Motley Crue say goodbye in Indianapolis

Over a year and a half after Motley Crue announced they’d be embarking on their final tour as a band, they are now on the second leg of the two year trek and they recently hit Indianapolis for the second time of the tour, once again with Alice Cooper as support.

Last year’s show at Klipsch Music Center wasn’t anything to be remembered and was nothing short of a letdown. The only saving grace was the always-impressive Alice Cooper. Had he not been on the tour, there may not have been much of a crowd this time around.

Needless to say there was a lot of excitement for Cooper and he didn’t disappoint at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse. In fact, it was even better than last year was.

It was essentially the same show as last year with all the same stage tricks he always does but there’s always just some sort of magic about an Alice Cooper show. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen it, it’s always one of the best experiences ever.

At 67 years old, Cooper is still at the top of his game and better than half the younger bands right now. He made it significantly harder for anyone to follow his show, which included Cooper coming to the stage with sparks flying, a beheading, electrocution and more. Like I said it would be hard for anyone to follow Cooper…and with how lackluster Motley Crue was last year there weren’t high hopes going in, unfortunately.

The thing with a Motley Crue show is that you don’t know which Crue show you’re getting. They’re either the best show ever or one you can forget before you even leave. Last year was the latter.

This year could have gone either way but it was, indeed, better than last year.

Of course that isn’t saying much. They were firing strong out the gates with “Girls, Girls, Girls” as the opener. The amount of pyro was more than there’d been in years at Banker’s Life Fieldhouse. The thing about pyro is that there aren’t many valid reasons to actually use it, though, unless the opener is one that can show you up nightly.

Well…with Alice Cooper as your opener, you may need some pyro. There’s a reason Cooper doesn’t go out as support often. He co-headlines at worst. It’s just impossible to follow him and stand on your own.

On this night we got a little bit of both Motley Crues. Some songs they were firing on all cylinders but on others they seemed to miss the mark a bit. This was a step up from their last Indy show.

When you factor in all the visual effects and spectacles they show was one for the ages. Between all the fire, pyro and Tommy Lee’s “Crucifly” roller coaster drum solo that saw him literally flying over the crowd, it was a show to remember.

After all the years, it’s sad to see Motley Crue say goodbye. Will this really be their final tour? Probably. Each member has so many other projects they want to pursue outside of Motley Crue and the future is bright for all of them.

What made Motley Crue special is that they aren’t individually amazing musicians or singers. When they come together, though, it’s pure magic. They know how to write kickass songs, put on a hell of a show and send you home wanting more- whether it’s on the stage or on album.

With how hit and miss the shows are anymore, though, maybe it’s for the best. All bad things really must come to an end.

-Reggie Edwards

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