By Melissa Antoinette Garza
On August 21, 2010, I married the man of my dreams. Our first event together was seeing Alice Cooper at Mohegan Sun on Halloween night 2008. A few months ago, I saw Alice was returning right around our anniversary as the opener for Motley Crue. This would be my third time seeing Alice and our first seeing Crue.
I am not a churchgoer but I do believe in spiritual awakenings especially among like-minded individuals. My religious experiences happen in two places: Rocky Horror Picture Show plays and heavy metal concerts. There is something so exciting and crazy about metal. By far seeing Judas Priest with Rob Halford as lead was the best show ever. I love Rob Halford. He’s a God to me. If I died and went to heaven and found out that Halford was the King of Kings, I wouldn’t be surprised.
Last Sunday, August 16, 2015, my husband and I went to see Alice Cooper and Motley Crue at Mohegan Sun for our 5 year anniversary. At 7 PM, the opening band was The Cringe. In all honesty, I never had heard of them but they rocked it hard. They sang some badass tunes and gave a helluva show and appropriately thanked Cooper and Crue for the opportunity.
Next was Alice. Fucking Alice Cooper still brings it. He is still the best. I was hoping he would sing Ballad of Dwight Fry and he didn’t let me down. That’s my favorite song of his and it was amazing. The nurse in full make-up came out while he was in his straight-jacket. He killed the nurse and was taken down. During Feed my Frankenstein, a huge 7 foot (at least) Frankenstein’s monster emerged singing along. The entire arena, over 20k people, sang along with all of his songs. Whether No More Mr. Nice Guy, Poison, School’s Out, etc. the entire audience was erupting into a beautiful anthem of appreciation.
When Alice got the guillotine and he came back to life to finish his set, the tension in the air could be felt. Motley Crue was coming on next and this most likely will be the last time any of us would ever see them live again.
Words can’t describe how fucking awesome this was. As soon as I saw the pentagram, I was hooked. If it were a cult, I would’ve gladly signed over my savings and joined the commune. It took me back. I’m the most nostalgic person that I know. I began remembering sitting in front of the television blasting MTV while the video for Shout at the Devil echoed through the speakers. The fact that it scared the hell out of my mother and the churches only made it all the more appealing. This is where I belonged. I belonged in the darkness. I belonged where others were too afraid to go. That was my home. That’s where I felt safe. That’s where I was sheltered and where honesty prevailed over kindness and self-worth was demanded over false modesty. It was truth. That’s always what the pentagram stood for with me. If you strip down the niceties and the pretense and you let your core show, that’s where metal lives.
The band looked fucking awesome. Nikki Sixx is a maniac in the best possible way. In the middle of the show he spoke to the audience about the significance of a knife he carried, and how sometimes he thought about stabbing that knife to the bone. He told us that if we did that when we would glance at the scar years from now, we’d remember Motley Crue. In any other setting, this would be considered crazy and wrong and detrimental to society. Only at a heavy metal concert would this soliloquy be met with shouts of “I FUCKING LOVE YOU” and deafening cheers of acceptance and understanding – but that’s metal.
There’s a dirty phrase that gets thrown around when referring to Motley Crue. They’re called a “hair band” by people who don’t get metal. It’s because they’re not as hard as Priest or Iron Maiden. I get that, but still the band lives the life they sell. It’s far different than Cinderella or Winger (bands that I’m less fond of). They still have fun songs to rock out to, but their blood doesn’t run metal. It’s only a select few that get it, but when that select few gets into an arena and packs it, it’s fucking beautiful.
Then there’s the roller-coaster. Tommy Lee can play drums upside down and rocks out on a coaster. It’s insane, but that’s who he is. When I first got there before the music started, I was scared. I didn’t want him to get on it, but as the music started and when he started going up-and-over and up-and-over again, with the lights changing colors and him hitting those drums reminiscent of a species evolving through natural selection to become the sole survivor of its kind, it’s impossible not to become wrapped up and cheering him along. We are on the ride with him. All 20k of us, chanting his name and watching him play are right there through it all and it’s amazing.
Mick Mars came out and did a solo looking hard as ever. In his sleek leather, sweet black hat and killer sound on the guitar he had us in his pocket. He could have asked anything of the fans. We were there to give, to stay in that moment and to keep Motley Crue alive just a little bit longer regardless of the consequence, but he asked nothing. He just gave an amazing performance that rocked the house.
Vince Neil – oh Mr. Neil, how I grew up having a crush on you. I’ve always had a thing for a guy in make-up and even though his make-up was gone, the genuine bravado remained and he talked to his fans on a real level that showed a mutual love and an appreciation for our respect. His voice is one-of-a-kind and his style is solid. He is who he represents. He is this crazy fun guy who is there to rock out and when he says that he likes Mohegan and the people who are there, we believe him. Sure, he has other venues and he’ll say similar things to them, but there at that moment, we were there for him and he was there for us.
Then the pentagram was on fire…. Why is that a turn on? I have no idea. I just love it. It’s such a rush to see it. In the midst of the pyrotechnics, strobe lighting, and fire – all I can think of is “If I die right now and go to hell, if I’m with Motley Crue – I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” That is the definition of an amazing concert. If it can alter your mindset and make insanity sound rational, make an atheist hope for hell, and darkness seem like the light at the end of the tunnel, you’re there. You understand metal and there’s nothing fucking better.
To 35 years of brilliance and hopefully at some point a huge return, here’s to Motley Crue. Your fans are always here on standby ready to go on that journey again.
