Cruefest 2 – The Review
Cruefest returned to Cincinnati on August 14th. This concert took place on a hot and sunny Friday evening, and as a result the seats and lawn of Riverbend Music Center were packed.
Charm City Devils took the stage early. Their set started at 4:45. I thought this was kind of crappy for the folks that got there at five and didn’t get to see their full set. The Cruefest tickets said start time 5:00 P.M. Those that got there really early saw local band and contest winner Calloused play on the second stage in the PNC Pavillion. I didn’t make it in time to catch their set,and got to Riverbend just as Charm City Devils was starting.
Charm City Devils were pretty good, and their songs sounded just like their CD. Some of the songs played were “Burn Baby Burn”, “Pour Me” and “Lets Rock-N-Roll”. Their set was way too short (only thirty minutes). I ran into John Allen after the set out by the merchandise counter. He is one cool guy. If you check out one new band this year, give Charm City Devils a chance.
Check out “Pour Me” below.
A quick thirty minutes later, Drowning Pool took the stage, and blasted out a cool set of tunes including”Enemy”, “Step Up”, “37 Stitches”, and the crowd pleasing closer, “Bodies”. Drowning Pool brought a lot of energy to the stage, and I enjoyed their short set. I must admit that Drowing Pool is one of the bands at Cruefest I wasn’t very excited about, but I can’t deny that they were one of the better bands at the festival.
Check out “Bodies” below.
I skipped the Theory of a Deadman set, and caught a few minutes of Cavo’s set over on stage two. I saw them perform their new single “Champagne”. The band would like you to call your radio station every day for the rest of your life to request this song. At least this is what Cavo’s lead singer, Casey Walker announced to the audience. I don’t know why, but that struck me as funny.
Back on the main stage, Godsmack performed a tight set including the songs “Voodoo” and “I Stand Alone”. Unfortunately, I missed a lot of their set, but I liked the few songs that I did see. There was a really cool drum solo that had both Shannon Larkin and Sully Ena playing on two separate drum kits. Godsmack had the crowd revved up and ready for Motley Crue.
Motley Crue opened up their show with “Dr. Feelgood”, and their set opened with the band playing in a padded cell. This was a pretty cool opening, but I quickly noticed that Tommy Lee was missing. I wasn’t surprised by this, as a friend told me prior to the show, that Tommy Lee would not be performing with Motley Crue tonight. I was pretty
disappointed by this news, and the visions of Samantha Maloney haunted my mind. Tommy Lee burned his hand and was unable to perform.
The band called in Morgan Rose from Sevendust to fill in for Tommy, and much to my surprise, he didn’t miss a beat. In fact, Morgan Rose was the least of Motley Crue’s problems for this show. It almost seemed as if Mick Mars guitar was out of tune in Dr. Feelgood. His guitar intro, just sounded a little off to me. He got better as the night went on, but Dr. Feelgood was a little rough, to kick things off.
After “Dr. Feelgood”, Vince brought Tommy Lee out to explain the situation why he wasn’t playing. Tommy basically admitted to being a bonehead for burning his had, and was quite thankful for Morgan Rose coming in to save the day.
It wouldn’t be a Motley Crue show if Vince Neil didn’t skip a lyric or two. He has been notorious for this, the last few times I have seen Motley, and tonight was no exception. It sounded like he mumbled his way through “Dr. Feelgood”. (See the clip below.) I was laugh when Vince breaks out his guitar. It seems more like a shoulder ornament, than an instrument when he has it. He definitely doesn’t play it very much. Later in Motley’s set, the band played the song “Wildside”, and the backup singers totally messed the songs up. Vince looked at the crowd in disbelief.
Aside from a few botched lyrics, and miscues, Motley Crue pulled off another great show. This show had everything you would expect including a massive light show, plenty of Pyro, and some great rock and roll to go along with it. Motley played Dr. Feelgood in its entirety, and with the exception of a song or two, I liked seeing these songs played in a live setting.
Motley’s set included: “Dr. Feelgood”, “Slice of Your Pie”, “Rattlesnake Shake”, “Kickstart My Heart”, “Without You”, “Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S.)”, “Sticky Sweet”, “She Goes Down”, “Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)”, “Time for a Change”, “Saints of Los Angeles, “Shout at the Devil”, “Wildside”, “Home Sweet Home” and “Girls, Girls Girls”.
Even though Tommy Lee didn’t play the drums, he did his best to make his presence felt with a couple of appearances during the show. The most important of which was his playing the piano of one of the closing songs, “Home Sweet Home”.
Overall, I thought Cruefest 2 was pretty good. Sure there were some bands I would have changed for this festival, but Motley Crue delivered the goods, and they were the reason that I came to Cruefest 2. I enjoyed this night of great rock and good friends at Cruefest 2. I am looking forward to the next one in 2011!
Check out the clips of “Dr. Feelgood”, “Same Ol’ Situation” and “Don’t Go Away Mad” below:
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I would have loved to have gone to Cruefest 2 this year, but Priest/Whitesnake and Leppard/Poison were top priority since I had never seen any of those guys play before.
So both stages are running at the same time? That’s kinda odd. I figured they would’ve just started the 2nd stage before 5PM or used it during down time between main stage changes.
You are wayyyyyy too kind man. Motley Crue put on one dog shit of a show. The sound was wayyy too low,Vince was constantly blowing lyrics, I think the only ones he got right during Shout at the Devil were Shout at the Devil. Mick Mars looked like a zombie and sounded even worst. He has got to be one of the shittiest guitarists to make an ass load of money ever.Noty to mention Tommy Lee being his usuall tool self. Also the big screens on the lawn were broken during most of the show and not one song from thier first album at all.(if I remember correctly) and leat but not least…no boobie cam! Im an old crue fan from wayyyy back but I was embarrased for them after this show. They need to hang it up and retire gracefully.
The only up side was that I didnt have to pay for my ticket. but sadly that is a few hours of lost time that I will never get back
That actually says a lot. The sound in the lawn area of Riverbend is usually pretty crappy. Actually, unless you are pretty much dead center at Riverbend, the sound is usually pretty bad. I don’t like to stand out there in the lawn, if I don’t have to. Personally, I am glad the titty cam was gone. It was fun for some but tasteless and offensive for others. (The girls around us at Cruefest one needed to keep their tops on, trust me!) Mick Mars looks like a zombie, because he is crippled up with ankylosing spondylitis. It is a wonder that he can even come out on stage and play. I will admit though, that he didn’t sound as good as he did last year, but I am thankful he is still around to play. You wont see him run around on the stage because of his health.
Mishaps and all, it was the best I’ve seen Motley Crue in years. Tommy will be out for at least a week. If you’re lucky Larry, he’ll be back by the 29th.
Will Tommy be returing soon like by the 29th???
It was a great show! I’m glad I went!