Hello, everyone. Welcome to the first Advice column of the week. These posts usually involves lists or input from guest contributors, but today we are offering an editorial about lessons learned while watching on of the greatest living rock bands perform in West Michigan for the very last time. If you have any questions about the content in this article, or if you have an artist you would like to see featured on this blog, please contact james@haulix.com and share your thoughts. We can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
I traveled halfway across the country a few weeks back to see a concert I could have very easily witnessed in my home city of Boston. It was the opening night of Motley Crue’s final tour, however, and I could not miss the opportunity to be present for the beginning of the end for one of America’s most iconic and outrageous bands. The show was incredible, spanning more than two hours and featuring songs from across their 33-year career, but it was not a night without fault. In fact, there were so many flaws that many people in the arena started to leave. I learned a lot though, including why so many people respect a band that has prided themselves on debauchery for over three decades.
The night started out with an hour-long set from Alice Cooper that flew by without fault or failure. Cooper stuck to the hits, which worked out just fine considering he has a few dozen to choose from. Fans cheered, chants occurred, but it was all an appetizer to wet attendees’ palettes for the main event.
Shortly after nine at night the light in Grand Rapids’ Van Andel Arena dropped. A short musical interlude played in the dark and then, accompanied by a burst of light and sound, Motley Crue appeared on the stage. Their first three songs went off without a hitch, and during their runtime the group introduced go-go dancers, pyrotechnics, and a lighting rig meant to resemble a giant pentagram. It was everything you could hope for in a Motley Crue show for almost fifteen solid minutes, but things quickly began to fall apart from there.
Just before the fourth song of the evening began, drummer Tommy Lee commented to Vince Neil that he believed he may have broken his drum kit. Fans laughed at first, but a minute later the band was still waiting for Lee to figure out what was wrong with his kit. Nikki Sixx left the stage a few minutes later, followed by Vince Neil, and the people manning the boards decided to turn on a few of the arena lights. Mick Mars stuck around for a few minutes to entertain the crowd with a guitar solo, but as his efforts neared the five minute mark he too gave up and disappeared back stage. The show had come to a screeching halt less than twenty minutes after it had begun, and the crowd of thousands who had spent the previous two hours drinking themselves into a rock and roll fit were not happy about the delays.
An additional twenty minutes passed before the band was ready to perform again. When they hit the stage, however, things quickly fell back into place and began to go off without a hitch…For about two songs.
Within fifteen minutes of starting the show a second time, guitarist Mick Mars had difficulties with his gear that required immediate, show-stopping attention. The band apologized, claimed everyone was witnessing ‘typical first night problems,’ and spent another ten minutes backstage while a sold out arena sat in silence, waiting to see if the men behind “Girls, Girls, Girls” would ever make it through their set.
The third time the show resumed I could have sworn it was going to be the last time Vince Neil would be forced to apologize for bumbling the last chance the crowd in front of him would have to watch Motley Crue perform. One song into their performance, however, Lee’s kit had a second technical setback. It was not a complete show-stopper, but the news that there would be yet another short delay sent waves of groans and drunken complaints rippling throughout the crowd. After 33 years of rocking crowds to worldwide acclaim it seemed like the members Motley Crue had never even thought to run through their farewell tour stage production before hitting the stage.
Things were so delayed by the time the show resumed a fourth time that the group was forced to shorten their set list to work with a performance curfew enforced by the host city. They did not mention this outright, of course, but instead would stop between each and every song for up to a minute of dead silence while they reset the stage (and themselves) for whatever classic track would follow next. There was no flow or consistency anywhere to be found. Eventually, after all the hits that could fit in a show with more than forty-five minutes of delays had been played, the show came to a close and people filed into the streets with a story to tell.
I’ll be the first to admit that I left Van Andel Arena after the opening night of Motley Crue’s tour ready to throw a fistful of dirt on the band’s grave. Having paid nearly $100 per ticket to witness what could best be described as half a performance I was ready to write off the “Dr. Feelgood” creators once and for all. As things tend to go, however, a few days later I began to see the events of that evening in a whole new light. Hell, I even began to respect Motley Crue for sticking it out the way they did in spite of everything that was going wrong around them, and you want to know why? It’s simple: They gave it their all.
Life is filled with unexpected events, and that goes double for anything you attempt to create and share with others on a large scale. You can practice and plan all you want, but there are some things that happen in this universe that cannot be prevented or otherwise stopped. They can, however, stop you if you are not prepared to take the blows life throws out of the blue.
Motley Crue may not have put on the best show of their lives that night in Grand Rapids, but they did pour everything they had into entertaining fans when the equipment they were working with would allow them do so. Vince Neil belted his lungs out, Tommy pounded the drums, Mick worked the guitar like it was an extension of himself, and Nikki attached a flamethrower to his bass so that he could shoot fireballs into the sky every time the crowded chanted during “Shout At The Devil.” If you could remove all the delays and downtime you would have witnessed a thrilling, albeit surprisingly short headline set from one of the greatest arena rock bands of all time. That may be harder for some to understand than others, but it’s the truth. Motley Crue gave their all and hopefully in time those who left the venue disappointed that night will realize that fact in the days and months to come.
Your band may not have the kind of elaborate stage production Motley Crue is currently taking with them on the road, but that does not mean your live show is without risk of random setbacks. It’s kind of amazing that more shows do not end in disaster. There are almost always people moving around, sweat dripping from ceiling fixtures, wires and equipment scattered across the ground, and a general ‘who gives a crap’ vibe in the air that theoretically could spell disaster at every turn. You can do your best to prepare for the worst, but the truth of the matter is that there will come many days and moments that catch you completely off guard. The best thing you can do is clench your teeth and fight through whatever troubles come your way. Play as well as you can, sing as loud as possible, and don’t walk off the stage until you have given your audience everything you have inside. The show may still be far from perfect, but they will respect your hustle. Sometimes, that means more.
