I moved to Southern California in the 80s with a suitcase full of stretchy tights, ripped fishnet tops, and very big dreams of becoming the next Bret Michaels, Vince Neil, or Joe Elliott.
The Stadium Tour, featuring Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Poison, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and Classless Act, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Saturday was a bittersweet trip down memory lane, filled with fantasy of what could have been and when -rock-was-real handshake.
Clearly I wasn’t alone in longing for the good old days. It was definitely an AARP night at SoFi Stadium with fans in line waiting to get into the show talking about the excitement of becoming a grandparent. Gray hair replaced the big hair of the 80s, and those who insisted on wearing tight leather outfits were pouting in all the wrong places. Bands also played their parts – decked out in the leather, glitter and tattoos that defined the glam metal era.
But the tour, which has played across baseball and football stadiums this summer, was also a multi-generational affair with father-son duos, mother-daughter duos and father-daughter duos taking selfies together.
On this particular night, Mötley Crüe was terrifying. There was no comparison between the two co-headliners. Def Leppard put on a rock show for the ages and Mötley Crüe’s performance showed they’d be better off in a sweet retirement home. Meanwhile, Poison was rockin’, Joan Jett was legendary, and opening act Classless Act was on the rise.
Mötley Crüe
What went wrong with this group? Tommy Lee’s bass drum was extremely loud – to the point of drowning out everything else. Vince Neil, who was always a better frontman than singer, somehow failed on both fronts – oscillating between disinterest and contempt. The performance was lifeless, noisy and ridiculously loud. The huddled group seemed to be going through their paces in hopes of making it through the evening.
“Who likes the old (rescue)?” said Neil introducing “Too Fast For Love”. “We’re going to do something really (expletive) old.”
The gang seemed to be overcompensating on several fronts in a desperate attempt to mask a host of faults and sins. The cheap singers/dancers/strippers and backup gigs felt like a capture of long-faded youth. The fun, irreverent and fun “Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)” was none of those things – with the band barely seeming to be playing the same song. Swaggering “Looks That Kill” what should have been an easy layup for the band was a struggle. Neil seemed unfamiliar with the lyrics to songs he’s been singing for decades – which, to be fair, was even in the 80s.
The biggest cheer from the crowd came from the younger generation, who had tagged along with their parents, when Machine Gun Kelly appeared on the video screen to sing a recorded verse from “The Dirt (Est. 1981)” from the Netflix movie soundtrack.
Things only got worse from there. A medley of covers from the band’s early days felt like filler. “Dr. Feelgood” was an almost unrecognizable wall of noise. The highlight of the set was “Home Sweet Home”, mainly because the crowd sang most of it. Alas, on this night at least, Mötley Crüe seemed hopelessly past their prime and ready for that long-promised retirement.
Def Leppard
Def Leppard’s set was a master class in rock show pacing and song placement. Open with a song from the new album (“Take What You Want”) when everyone is still coming back from the bar or the toilet while quickly highlighting the band’s dual guitar attack. Head to some old stuff (“Let It Go”) to pay back the fan service to those who have been with him all along the journey. Throw in a big hit (“Animal”) from your biggest album (“Hysteria”) before diving into a Top 10 single (“Foolin'”) from your signature record (“Pyromania”). Sprinkle some ballads and acoustic numbers in between, get the flips up for the finale and turn on the house lights.
Every part of the stadium show was big, bold, loud and extremely good – just like their music.
My favorite moments of the night all came during Def Leppard’s set: guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell coming to the front of the stage to exchange slaps reminded everyone why they came out for a 7-hour marathon of a show; A golden gong falling from the rafters so drummer Rick Savage could hit it once at the end of “Hysteria”; Polaroids of band members over the years fill the big screens like a high school yearbook during “Photograph.”
poison
Poison’s homecoming performance at SoFi pulsed with unbridled joy. As their band made clear, the boys from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, by way of the Sunset Strip are still having nothing but a good time.
“In Southern California, I can’t stop smiling,” singer Bret Michaels said. “I guess you could say I’m wicked hot tonight.”
Poison – like all the bands on the bill except Def Leppard – call Los Angeles home. The Stadium Tour – and return to Southern California – was a long time coming with show dates postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Poison sounded like a tight, well-oiled rock ‘n’ roll machine.
Guitarist CC DeVille’s performance carried the band, who relied heavily on his guitar pyrotechnics during a set that revealed the finesse of his catalog. I wanted to hear more of their debut Look What the Cat Dragged In that catapulted them to MTV stardom.
The highlight of the set – and surely any Poison concert – was “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”. Everyone knows the chorus by heart and many in the crowd seemed to know all the lines – the lyrics coming back from muscle memory like a rock n’ roll rosary. Fans carefully flashed their smartphone camera lights all over the Rose even though it was still daylight inside the stadium.
Joan Jett and the Black Hearts
Jett waxed nostalgic about her adopted hometown as she introduced the first song she ever wrote – “You Drive Me Wild.”
“I’ve lived here,” Jett said to cheers. “I started my first band here called The Runaways.”
Among the highlights from Jett’s SoFi set: “Cherry Bomb” (Runaways hit), “Do You Wanna Touch Me” (a Gary Glitter cover) and “I Hate Myself for Loving You” (A bubblegum rocker with an irresistible chorus). The band closed with a one-two punch featuring the obligatory crowd pleaser ‘I Love Rock n Roll’ before launching into the rousing and raucous ‘Bad Reputation’.
Classless act
Los Angles-based outfit Classless Act, who opened the show, had more to say about the future of rock ‘n’ roll circa 2022. The quintet are signed to Better Noise Music, which is also home to solo projects of Mötley Crüe players Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx.
Classless Act has taken advantage of his newfound relationship with rock ‘n’ roll royalty to pen songs featuring vocals from Mötley Crüe frontman and The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins on his debut album, which dropped in June.
The band played the stadium concert with boundless energy, as if the house was full, even if the participants outnumbered the audience, as the crowd went into the entire opening set. Rapper DMC of Run DMC made a surprise appearance on “Storm Before the Calm,” signaling a possible future collaboration.
Classless Act drummer Chuck “El Chuco” McKissok waded into the crowd on the floor after the band set out to find his parents somewhere in SoFi.
“It’s a blast in LA and coming home,” McKissoc said, looking out at the 70,000 seats still filling up. “That’s wonderful.”
Among the highlights from Classless Act’s very short set: “Give It to Me” and “This is for You.”
Looking back, looking forward
Was it worth breaking my quarter-century glam metal moratorium to see these bands at SoFi Stadium? Absolutely.
Mötley Crüe may have disappointed, but Def Leppard and Poison made me remember what I loved about the music that some say signaled the death knell of rock n’ roll. The Blackhearts were a fun bubblegum-flavored trip down memory lane, and Classless Act gave me hope that the future of rock n’ roll is in good hands.
Rock is not dead if you take the time to get to know the latest practitioners. For now, I’ll stick with the new guns and look forward to my next Struts, Dirty Honey or Black Stone Cherry gig. I will happily live out my 1980s rock star dreams through the next generation of rockers.
Stadium Tour
With: Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Poison, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and Actless
When: Saturday, August 27
Where: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
