OT - A Crüe-d imitation of a live performance

[Glenn]

Motley Crue's Amplified Pyrotechnique

Heavy on the stage effects: Motley Crue, with Vince Neil.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008; Page C05

Just as a prosthetic limb might return the pleasures of walking to an amputee, so has stage technology allowed Motley Crue to keep going.

Of course, the Crue has always employed a few flashy gizmos (remember the spinning hydraulic drum that cradled Tommy Lee during 1987's "Wild Side" video?), but when the band performed Sunday night at Nissan Pavilion, it was almost more machine than man -- the Sunset Strip's answer to Darth Vader.

Bassist Nikki Sixx heroically marched about the stage but was largely absent from the mix, the low end supported instead by cranking up the drums. Frontman Vince Neil didn't even bother to sing the chorus to show-closing 1989 hit "Dr. Feelgood." Instead, the fist-pumping chant was piped in from some offstage source.

Meanwhile, plumes of flame and powerful explosions erupted from the rear of the stage -- injecting additional bravado into moments that rocked only modestly.

Only the frail and ghostly specter of guitarist Mick Mars -- who has long suffered from chronic degenerative arthritis -- seemed to be operating without the benefit of performance-enhancing doodads, as he played and soloed . . . you know . . . with his hands.

But deep beneath Motley Crue's cold and steely exterior, some natural energy still survived. "Kickstart My Heart" and "Shout at the Devil" still rocked. And even though Nissan Pavilion's management decreed that the band could not use its onstage video camera to induce female audience members to disrobe -- much to Lee's rather vocal annoyance -- Motley Crue still managed to get one or two shirts lifted the old-fashioned way.
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-- Aaron Leitko

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