Crue Fest 2

Yes, I went to Crue Fest 2 at the NYS Fair this year. I was skeptical and a bit worried about this concert since it is not my typical concert scene. The tickets were ordered one night during a drunken "Rock Band" party at Tammy's... lame excuse, I know, but the evening went so much better than I anticipated and I actually had a great time! I took some pics on my cell phone, which are more pretty for the lights but not necessarily good to see who was on stage.

The opening act was the "Charm City Devils" We caught the second half of their set and they were decent. I think you may see them gaining some steam in the industry soon with being involved with Crue Fest.

"Drowning Pool" was next and they were decent. The third group was "Theory of a Dead Man". They were also pretty good. Again this was not my perferred genre of music, but I can appreciate the musician-ship.

Fourth on the stage was "Godsmack". I have to say that I was REALLY impressed with this group. I knew some of their music, so maybe that helped, but I was impressed with their tiny lead singer Sully. He sang, he played guitar and he had a drum duel with his drummer. The fact that he was well versed in all three and could hold his own was impressive with this style of music since posers are rampant. I think I have an appreciation for his particular genre because of "Godsmack". They were good musicians, they were animated and engaging to the crowd on stage and they owned their time. Not that I will head out to purchase an album any time soon, but still, I found some musical talent in a style of music that I always assumed there was none. Dueling Drums:

Then it was time for the hosts of the festival to enlighten us. Let me just say that compared to the energy and entertainment we saw with Godsmack, Motley Crue looked like a bunch of old hacks. Well, OK, they actually ARE a bunch of old hacks, but I was trying to be optimistic.

Crue was going to play through the entire Dr. Feelgood Album, and when they began with "Dr. Feelgood" as their opener, Vince Neil seemed to forget the words. After they got warmed up, they seemed to find a groove, and Neil's voice is still OK so it was entertaining. I was happy dancing around and singing along and once the labum was covered I turned to my friends and said "I wish they would play Wild Side" because that's another of my favorites. So, during the set change I ran to the bathroom and when I returned...they broke out the next set with Wild Side! I was sooo happy because that was a song that my friend Jenn and I would go crazy to in HS. We LOVED that song. I think she was actualy there with me dancing like a mad woman during that song. It made my night.

Tommy Lee came out a few times. He was funny with his skinny little chicken legs covered in tats and a bottle of some liquor, possibly wiskey? He sat at the front of the stage and spoke to the audience and handed the bottle back thru the crowd...eww! Personally, I would never put my lips on something Tommy Lee has his lips on! "I wanted to come out here and do a few shots with you guys!" he shouted.

Tommy also came out later and spoke to the crowd and thanked us for being there etc. Vince Neil should have said something, but he didn't, but at least Tommy came out and interacted with the crowd and acknowledged the front rows, us in the middle and the people in the peanut gallery at the top.

Their lights were pretty lame, with a few exceptions. Their sets were trying way to hard and the "Hot chicks" who sang backup seemed to be going thru the motions just like the rest of Motley Crue. Tommy was passable on drums, and to tell you the truth, after reading their biography last year, I can see why! Craziness!

The beer was expensive, a few people actually recognized my Merlotte's T-shirt so those were fun conversation starters. People were really friendly and nice, with exception to the hairpulling, nail scratching girl-fight that broke out in front of us during Crue's second set. My friends were nice enough to help me out and pull me to safety since I was trapped on the aisle. Afterwards, one of the girls involved came and apologized to us... which was funny. Here is my favorite pic...

It was actually a really fun night and I was extremely social and relaxed considering it was a fairly rough crowd. It probably was because I was so happy to be out with friends having some drinks AND I have had the summer to regroup and get my shit together...therefore I am MUCH more Chill and that is AWESOME!!