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Let me start this rant, by stating that I love Motley Crue.  I rarely miss them when they come to town.  I have supported them since I first heard them back in the early to mid 80’s.  When the Cruefest 2 tickets went on sale, I did not hesitate to buy a pair.  Yes, the ticket prices for this festival have gotten out of control, but that is not my issue with the festival at all.

When Motley Crue started up this festival,they said they were looking for bands that embodied rock and roll.  That is a fair enough statement, and a good idea at that. I like the idea of them mixing it up with some current bands.  It brings a wider mix of fans to the venues for the festival.  The idea is obviously working, as they aren’t having a hard time selling tickets. Cruefest 2 looks to be as successful, if not more so than the festival last year.

So why the rant? I am not so sure the bands on the bill this year is the right mix.  I am actually looking most foward to seeing the Charm City Devils play.  Sadly, they are only going to get 30 minutes to perform.  That is too bad, but Cruefest is going help introduce these guys to a whole new bunch of fans.  Good for them.

I admit that I am not a huge Drowning Pool fan.  They have some songs that I like, but I must admit that I would have picked them to open up for the Crue.  I have heard they are really good live, so I will give them a chance.

I have seen Theory of a Deadman previously.  I can not deny that they have some good songs on their disc, Scars and Souvenirs, but their spot on this bill makes as much sense as Trapt did last year. Not to mention the fact that they just aren’t interesting to watch. The last time I saw them, they live performance wasn’t much to talk about.  Of course, they played directly after Airbourne, if that tells you anything.

Godsmack.  Did Motley Crue get it right with this pick?  Probably so.  This band is probably big enough to headline their own show.  They are going to bring a massive draw to the festival.  Once again, I am not a huge fan of these guys, but I must admit that I am curious to see what they can do live.

Motley Crue. Ok, this is a no-brainer. Always a good show, and a good time at a Crue show. The band announced that they are going to play the entire Dr. Feelgood album live.  There were already a bunch of songs from this disc in their set already, so this won’t be much of a stretch from last year’s show. I am not crazy about a band doing a whole album in their set.  If I were Motley, and I was going to perform one disc from their catalog, it would be Shout at the Devil.  Imagine if they performed in their makeup and crazy outfits they wore in the 80’s. That would be awesome! Oh well….maybe next year.

In case you missed it, it was announced late in the game that a second stage sponsored by Monster Energy drink was added to Cruefest 2.  There was a rumor that Duff McKagan’s Loaded was added to the bill, and things were truly looking up for Cruefest 2.  Then the announcement came….and what a doozy it was.  The five bands on the second stage are:

Rev Theory, Shram, Cavo, 16 Second Stare, and a local band from each city that Cruefest plays in.  I have seen Rev Theory before, and they are a pretty good band live.  They may surprise a few folks.

The other bands on the bill, Shram, Cavo and 16 Second Stare got a reaction from me that went something like this:  Who? How?  What happened?  What the ****?  With a second stage they could have turned this already growing festival into a true monster (pun intended).  They made this announcement very late in the game, and I am sure booking the stage two acts had to be quite a challenge.  Nonetheless, I am scratching my head over these choices.  I don’t think any of these bands will draw fans, or help sell more tickets to Cruefest.

What happened to Loaded?  Where is The Last Vegas?  Is this truly the best you could do? Somehow I doubt it.  Maybe some of the bands will turn out to be great, but I won’t hold my breath.

As a whole, I am less than excited, if not disappointed about this year’s Cruefest, but I will go once more to support one of my all time favorite bands.  What is your take on Cruefest 2?