My Experience As The Youngest Person At Mötley Crüe's Secret Show In NYC
Last night, I saw Mötley Crüe - or '1981', as they were called on the flyer - play to a sold out Bowery Ballroom in New York City, which holds about 575 people (making it one of their smallest shows in 40 years).
It was a "secret show" marketed under a false band name, which is something a lot of huge rock bands are known to do when they get tired of headlining huge football stadiums and festivals. Must be nice! As a lifelong Mötley fan....
….who has had both Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee on my show recently - as soon as I knew this was happening, I knew I had to be in the building.
I'd seen them live twice prior to this; once in the Giants Stadium parking lot the night we killed Osama Bin Laden in 2011, and once at Madison Square Garden on the "Farewell Tour" (oops) in 2015. Both shows were fantastic and super memorable for me. Obviously, Vince Neil's voice is kinda the elephant in the room at this point, and even was back then, because like most rock/metal singers from the 80s - he has his "on" nights, and he has his "off" nights - but to be quite honest with you, he's not the reason I bought a ticket to see Mötley Crüe last night.
I bought my ticket (on Gametime, using promo code BASEMENT for $20 off) to see one of the most iconic, legendary, and badass rhythm sections in rock n' roll history up close; that's Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee. Seeing John 5 up on stage with them playing Mick Mars' classic riffs/solos is an added bonus, as I've been a fan of his for 10+ years and think he's one of the best guitar players in the world - he absolutely shreds….
….but seeing Nikki and Tommy playing together in 2024 is something no Mötley fan should take for granted. That shit is special.
When I showed up to the Bowery Ballroom yesterday evening to get on line, I could tell I was probably the youngest person there (at 25 years old) INSTANTLY….
….and I gotta admit - I love that for a concert like this. It pretty much guarantees the crowd won't get too rowdy (or so I thought; we'll get to that later) and makes my nerdy ass one of the coolest people in the building via AGE. PTA members looking at me like I'm Harry Styles. It was great.
Someone on line asked me if we "chose our seats when we got in" like this general admission concert was a Southwest flight and I had to break the news to him and his wife that they'd be standing up all night. I've thought about that moment a lot (because who the hell hasn't been to a standing room only show in their life but goes to a secret Mötley Crüe show?) and sorta think he might've just been playing dumb in front of his wife with that question. Like maybe he promised her there would be seats at the Mötley Crüe club show so she'd come and then wanted a moment to act surprised when there wasn't? I dunno - but I digress.
Once we were let in, it really set in how close I'd be to the stage….
….and the excitement just started building and building. My heart was racing like Nikki's post-OD in '87.
It was briefly dampened when a couple sweaty 40 year old dudes "s'cuse me'd" their way through the crowd like they were trying to get to their friends only to stop directly in front of me, revealing that the friends never existed (horrible concert etiquette - we hate people like this) but luckily I was away to inch away from their sweaty asses before too long.
Don't do that, though. Have some shame.
(They also had their phones out filming for 65%-70% of the show - horrible people.)
As for the show itself - I thought it was a fucking blast. Mötley played a great twelve-song set (including a medley) which consisted of big hits, throwback tracks, and even a new one called 'Dogs of War'….
….and the band sounded AWESOME. Tommy/Nikki are as good as ever, John 5 is one of the most technically sound guitar players I've ever seen, and they all looked like they were having the time of their lives up there. They were smiling and laughing at each other like Rone and Frankie on stage at a Pup Punk show. It was really cool to see. And I don't know if it was just where I was standing, or because it was in such a tiny club gig and the crowd was so loud, but Vince's voice sounded pretty buried in the mix/covered in vocal effects - enough where I thought he sounded pretty decent for long stretches of the show!
Does he hit the high notes he hit 40 years ago? No, definitely not - but does he ruin the show, like a lot of people would have you believe nowadays? Not at all. I guarantee you every single person at the Bowery Ballroom had a blast last night. Except maybe the blackout drunk mom who barreled past me mid-show, falling directly into the sound equipment booth when I side-stepped her instead of trying to break her fall. She didn't seem to be having a blast….but also, I'm not in the business of catching drunkards. I was just there for a Mötley Crüe show.
As for the rowdiness of the crowd I teased earlier - everything was fine until Vince tossed a couple vinyls into the audience during a song and Nikki tossed a cup of picks out at the end of the show. GROWN MEN AND WOMEN WITH THEIR GRANDCHILDREN SET AS THEIR LOCKSCREENS WERE ON THEIR HANDS AND KNEES LOOKING FOR PICKS!!! They were like the savages who would trample ya for a new toaster on Black Friday! It was nuts!
Luckily, Nikki threw one directly at me mid-show and I was able to avoid that mess and get the hell outta there when the show was over….
….but I swear, a god damn grandfather almost took my ACL out while diving down onto a floor stickier than Tommy Lee's. They went sicko mode.
Seeing Mötley Crüe up close and personal and belting out my favorite songs last night is something I'll truly never forget, though. I'm very glad I went. Some full videos from the show are below….