Glasgow, Scotland - Media Reviews
Gig Review: Def Leppard + Motley Crue + Steel Panther, SECC, Glasgow 9/12/11 By Andy McDonald
For what is only their second visit to Scotland, Steel Panther possess the impressive ability to drag a good half-venue of Glaswegians out on this icy December eve. There's a fundamental irony in so many showing up to watch a brutal, wig-wearing lampoon of '80s era heavy metal, comically detailing the type of excesses that were, at one point, embodied in a serious manner by tonight's co-headliners. Perhaps this lack of criticism for the Panther arises from the fact that the two 'serious' bands being parodied here once wrote hit songs about overdosing, dying, coming back to life, hitching a lift home and overdosing again (and that's just one song) and masturbating over a picture of Marilyn Monroe. The laughter track has always been omnipresent in the background of their careers, if somewhat muted, and maybe it takes a pseudo-tribute act to expose it. Or maybe the satire just completely passes over the heads of the girls who sit on boyfriends' shoulders, screaming and exposing themselves to the misogyny of 17 Girls In A Row and Community Property. Either way, they're entirely entertaining, and provide some respite from a metal scene that often forgets how to have fun.
Motley Crue appear with a loud bang but, sadly, it's not something that they go out on. Let's not lie: it was the Crue who sold out this gig tonight, perhaps with some help from the support act. They could probably spend their set reading out Chekov plays and the crowd would lap it up but, while Wild Side and Girls, Girls, Girls keep fans in the band's palms as firmly as ever, the sloppiness that has attributed itself to them in recent years still lingers. Vince still inexplicably misses out words and Mick Mars, while gifted and soulful within the refrains of songs, recreates the sound of a malfunctioning Dyson in the instrumental interludes. Flaws aside, the LA four still know how to put on a hell of a twisted carnival show, be it in terms of sound (a rowdy singalong to Smokin' In The Boys' Room and the grown-up sleaze rock of Saints Of Los Angeles) or vision (drummer Tommy Lee playing upside-down on a firework-filled rollercoaster) and there are enough thrills to make up for the occasional complacency.
What Def Leppard lack in Motley Crue's rawness and sleaze, they make up for in pristine, crafted, stadium-straddling brilliance. The runaway train of hits rolls down the line, calling at all stops from Animal to Photograph, and even an acoustic session of ballads doesn't halt the momentum. There is, however, a sense that a percentage of tonight's crowd see the Lep as an ironic nostalgia act, one that does not have the privilege of carrying itself on MTV culture and the popularity of reality television shows. The pomp and swagger of subtle-as-a-brick classic Pour Some Sugar On Me is perhaps laughable to the new generation of back-combing Nikki Sixx fans - it's mainly the older attendees that are wearing Def Lep merchandise tonight - but the NWOBHMers play like proud veterans as opposed to apologetic anachronisms. Joe Elliott can't always reach the high notes anymore - a flaw which may, in fairness, pertain to age rather than inability - but an a cappella ending to When Love And Hate Collide by the audience stands as the warmest moment of the evening.
Without trying to review the headliners solely by contrast to their touring partners, it's virtually indubitable that most negative preconceptions about them are based on a trendy social consensus as opposed to legitimate personal tastes, which sadly shatters the principle of what this music stands for. Three sides of the same strange three-sided coin the bands may be, but this tour stands as a visceral monument to the continuing idea of rock as a wonderfully varied, but uniting, force.
By Brig Newspaper 2011.
Gig review: Def Leppard/Motley Crue - Glasgow SECC By Fiona Shepherd
MOTLEY Crue's career has always been a bit of a circus so it has been no great stretch for the band to theme their shows along those lines, with frontman Vince Neil as the croaky fairground barker, bassist Nikki Sixx the slightly sinister ringmaster and drummer Tommy Lee, naturally, as the scene-stealing clown, defying gravity as his kit trundled 360 degrees around his "drum coaster" wheel.
The solo which accompanied the operation of this fairground attraction was little more than primitive skin-bashing underneath a brutal tech-metal backing track but the overall spectacle completely overshadowed the rest of their set of functional Sunset Strip rockers, even though the brute force of Dr Feelgood, dumb anthem Girls Girls Girls and their gleefully trashy cover of Brownsville Station's Smokin' In The Boys Room were all good entertainment value.
If Motley Crue were a ravaged rock sideshow, Def Leppard are an efficient business, delivering an expensive stage show and a set stuffed with melodic hard rock hits which was completely lacking in spirit, soul and any sense of self-awareness.
Frontman Joe Elliot was struck down with a cold and, it seemed, a humour bypass, judging by his protracted put-down of a pint-chucking fan, but the entire band were on autopilot, indulging themselves on a po-faced acoustic interlude and perfunctory performances of the fist-pumping likes of Rocket and Pour Some Sugar On Me which failed to muster any of the crowd-pleasing party spirit of their incorrigible tourmates.
By Scotsman 2011.
DEF LEPPARD/MOTLEY CRUE/STEEL PANTHER By David Wilson
There have been a number of excellent package tours in the UK this year, Journey/ Foreigner/ Styx and the recent Alter Bridge extravaganza to name but two, but tonight's line up must be the most eagerly anticipated of all. On paper it is a hard rock dream line up with the potential to provide an absolutely fantastic night's entertainment.
Opening the show were Steel Panther, a band who are one of rock music's Marmite bands, you either love 'em or hate 'em. I happen to love them, not sure what that says about me or my sense of humour, but no one can deny that tonight they played up a storm.
The comic content and on stage persona of the band would be nothing if the guys couldn't play live, but they proved tonight what fantastic musicians they are having honed their skills over many years on the LA circuit.
Steel Panther are unashamedly 30 years too late, playing their homage to the hair metal bands of yore. The lyrical content is always going to be the contentious issue being blue enough to embarrass Bernard Manning, as ably demonstrated in opening number 'Supersonic Sex Machine' from the bands new album 'Ball's Out'.
Frontman Michael Starr has all the Dave Lee Roth/ Vince Neil moves down pat and has the vocal delivery to back up the swagger.
The band's sound is dominated by the excellent guitar work of Satchel who plays with the confidence of someone who has been playing gigs two or three nights a week for the majority of his life.
Bottom line is, if you can get past the lyrics, Steel Panther are a kick ass metal band who know how to provide a very entertaining set.
The band played numbers from both their albums to date with the set highlight being the singalong ballad 'Community Property'. Hearing the crowd sing this song word for word with passion made me laugh out loud.
Judging by the fact that the hall was roughly three quarters full when Panther kicked off their set at the early hour of 6.30 and the fact that at the end of their set they received a very loud and sustained send off, it looks as though there is a growing band in on the joke.
Bottom line is, if you can get past the lyrics, Steel Panther are a kick ass metal band who know how to provide a very entertaining set.
After Steel Panther, the anticipation and excitement levels in the hall rose ten fold whilst the now capacity crowd awaited the arrival of the baddest boys in rock, Motley Crue. I hadn't seen Crue for many years, the last time I had tickets was when the band cancelled their UK tour as there may have been snow on the venue roofs, luckily tonight a bit of ice was all they had to contend with.
Opening with a very big bang which took everyone by surprise, the guys launched into 'Wild Side' and taking their cues from this, the crowd also went wild in response.
What followed was a lesson on how a rock show should be done. Fireworks ... check, flames ... check, explosions ... check, setlist full of classic rock anthems ... check, only Judas Priest and Kiss can outdo Crue in the on stage spectacular stakes.
The band were in fine form, Vince Neil's vocals may suffer a bit from time to time but these are rare moments, Nikki Sixx commands the stage, Mick Mars still looks barely alive while Tommy Lee is the party host and the drinks are on him!
The set contained classic after classic, 'Looks That Kill', 'Live Wire', 'Girls, Girls, Girls', 'Shout At The Devil' to name but a few. One of the highlights came when Tommy came out from behind the drum kit to tinkle the ivories on 'Home Sweet Home', ably backed by the Glasgow choir.
It was Lee again that provided the biggest spectacle of the night though with his drum solo. Normally a drum solo offers the chance to have a seat for 5 minutes or a quick run to the loo, but tonight this was what everyone was waiting for as Tommy had brought his 'drum rollercoaster' with him.
His drum riser is attached to a 360 degree track and during his solo the whole kit rotates around the track. If you haven't seen this yet check it out on You Tube, it is the work of a twisted genius.
Finishing with 'Smokin' In The Boys Room' and 'Kick Start My Heart', Crue proved they are still a major rock force at the top of their game. The only question one everyone's lips was, "How do Leppard top that ?"
The answer was simple, they didn't! On any other night a Def Leppard show would hit the target and tonight the guys put in a fine set, but after Crue it was all a bit of an anti climax.
The stage was awash with video screens which were used to good effect showing images for each numbers and live footage of the guys on stage, but it was no drum rollercoaster.
The set again couldn't be faulted kicking off with 'Undefeated, 'Rocket' and a cover of the Sweet classic 'Action'. Joe Elliott and Phil Collen made good use of the runway leading from the stage into the crowd.
Phil as usual shirtless and pulling some serious guitar hero shapes. Rick Allen and Rick Savage provided a thumping backline whilst Viv Campbell was happy to provide some excellent guitar work stage right.
Joe Elliott appeared to be struggling a bit vocally on a few numbers possibly suffering a bit of a cold, but it wasn't bad enough to detract from a good performance.
This package proved to be everything we hoped it would be, a great night's entertainment with highlights aplenty. Perhaps though with hindsight the guys in Def Leppard may be wishing they had given the top billing to Crue.
It was good to hear older numbers 'High 'n Dry' and one of my favourite Lep numbers 'Bringing On The Heartache'. All the hits were in place as well, 'Animal', another of my favs 'Photograph' and 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' which rounded off the main set. Encoring with 'Let's Get Rocked' the guys rounded off a solid set, but essentially, not a spectacular one.
This package proved to be everything we hoped it would be, a great night's entertainment with highlights aplenty. Perhaps though with hindsight the guys in Def Leppard may be wishing they had given the top billing to Crue.
Footnote - While we were waiting for Def Leppard to come on, my wife Cat and I headed to the back of the hall for a bit of a breather. Standing next to the mixing desk we spotted Michael Starr, front man from Steel Panther going around the rear of the hall, chatting to the crowd and signing autographs which he did willingly for around 30 minutes.
He was an absolute gent and probably did enough in that time to ensure Panther a full house when they return to Glasgow early next year. A class act indeed.
By Get Ready To Rock 2011.
Motley Crue kickstart with Def Leppard Two Steps Behind By Kirstin Lynn
With their reputation preceding them, bad boys with The Dirt, Motley Crue, were the even more legendary band kickstarting the crowd for rock veterans, Def Leppard's, headline show tonight. With the bulging SECC responsive to the all American theatrics, the crowd were all hollering and jostling where some WWE wrestling in the centre circle wouldn't have been at all out of place.
Motley Crue have a mammoth set-up with 'sin' appropriately boldly in lights. A brief glance at their previous tabloid headlines alone backs up such labelling. Leather, tattoos and guitars hurtling in the air, Motley Crue are every bit the stereotypical rock band, though the performance which they give tonight suggests that potentially they could be the ultimate rock band.
With all hands in the air for the infamous four, the show is high impact, with pyrotechnics, bright lights and bold statements. Tommy Lee, band founder alongside bassist Nikki Sixx, effectively leads the stage show. Largely narrated, a bit like a rocker's panto (with fake blood and bottles of champagne thrown at the crowd rather than chocolate coins), a stripped down performance of Home Sweet Home has Lee on piano for a very brief tender moment. Obligatory explosions and flames kick in, quickly shattering any illusions and the track transcends into another head-banging riff-buster.
Known for parallels between his wild antics in life and performance behind the drums, Tommy Lee has his moment where his kit begins to swing back and forth across the stage in pendulum motion. Playing along to a blast of turbulent electronica, Lee scales the circumference of the circular rig which his kit is built into, teasing back and forth before journeying the entire perimeter. With fans roaring in appreciation of crusade, one crowd member is invited onstage to co-pilot his contraption. Thankfully the journey went better than Lee's ability to keep a sex tape private.
Anthems Girls Girls Girls and Kickstart My Heart have firsts punching the air with the guitar hungry crowd dragged to the top of their evening all too soon. Headliners Def Leppard are still to play, and the SECC are frenzied and Sticky Sweet, having already unleashed their Wild Side.
Sheffield rockers Def Leppard are positively demure this evening in comparison to their support band. There are no statements in lights here, just a sunflower beside the drum kit which says it all. The band play their bare-chested rock 'n' roll well, but the crowd thins out a little and their set, lacking in all that was bold and brash before it, relies more heavily on music alone, rather than a full-blown multi-sensory stage show.
For a band of their years, they still have energy in abundance, with tracks like Rocket and Undefeated crunching mighty. Any rock 'n' roll points they accumulate, however, are quickly wiped away with a jack and coke when lead vocalist Joe Elliot apologies for his vocals maybe not being up to scratch due to a "winter cold" in Two Steps Behind.
There's no doubt about both bands that featured this evening being influential, well and truelly tattooed into music history, but rather than compliment each other, there was only one band remaining Undefeated tonight.
By STV 2011.
Motley Crue & Def Leppard @ Glasgow S.E.C.C. By Ronnie McCluskey
The decision to pit Sheffield rockers Def Leppard against Motley Crüe seemed a strange one from the offing. The election to put the latter on first seemed downright ludicrous.
Why was it ludicrous? We'll get to that in a little bit. As for why it seemed strange, it shouldn't be too difficult to fathom. Though Leppard are veterans of the rock game, their live set is crucially devoid of the bombast, energy or attitude their counterparts so readily disseminate.
Preconceptions aside, a loud pyrotechnic explosion brings the Queen music filtering out of Hall 4's speakers to an abrupt halt, and the red curtain descends as the Stateside hellraisers bound onto the stage. Larger than life and still deriving their style from Sunset Strip lowlifes and 80s bikers, they kickstart the crowd with 'Wild Side', a favourite from their massive 1987 breakout album 'Girls, Girls, Girls'. 'Wild Side' is the kind of barnstorming set-opener that makes it easy to see why it has rarely left the band's setlist in a quarter-century. Compact, absorbing, and accompanied by a hail of explosions, it's akin to a particularly badass WWE wrestler's theme tune.
Vince Neil, looking a little plumper these days than his cat-like countenance in the band's 80s heyday, sprints to the front of the stage, wielding his mic like a sword. Every time the 'Wild side!' chant goes up, Neil thrusts his mic into the air like Rafael Nadal after a particularly vicious cross-court forehand. An ode to their rough living early days, Neil encourages the Glasgow crowd to 'take a ride on the wild side' as Nikki Sixx, resembling a strung-out Jack Sparrow in a red bandana and platform boots, lurches to his left thundering on his bass.
The crowd greets the song with hysteria long familiar to the quartet, and the bloody word 'SIN' bedaubed in the background seems entirely appropriate. Anyone who has read the band's self-penned autobiography The Dirt - and there's probably a fair few in attendance tonight - can barely believe the rockers are still alive. The Dirt will surely never be surpassed as a modern fable of rockstar decadence; one feels burned out just reading about their hard partying and copious drug use across a panoply of monster tours during their peak years.
That's all in the past now, though the music is very much kicking ass in the present. 'Saints of Los Angeles' is up next, and the new material cosies up to the back catalogue so familiarly you'd think they were old pals. 'We are…we are the saints, we signed our life away/ Doesn't matter what you think, we're gonna do it anyway!' the crowd chant along, happy to feel like motherfuckers for a change. Motley has been doing it for years. With all hands in the air, the set continues in a decidedly feel good manner, with frequent loud bangs and the front row being hit in the face by the warmth from the pyros. 'Live Wire' goes over well, from 1981's 'Too Fast for Love', while 'Shout at the Devil' ('Shout! Shout! Shout! Shout at the devil!') and 'Same Ol' Situation' deliver a vicious one-two punch of classics.
The great thing about Motley is they look like they're having a ball on stage. Tommy Lee beats the crap out of his drums with vigour, gusto and a smile on his face; Vince Neil sprints about the stage, his lank hair flailing in his wake, his chicken wing arm shooting into the air like the definition of a cocky rockstar; and Nikki Sixx struts around in a similar manner to Gene Simmons; eyeing the crowd, grinning like a gregarious drug dealer, at one point goodnaturedly pretending to cuff a front row reveler on the head with his titanic bass.
These guys do hard living and hard rock; 'nuff said. Not really, as the set's not even half over. The band put the switchblades and Jack Daniel's bottles away to show a softer side on 'Home Sweet Home', a grand piano being lumbered onto the stage for Lee, and it's just as much of a singalong; don't worry though, the flames and amps soon kick back in for 'Looks That Kill', followed by Tommy Lee's inimitable drum solo.
While many rock bands defer to their drummer for an obligatory moment in the sun, Motley don't do anything at half-pace; cue Lee to be whisked 360 degrees in the air on a circular rig as turbulent electronica (Red Hot Chili Peppers doing 'Love Rollercoaster', to be precise) booms out of the speakers and lurid images (a drunk Jackson Pollok canvas, it looks like) blur across the big screen. Lee pounds on his bass, snare and cymbals even whilst suspending upside down, and before long he's invited a lucky fan along for the ride; a punter is plucked from the crowd and strapped into the contraption, Lee asking him: 'Hey man, you like to fuckin' drink?' Though it's difficulent to hear what the guy's response is, Lee's subsequent whoop of approval tells you it's a definite affirmative.
Suffice to say, Motley don't let up through to the end, and anthems like 'Dr. Feelgood' and 'Girls, Girls, Girls' - not to mention to ballsy new track 'Motherfucker of the Year' - make you fear for Def Lep in the same way you would a Mike Tyson opponent fearfully warming up in the dressing-room. Everyone's thinking it; how are the Americanised Englishmen, with their mirror balls and FM metal sound, going to follow this?
Brownsville Station cover 'Smokin' in the Boys' Room' precludes storming set-closer (could it be anything else?) 'Kickstart My Heart' - for those who aren't familiar with the band, bassist Sixx OD'd and was pronounced dead in early 1987 after an especially voracious heroin binge. It has the desired effect as Glasgow goes along for the ride one last time. Soon Lee and Sixx are tossing buckets of 'blood' into the audience. Lee then boisterously proffers several bottles of champagne and passes them along the front row.
Poor Def Leppard. The veterans come onto stage playing 'Undefeated', which you think for a second might be ironic since you expect them to be slain, though mega-hit 'Rocket' comes at the right moment as some members of the crowd are returning from the bar having topped up post-Motley. Though Def Leppard are excellent musicians, it's fair to say most of their fans are in the stands tonight, seated, tempered, silently appreciative; and a good portion of their acolytes in the bullpen are happy to take in the action from far back, away from the wash of maniacs still buzzing from the previous act.
The Brits are demure in comparison tonight, and string through a trail of bare-chested hits without pausing for much stage banter (or blood throwing). The crowd depletes in size somewhere near the halfway mark, though they plough on, Joe Elliott even finding time for an absurd strop after a punter throws a plastic pint cup at him. 'His mother probably only lets him out once a month,' he storms after the song's conclusion, patting down the Tennent's on his arm. 'Dorito boy! Someone always has to ruin it for the rest of them, eh?'
For a veteran of the game, Elliott seemed strangely ruffled by a single tossed beer cup. If the crowd thought tossing projectiles could bring Motley back to the stage, they'd have fired a veritable enfilade. Elliott subsequently restores his rock credentials, though; after 'Two Steps Behind' he apologises to the crowd for his vocals not being up to par because of a 'winter cold.' Whatever your thoughts on either band, there's no denying one stole the show tonight.
In fact, it was a mismatch - like putting on an animal exhibit whereby a lamb was deposited inside a bullpen with a particularly voracious lion.
By Live4Ever 2011.
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