Motley Crue

Motley Crue was one of the hugest bands in the world in the 80's, they were EVERYWHERE. Then all those drugs and alcohol caught up with them, and Tommy Lee made a sextape, and nothing was ever the same. But last night I decided to go to the Xcel Energy Center and check them out. I must say I was really really surprised at what I witnessed.

First off, when I got there, there was no crazy beer drinking going on, no one was snorting lines off a strippers back, it was quiet, I mean QUIET. there were people there, yes, but everyone was quietly sipping their beers, just chit chatting like they were going to see the London Philharmonic. What the hell?! I expect debauchery around every corner!

Anyways, I found out there were 3 opening acts, which is always painful. The first band, The Last Vegas, was kind of an AC/DC/Guns N' Roases/Led Zeppelin/80's concoction, not too bad, but nothing extremely wonderful. Theory of a Deadman were to me the most unique of the opening acts, they ha a decent following in the audience and had a mix of Alice in Chains and Incubus with a lot of pop thrown in, not bad at all. Hinder did not really do much for me, they seemed like some dudes just looking to make some money,  and lookin to find a girl somewhere.

No, the demographic of a Motley Crue audience is expected to be people around 40ish who were youth in Crue's reign of the charts. Well apparently that stereotype doesn't stand any more. There were high school kids, children, hell I even saw some "ballers" sitting next to me. The young people at this concert amazed me, they knew what was going on, I expected it to be me, a bunch of old people, and Motley Crue. It's strange how young people pick up on stuff like this.

But anyways, the lights go down, and down comes the curtain, and HOLY SHIT! IT'S THE 80'S! I must say that Crue's stage setup was something you would expect to see in the 80's arena rock realm, and something that came straight out of the movie "Rock Star." the bands stage presence was nothing short of amazing, considering how drugged up these guys used to be, they all have the same amount of vigor for the music they play, even Mick Mars, not known to be the healthiest person around. The light show/pyrotechnics/stage setup was probably the best I have seen at a concert, no joke. the use of pyro and light was phenomenal, and synced up extremely well with the music, a very rare thing at concerts I have gone to.

I have become convinced though that Mick Mars is in fact the grim reaper, Nikki Six's hair is actually roadkill, Vince Neil is a crossbread of Axl Rose and a cat, and Tommy Lee is just a myth, and some other dude is really onstage. But that's the great thing, these guys on their own have such legendary tales behind them, that it is somewhat surreal seeing them all onstage together. I mean looking at them onstage, I'm pretty sure at least two of them have actually died at one point, Tommy Lee has the most famous sex tape of all time, and he has also snorted a line of ants in a gross contest with Ozzy Osbourne, and the most famous member of the band is in his pants. It's surreal realizing that these guys really have seen some of the most amazing things that happened in the 80's and that they have some of the most insane stories of anyone in the music world.

I must say that Motley Crue absolutely tore the roof off of the Xcel Center last night, I know that even with knowing much of their music, I loved every minute of it, because they kept it fun, flashy, and made sure you were enjoying time while getting your moneys worth.

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Meshuggah

A band with not much note here in the US unless you are a musician or metalhead, Meshuggah is one of the heaviest yet still technical bands around in this day and age. They brought their insane playing and volume to Station 4 last night in St. Paul, just a block away from my home, yet I still seemed to have trouble walking home after even leaving early with a friend of mine.

The opening acts, The Faceless and Cynic, managed to do a pretty good job at keeping my attention on the music, and Meshuggah's headlining madness was also amazing to witness firsthand. Station 4, a new venue for me, is a place that seems could be summarized as your rich cousins basement, it is a huge brick room painted completely black, fitting very well with the extreme metal that was emitted at this show. Connected to this large coffin of a concert hall is a relatively normal bar, they even had hockey games playing on the TV, something I would never expect to see at this or any metal show for that matter.

One thing I love about metal concerts is the fact that everyone is welcome, metal is a genre such that it doesn't matter who you are, if you have a love for the music, you fit right in. I definitely am not a metalhead of any sort, but I still feel very comfortable being there and just enjoying some rocking music. Also, attendees at metal shows tend to be some of the nicest and most conversation inducing people I get to meet at concerts, you can always find a common ground with someone there, for instance I met a guy on the street with my friend, and we were talking about the Wacken Open Air festival, he was wearing a shirt from there, and that spawned off a lengthy conversation on different types of metal, and how it all fits back to todays metal scene.

The concert itself was surprisingly calm through the two opening acts, people were just kind of staring blank faced at the bands, drinking their beer, just enjoying the music. No moshing of any sort was to be had before 11 pm. But when Meshuggah took the stage, even before a single note was played, people were starting to get rowdy, there was pushing left and right, and people moved like a see of some angry sort of fish. During the first song it got to be too much for me, and moved about halfway back through the room, got stuck for a couple songs, then managed to find my way back to the bar, where I just listened and enjoyed the environment and talking to more people, including our Wacken friend from earlier.

Overall metal shows tend to be a very unique type of concert, any beer drinker or rock/metal lover is welcome, and everyone tends to be very friendly in helping you not get killed during the show (except for a few metalhead jerks, there's always one there!) But as for metal concerts go, Meshuggah had one of the most energetic and best sounding shows I have heard from a metal band, not to mention their technical prowess is that of legend among the metal community. I would strongly recommend any music geek check them out, and get to a show on this rare US tour if you possibly can, and be prepared for some intense experiences.

Vusi Mahlasela

Last night I had the great honor to see one of the most highly praised African singer/songwriters, Vusi Mahlasela, at the beautiful Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul. I must say that Vusi has one of the most soulful voices I may have ever been able to see in a live setting, and nothing seemed to hinder his performance at all. Mixing African and worldly sounds with a reggae/rock feel, Vusi is definitely one of the most unique artists I have had the pleasure of seeing, and has a great talent for putting words and emotions into his music and thoughts. It was great to be able to hear his stories about growing up as a boy during some of the most troubled days of South Africa, and recalling how he and his family were affected by these things.

The only thing that I thought was not quite right about this concert was the setting in which it took place, The Ordway is one of the most beautiful theaters in the Twin Cities, but while I was sitting there, I was wishing I could be witnessing this music maybe somewhere like First Avenue, or at a park in Minneapolis, somewhere more open to music instead of performing arts. Some people were even dancing throughout much of the show, but were rarely joined by anyone else, and it just seemed to me that a very high level theatre such as this may not be the ideal setting for such a concert.

Also it was very surprising to see that a lot of the audience was small children, most likely brought by there parents to try and introduce more culture into their lives, but it became obvious that these children were not exactly pleased with sitting still for 2+ hours to listen to something that isn't rap or Britney Spears.

Overall I found this to be an extremely enjoyable time (with my wonderful sister Crystal,) and would definitely love to experience more of what Vusi has to offer, and I strongly recommend that anyone interested in music outside of your culture check him out, and have an open mind about what it is he is saying, and just relax and enjoy the simple sounds of Vusi Mahlasela.