When Mötley Crüe came to town in November of 2014 and then again in December of 2015 on what they called their "final tour", I legitimately felt bad for missing both shows. While I knew Vince's voice wasn't what it used to be, the amazing show production with Tommy Lee's awesome roller coaster drum set plus all the other bells and whistles I saw via clips on YouTube made it look pretty damn cool. I thought I was missing out on seeing on my final opportunity to see one of the greatest rock bands in history.
Fast forward to the announcement earlier this week that the 80s rockers were coming back whole Machine Gun Kelly did his best to rationalize one of the biggest money grabs in music history. I can now sleep soundly knowing that if I want to, there will be another chance to see them. Though I am one of the lucky ones
I didn't raid my savings to buy VIP tickets because shit, it was their final show so I might as well spend thousands on a memory that will never be able to be recreated, supposedly. I didn't get up bright and early to try to score the best seats possible so I could capture every last wrinkle on Nikki Sixx's face into my photographic memory. But many people did.
They went all out because this was gonna be it. There was a contract. Nikki Sixx said in a 2014 interview with the Rolling Stone that, “There is no amount of money that would ever make me do it again because I have such pride in how we’re ending it." This is one of many quotes from band members that belong on a music version of @OldTakesExposed.
KISS and other bands have done the final tour thing before only to reunite and do it all over again. They probably profited a fair amount more from doing so. But Mötley Crüe took it to a whole different level that will unfortunately have zero legal implications and, even worse, zero real-world implications. They will tour with Def Leppard and Poison, they will make millions of dollars from the same people they robbed and stabbed in the back, and they will put on a good-enough show.
This is just one of the many stories that show how talent will let you get away with pretty much anything And guess what? I am hoping the tour makes a stop in Minnesota because I want to see these losers if only to hear the beginning of Kickstart My Heart one more time. At least before they eventually run out of money and come back in 2025.