into a heavy metal mecca with a fantastic stage area for bands to perform on. The drinks prices are reasonable and the staff there are all friendly as hell.  Even if there’s no one performing I encourage you to pay it a visit as it’s a great place.

 

Anyway I digress. Upon arrival we were greeted by four obvious rockers exiting the premises who, upon spotting my attire asked if we were coming to see the Crude before they disappeared out of sight down the road. Thinking nothing else of it I got myself settled with a pint and awaited the show whilst the premises played a belting selection of classic 80’s metal.  So far so very good.

The bar steadily filled up with punters, displaying that I am not the only one missing the Sunset Strip’s finest.  9pm soon rolled around and it was showtime. The lights dimmed, strobes flashed, dry ice began to drift from the stage and there appeared Motley Crude, looking every inch just like their famous alter egos, resplendidly decked out in Crue-like costumes circa the Theatre of Pain era. Imagine my surprise upon a closer look that the band consisted of the four rockers who had greeted me on the way in! They look a lot different under the wigs and makeup I must admit.

Although the band looked amazing there was some initial confusion in the crowd at the start of the set as the before the band played a note there was a quite muted and overlong intro tape. I’m sure that the tape is intended to build anticipation and I’m not sure what it sounds like in other venues but through the speakers at the County you couldn’t really make out what the intro was supposed to be.  A few nervous glances were shot between punters as the crowd waited for the first chords to be struck... and the... BOOM the band surged straight into Shout At The Devil and the intro tape faux pas was instantly forgiven!

 

What a show! Never mind the small stage and cosy venue, this Crude Crue play like they are headlining the Hollywood Bowl circa 1989! The sound was amazing, the stage moves were well rehearsed and the boys’ playing was top notch, with my guitar playing mate transfixed by ‘Mick Mars’ and his awesome guitar sound. The band are tight and solid throughout with ‘Tommy’ bashing the skins like his life depended on it (no spinning drumkit or rollercoaster tonight though unfortunately), ‘Nikki’ played the hell out of his black and white polka dot bass and as for ‘Vince’, up

front he is simply awesome. The real Vince Neil certainly didn’t sound that good the

last time I saw him in 2015 and I doubt he has ever sounded as close to their records as

the Crude’s ‘Vince’ does! Truly outstanding vocals. ‘Vince’ is a carbon copy of the voice

I know and love from the records, the ‘Robin Zander having his balls pinched tight’

squeal was nothing short of amazing and as a frustrated wannabe vocalist I found

myself listening raptly with admiration tinged with more than a little envy.

After ‘Shout’ the hits just kept coming. Unlike the real thing, Motley Crude cover all the

nooks and crannies of the band’s 34 year career, and on more than one occasion I found

myself in a small minority as I bellowed along with some of the Crue’s deeper cuts

(Afraid? Sick Love Song? Animal In Me? Anybody else singing? Oh just me then... ) but in

the main the setlist was all killer, despite the diehards like me more than enjoying the

supposed ‘filler’.

 

The show was well paced with the songs ebbing and flowing nicely. The band don’t serve up each song in chronological order of release so half of the fun is to try and guess where they are going next but I have to say they acquitted themselves well throughout. Even the stage banter was spot on with the guys utilising well practiced US accents whilst encouraging each other to ‘down a bottle of Jack’ or ‘snort this load of coke, man’. But don’t worry kids I think the contents of both were fake. Well if they weren’t the way the guys played is even more amazing!

Speaking to the band afterwards it transpires that Motley Crude play TWELVE songs that the real Crue have never played live apparently. Along with the aforementioned deeper cuts the 24 song setlist included stone cold classics like Louder Than Hell, Wild Side, Looks That Kill and SOS all the way up to the recent new release The Dirt which was fully complete with a pre-recorded Machine Gun Kelly rap!

 

So, apart from the intro tape misstep, the show was an absolute barn burner and I would strongly recommend anyone else who is missing the ‘World’s Most Notorious Rock Band’ in their self-imposed retirement to check out the ‘UK’s number one Motley Crue tribute act’ and I for one would back them against any similar US tribute act who wants to compete cos on this showing the Crude would ‘Knock ‘Em Dead Kid’.

The Crue is dead. Long live Motley Crude!

 

4.5 out of 5 stars