The Stadium Tour: Inglewood, CA 8/27/22

One of the biggest tour of the year finally happened after being postponed for the past three years. This mammoth of a tour was called The Stadium Tour and it featured metal legends Mötley Crüe that came out of "retirement" from 2015. Along for the ride were Def Leppard, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Poison and newcomers Classless Act. The choice of venue was the newly built SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. A Saturday was perfect for a show like this and fans from different generations were about to witness history in the making.

Promptly at 4PM, the opening act started which was Classless Act. It being so early, it was both not surprising and sad that there were hardly any people seated to see this young band pour their hearts out into their performance. They released their debut album Welcome to the Show on June 24 and the first single on the album Give It To Me and was praised for its fresh sound and originality and the single has reached nearly 1 million streams just under a year after its release. With only five songs in their set and hardly anyone in attendance, Classless Act still played as if every seat in the venue was taken. They even had Run D.M.C. as a guest performer for a song. A very young band still, they've got a bright future ahead of them and hopefully they get to play their own headlining shows soon.

The next act to play was rock royalty herself, Joan Jett. If you're in the rock scene at all, you know the name Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. Once again, it was a crime as to how empty the venue was by the time she came on. Still, she and the band put on a rocking performance which included a cover of Cherry Bomb from The Runaways (her previous band), I Hate Myself For Loving You, I Love Rock 'n' Roll and Bad Reputation. The band even features 68 year old Kenny Laguna who is an original member. More people had started to show near the end of the set, but had missed most of the show. Regardless, the queen of rock put on a great performance and proved to be one of the better bands of the tour.

Up next was one of the greatest glam metal bands, Poison. Poison are no strangers to people that were alive in the 1980's. With many hits and wild performances back in the day, Poison are still alive and well today. The venue was nicely packed by the time Poison came out and started their show with Look What the Cat Dragged In. The audience went wild with excitement as frontman Bret Michaels came out to the catwalk and hyped up the audience. Poison were easily the most fun band of the night. They performed hits from throughout their career like Unskinny Bop, Talk Dirty to Me, Fallen Angel and their #1 hit single, Every Rose Has Its Thorn. The whole band was all smiles the whole time. The finale, to no surprise, was Nothin' But a Good Time which they always end their shows with. The show was halfway done and lots more was still to come.

Def Leppard are without a doubt one of the biggest and greatest rock bands of all time. With lots of hits and albums throughout the year, they are more than deserving with the fame they have. In 2019, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The venue was almost packed to the max at this point so the venue could really shine now. The lights went out and the venue cheered with excitement. Def Leppard came out and started their show with Take What You Want, the first song from their new album Diamond Star Halos that was released in May. Def Leppard brought nothing but the hits as they played all their hits like Foolin', Bringin' on the Heartbreak, Love Bites, Hysteria, Pour Some Sugar On Me, and Rock of Ages. Even after all these years, Def Leppard is still top notch with their performance and their sound. Everyone sounded great so it was sad to see them go when they finished their set with Photograph. They are easily the best band on the tour. Now, it was time for the headlining band of the night.

Mötley Crüe are also, without a doubt, one of the greatest metal bands of all time. They are the embodiment of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll. Since their first album in 1981, they have released many hits and have made themselves known on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, California. In 2006, they received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They have released everything from albums to books to movies. Their movie, The Dirt, which is based on their book of the same name tells the story of Mötley Crüe and is available to watch exclusively on Netflix. The lights went out and the packed SoFi Stadium let out a huge roar of excitement as the members of Mötley Crüe came out one by one. Their started their show with Wild Side and the venue erupted with energy. Almost everyone was on point. Tommy Lee was pounding away on the drum skins to perfection. Nikki Sixx was fingering the bass and adding backing vocals to the music. Mick Mars was shredding away like a madman even while dealing with Ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic, inflammatory form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and pelvis. It has caused him to have scoliosis. Regardless, he still put on an amazing performance. The only one that was off key was singer Vince Neil. For years now, it's been known that his singing is pretty terrible and a lot of times, downright embarrassing. Dare I say, even the backup singers sounded better and you could understand what they were saying? A lot of people would agree. This is unfortunate because Mötley Crüe is one of my favorite bands and one of the first metal bands I got into. Even while they played Shout at the Devil, Vince lifted his arm up during the "Shout!" segment of the song and had this "I can't wait to get this show over with" look on his face. The backup singers/dancers were the best redeeming quality of the performance. The fans were obviously enjoying themselves and sang along and drank their alcohol. Mötley Crüe brought out their greatest hits and many of those included Live Wire, Looks That Kill and Too Fast For Love. In the middle of the show, Tommy Lee came out to the catwalk and made note on how he had "accidentally" posted a full frontal nude while he was intoxicated. He asked the audience if they wanted to see his "weiner" again. In doing so, he reached into his shorts and pulled out....a weiner dog. He also mentioned that he wanted to change things up and see more man genitalia instead of women's boobies. No man came forward, but a few women happily showed their boobies to Tommy. Moving forward with the show, Mötley Crüe continued to lay waste. Bright lights and a huge stage production brought the music to life. The only thing missing, surprisingly, was pyro and Tommy doing something with his drum kit. There was no tilting, roller coaster or even a drum solo. Nearing the end of the show, Mötley Crüe played the songs that put them on the map. Those song included Dr. Feelgood, Home Sweet Home, Girls, Girls, Girls and Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.). The time had come for the grand finale of the show. Mötley Crüe chose Kickstart My Heart to give the fans a proper sendoff. Lights shined and fireworks went off. After the song ended, Mötley Crüe came out to the catwalk to bow to their hometown of Los Angeles. As to what will happen next with them remains to be seen. Another tour? Another album? Who knows at this point.

Photos and review by Misael Ruiz

Mötley Crüe

Def Leppard

Poison

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

Classless Act