Cumartesi 22 Ağu 2009, 12:07
Probably the best show I've seen so far at the VBA. It was hot, the place was crowded, and the show was long. Only the strongest survived as about 1/3rd of the crowd was gone way before Mötley Crüe's set was finished. My buddy Len was laying on the ground due to exhaustion (and probably a little too much beer). Theory of a Deadman followed Drowning Pool and Charm City Devils on the main stage and Theory put on a great show as the crowd finished settling in.
Godsmack came on with Sully Erna's crazy boston accent and totally, totally rocked. I never took them seriously, with all the Alice In Chains references, but I didn't see that association and will be listening to them more, especially with a new album forthcoming, of which they sang Whiskey Hangover. They began the latter half of their set with two drum kits and dueling drum solos (Batalla De Los Tambores)… and of the rest of their performance severely rocked.
Mötley Crüe came on performing inside a very small stage prop meant to look like an operating room, a la Dr. Feelgood. After the initial song, the prop disassembled into a huge stage and the Crüe launched into a performance of the entire album, beginning to end. Vince Neil seemed a little hoarse, and I never realized, or noticed I guess, that his voice is almost a falsetto. I never paid much attention to them after Shout at the Devil or Theatre of Pain, but I was definitely there during Dr. Feelgood, and all the memories from the late 80s came streaming back. The performance was stupendous, even if Vince Neil sounds like a munchkin in his talking voice and Tommy Lee didn't perform because he had injured his hand.
Tommy Lee did come out on stage several times, apologized for his mishap (he didn't say what happened), and his replacement drummer more than covered for him. Tommy was at the piano for Home Sweet Home, which was the "2nd half" of their show, where they sang more of their top hits.
Overall I really loved the concert and had a great time. I was reintroduced to the greatness of Dr. Feelgood and also reminded how much I liked Time For Change from that album.