MOTLEY CRUE/HINDER/THEORY OF A DEADMAN
Boy, yesterday was a long one! Starting at around four in the morning I woke up with the worst pain from where I had my wisdom tooth pulled last week. I got up, took a Vicodin, went back to bed and nothing. I waited about an hour and then got back up and took four Ibuprofens. After at least another half-hour, the pain finally began to subside, but then I got all itchy and started to doze off into some strange mini-dreams. I finally passed back out for good a little after six which sucks because I had actually gone to bed right after getting home from my Applebee’s remote in Greer. I was in the bed and out like a light shortly after midnight hoping to get a killer night’s sleep since I don’t get until nine and knowing the day had a lot in store. Oh well, we press on!
After getting my office work done, I went to the studio to begin my air shift only to run right into Tyler, Dave and Dean of THEORY OF A DEADMAN right at the door! Sarah, our promotions director was escorting them in along with P1 Big Country (or ‘Countsy’ if you will) and brought in some delicious sandwiches, cookies and such from Panera Bread! So the guys went on the air with me as soon I first hit the air and preceeded to take over a play a few of their own selections including a double shot of BLACK SABBATH!
Not twenty minutes after their departure, Jonathan Jacobs (our Universal Republic rep) came in with Cody and Mike from HINDER. They came in, enjoyed some of the leftover Panera goodness, popped on a few songs they wanted to hear including SEETHER’s new cover of WHAM’s “Careless Whisper” and even had time to take a call. Check out the audio from both band’s in-studio invasions here!
Jonathan was celebrating his 32nd birthday and had me and Rebecca on the guest list at the show that night since I had given up my tickets so another staff member could go to the show. I met her at my apartment shortly after seven and we had to hit an ATM since neither of us had cash on us to cover parking. We got our tickets and made our way to our seats just as THEORY OF A DEADMAN started cranking out “Hate My Life” and then closed with “Bad Girlfriend”. At least I got to see part of their set since they went on at 7:05!
HINDER went on next almost right at eight opening with “Use Me”, the first single from their latest album Take It to the Limit. They played for around forty minutes and ended with their first hit single “Get Stoned”. Jonathan came over and hung with me and Rebecca during most of their set then we all met up with Mark Hendrix, Stoneman from ROCK 101, Dex and a few other staff members and listeners to hang in the hall while waiting for CRUE.
MOTLEY CRUE’s set began just as AC/DC’s “Hells Bells” finished playing on the overhead. The intro music began as the silhouette of an angel appeared followed by the silhouette of the Devil then the silhouette of the angel began to perform oral sex on the silhouette of the Devil. This was just the first of an onslaught of sacrilegious imagery throughout the first portion of CRUE’s set. I wasn’t offended but it made me uncomfortable and it seemed a bit out of place. It would make me uncomfortable anywhere but I could see all that taking place at a MARILYN MANSON, SLAYER or CRADLE OF FILTH show but not so much at a MOTLEY CRUE show.
Musically speaking, the band was dead on and Mick Mars even seemed to get around fairly well despite his condition, but Vince Neil sounded like a castrated chipmunk - well, more so than usual! The fireworks and pyrotechnics were a bit overwhelming and Rebecca is allergic to sulfur so we left after a few songs. I believe we made it through “Shout at the Devil” which I think is one of CRUE’s stronger songs from their best album of the same name. I’m not a big CRUE fan as I was planning on leaving early regardless, but even I was starting to actually taste the sting of the sulfur at that point. Well, at least now I can say I’ve seen them live!