Mötley Crüe & Def Leppard - Gig Review & Photo Gallery 15th November @ Marvel Stadium, Melb, VIC
Mötley Crüe & Def Leppard
Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria
November 14th, 2023
It’s been a long year and a half since two of the biggest heavyweights of the 80’s glam rock scene, one from America, and the other from the UK, announced their massive joint world tour (after Wall Of Sound broke the news to Australian fans), and finally, finally Australia got their turn. On Tuesday night, Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard wrapped up their 18-month-long run around the globe in Melbourne, and it’s a night that I’m sure many, including myself, will not forget in a hurry.
The thing about bands that are as big and well-known as these two, is that they don’t really need a support act to warm up the crowd. Hailing from the City of Angels itself (Although, we all know these men are far from the most angelic ones around!), Mötley Crüe kicked off the evening. After seeing a lot of videos of live performances from Crüe during the last 10 or so years, I went into the evening with pretty low expectations. I can honestly (and happily!) say that I was actually pleasantly surprised, drummer Tommy Lee, and new (since 2022) recruit guitarist, John 5, sounded pretty bloody good. The mix may have been off, or it could have been the wind, so unfortunately I couldn’t really hear much of Nikki Sixx‘s bass from where I was sitting (at least at the start of the night), however his vocals sounded great. Unfortunately, Vince Neil‘s vocals haven’t improved and although they tried to cover this up with scantily clad, beautiful backing vocalists, that didn’t really work. Hot girls in hotter outfits aren’t going to cover up bad vocals (unless you’re a straight white male, which I guess was about half of the crowd at the show).
‘Wild Side’ was the opening number for the four piece, and I’m glad to see they started out with one of their oldest and well known songs, Neil bumbled his way through the lyrics of ‘Shout At The Devil‘ which was next up, and he was also really out of time with his band mates. I’m not entirely sure why they would try to perform ‘Live Wire‘ due to the crazy range in the vocals, however Tommy, Nikki and John 5 sounded great, and Vince did a great job getting the crowd to sing the parts he couldn’t and overall it wasn’t terrible. ‘Looks That Kill‘ has been one of my favourite songs since I was a teenager and was one of the highlights of the show for me, and it was heartwarming to see Nikki and John 5 sharing a mic (much like Nikki and Vince do in the music video) for their backing vocals.
Crüe played a collection of old and new songs, including the title track from the 2019 Netflix adaptation of ‘The Dirt‘ (based on the band’s autobiography of the same name) where the big screens played the music video featuring behind-the-scenes footage of Nikki and Tommy with their on-screen counterparts (Douglas Booth and Machine Gun Kelly respectively), as well as showing MGK singing his rap parts which I thought was pretty cool. You can always count on 80’s rockers to spot the pretty girls in the crowd, and Nikki Sixx pulled 2 girls up on stage to take a selfie with him and the crowd, while Tommy Lee requested to see titties (the same routine from their Copenhell Festival set earlier this year) and there were both women and men happy to oblige him. John 5 ripped an epic guitar solo during a break in the set, including the iconic riff from ‘Thunderstruck‘ by Aussie legends AC/DC, which led into a medley of ‘Smokin’ In The Boys Room’, ‘Helter Skelter‘ by The Beatles, The Sex Pistol‘s ‘Anarchy In The U.K‘, ‘Blitzkreig Bop‘ by The Ramones and finishing up with ‘Fight For Your Right‘ by The Beastie Boys. Ballad ‘Home Sweet Home‘ hit hard and the stadium light up with mobile phone torches, and everyone seemed to come alive a little more after this, and I was so happy to see Tommy up front and center playing the piano intro. Crüe closed their set with ‘Primal Scream‘ which got everyone in the crowd dancing, and ‘Kickstart My Heart‘ which saw John 5 playing the intro with a bow instead of strumming because why not, right? Whilst Vince’s vocals may not have been up to par for the entirety of the set, (don’t get me wrong, there were parts where he sounded good), overall Mötley Crüe put on a great show that left their fans (myself included) happy and with smiles on their faces.
Mötley Crüe Setlist:
1. Wild Side
2. Shout At The Devil
3. Too Fast For Love
4. Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
5. Live Wire
6. Looks That Kill
7. The Dirt
John 5 Guitar Solo
8. Rock N’ Roll Part 2/Smokin’ In The Boys Room/Helter Skelter/Anarchy In The U.K/Blitzkrieg Bop/Fight For Your Right Medley
9. Home Sweet Home
10. Dr Feelgood
11. Same Old Situation (S.O.S)
12. Girls Girls Girls
13. Primal Scream
14. Kickstart My Heart
Photo Gallery by the Iconic Third Eye Visuals @thirdeyevisualsau
[gallery type="square" ids="https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-1.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-3.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-4.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-6.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-7.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-8.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-9.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-10.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-11.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-13.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-14.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-15.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-16.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-17.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-18.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-22.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-23.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-24.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-26.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-27.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Motley-Crue-Live-Melbourne-2023-10-28.jpg|"]
With the stadium shrouded in darkness now the sun had gone down and Crüe had everyone hyped up (or sad if they’re only a Crüehead), a 10 minute countdown began on the big screens. David Bowie‘s ‘Heroes‘ was the final song that played over the loudspeakers before the entire stadium started to countdown from 10 seconds, and Def Leppard took to the stage. If you ever want to talk about a group of men who have aged gracefully and like a fine wine, the quintet from Sheffield are a great example. Vocalist Joe Elliot, guitarists Phil Collen (not to be confused with Phil Collins!) and Vivian Campbell, bassist Rick Savage and drummer Rick Allen sounded great from the moment they stepped on stage, until the moment that they left it. Elliot was a lot more interactive with the crowd, including telling the story of how they met Mötley Crüe back in 1983, when they released Pyromania, and had been friends with them ever since, and that they were honoured to be sharing a stage with them.
‘Lets Get Rocked‘ saw a lot of interaction from the crowd, especially during the chorus where a stadium full of people sung ‘Let’s Get, Let’s Get, Let’s Get, Let’s Get Rocked’ while the lyrics flashed up on the big screens. Def Leppard showcased a lot of things that were quintessentially 80’s, or at least things that gained popularity during that era including bands wearing skinny scarves, glittery clothes, and having scarves and animals tails attached to their instruments, mic stands, and themselves. Elliot took some time to talk about the pandemic, including the album they wrote during it, Diamond Star Halos, telling us that it’s highest chart position was in Australia. Further research says this is in fact true, as the album got all the way to #3 on the ARIA Charts, at least 5 positions higher than anywhere else, including the band’s Native UK. He used this spiel as an opportunity to introduce the song ‘Kick‘ off of that record, which was then followed up Elliot introducing all of his fellow band members to the crowd individually, before playing the ballad ‘This Guitar‘, which included more mobile phone torches on around the arena, as well as some very teary eyes throughout the crowd which were only made worse by ‘When Love & Hate Collide‘ being played semi-acoustically as well. Elliot, Savage, Campbell and Collen made the most of the crowd being already vulnerable and relaxed to all stand together in a line at the front of the stage while they performed which made a beautiful scene, and their vocal harmonies were absolutely beautiful.
The thing about talented musicians, is that they’re always going to take the opportunity to play a solo and run with it. We were treated to solo’s from guitarist Vivian Campbell, and from drummer Rick Allen. Personally, watching Allen play is an absolute thing of beauty, because not only is he insanely talented, if you weren’t aware, he’s only got 1 arm. He lost his left arm in a nasty car accident in 1984, and after thinking he’d never play again, was able to adapt his playing style and his kit to continue his passion. Before the band began playing again, Joe Elliot took the opportunity to thank Mötley Crüe, and the road crews of both bands for the last 18 months of tour, and thanking Australia as a whole for being the final stops of their mammoth tour. The crowd seemed a little more energetic during Def Leppard’s set (which probably had a little bit to do with alcohol consumption), however it really did seem like ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me‘ was the only song that every single person in the crowd knew the words to, and the ladies in particular seemed to get a little extra rowdy throughout. Even more surprising was the fact they didn’t close with the song, instead opting for ‘Photograph‘ as the final number. It seemed fitting as after they finished playing Def Leppard had their photographer come out to take a ‘selfie’ of the band with the crowd.
Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard put on two great shows for their fans, with both also making promises to return to Australia in the near future. The Melbourne crowd gave both bands their all, even though some people were definitely only there for Mötley Crüe, or for Def Leppard, and both bands seemed more than happy to be finishing up their world tour in the home of live music in Australia!
Gig Review by Kelsey Trevan
Def Leppard Setlist:
1. Take What You Want
2. Let’s Get Rocked
3. Animal
4. Foolin’
5. Armageddon It
6. Kick
7. Love Bites
8. Promises
9. This Guitar
10. When Love And Hate Collide
11. Rocket
12. Bringin’ On The Heartbreak
13. Switch 625
14. Hysteria
15. Pour Some Sugar On Me
16. Rock Of Ages
17. Photograph
Photo Gallery by Ryan Sebastyan @rsebastyan
[gallery type="square" ids="https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC09848.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC09872-Edit.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC09930-Edit.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC00006.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC00045.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC00089.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC00133.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC09792.jpg|,https://wallofsoundau.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/DSC09860.jpg|"]
