Recently, I decided to get my ten-year-old little sister the best birthday present ever (though it was r a present to myself). I got her tickets to go to Mötley Crüe’s Final Tour with Alice Cooper. Music is a huge part of my life, and I’ve been to so many concerts, but this was definitely the most emotional.
For those of you who are not familiar with Mötley Crüe, they are one of the first and most influential Glam Metal bands from California. Staying strong since 1981, they finally decided to go on their final tour—yes, it’s really the final tour this time, I promise.
My little sister knows more about 80’s Glam Metal than you can imagine, so I already knew these tickets would be perfect for her. Furthermore, I really wanted to give her the experience of going to her first concert because going to my first concert at the age of nine has given me the appreciation for music I have today. And boy, did she really get a good first experience with this show!
Enough with the cheesy backstory, though -- let me tell you about my amazing experience. Prior to this, I had never seen Alice Cooper before. I had only seen the amazing theatrical performances on TV. I can honestly say I have never, nor will I ever, experience anything like that ever again.
He opened with the song “Black Widow” and the whole venue came to life. The crowd was so alive, everyone was cheering, and the beautiful, old, saggy (but still so beautiful) Alice Cooper came out on stage. I have never seen such a crowd before, and that was only the beginning. During “Feed My Frankenstein”, there was a skit of Alice being turned into Frankenstein (like in the movie), and giant size Alice Cooper Version of Frankenstein was walking around on stage! If that wasn’t good enough, during the song “The Ballad of Dwight Fry”, Alice performed his famous skit where he was in a straight jacket and eventually gets his head cut off (great for family bonding). Being a horror enthusiast, Alice Cooper just did it all for me that night. He even brought out his snake on stage for one performance. But the most bizarre part of his show was when he decided to throw money in the crowd during “Million Dollar Baby” — which I didn’t get any of because I couldn’t afford to get floor seats and was stuck all the way at the top (thanks, college tuition!).
Alice Cooper was honestly the most exciting concert I had been to, but since he was opening for the main act, he could only perform so many songs. Nonetheless, he did amazing things with the time that he did have.
On to the stars of the night. I didn’t know what to expect from Mötley Crüe at all because I never watched live shows even online, and I’ve never been to a Glam Metal show, but I was definitely not disappointed.
The show started with the sound of motorcycle engines revving, and if you know Mötley Crüe, that can only mean one thing: Girls, Girls, Girls. They opened with this well-known song, and everything after that was just so… glamorous. It didn't have the same vibes as Alice Cooper because Alice is very theatrical and loves shock value. Mötley Crüe was more about the loud screams and the fire and such, which is very characteristic of them. At one point Nikki Sixx, the drummer, flew over the crowd in his drumset, going upside down. I didn’t even know bands could do that! It’s a little difficult to see in the photo below, but that is Nikki Sixx, upside down, playing his drums hundreds of feet over the crowd.
At the end of the show, Mötley Crüe made it clear that this was the last time they would be performing for Chicago. Nonetheless, they decided to pull everyone’s heartstrings by playing “Home Sweet Home” as their final song. I remember it like it was yesterday. All of the (very old) people around me were crying, and even me and my little sister shed some tears.
Their next show will be on Oct. 5th in Hidalgo, TX, and their last show will be on New Year’s Eve in California. I definitely recommend anyone who likes either of these bands deeply enough to experience the Final Tour while it is still going. This was a unique, though heartbreaking, experience for me and I know anyone would love it.
#RIPMötleyCrüe
