Vince Neil is not a man of many words. This isn’t surprising, considering that most of the words he sings with Motley Crue were written by Nikki Sixx anyway. We spoke with Neil from his tour bus in Tampa.
I’ve read that you guys have something called a drum roller coaster on this tour. How has that been working?
Oh it’s great. I mean, people are loving it. It’s obviously something different.
When you’re rehearsing for the tour, at what point does something like a drum roller coaster come into the picture?
At the very end. … Our very first U.S. show was Dallas, so we set up in the place where we were playing for like three days, then rehearsed the new set. We did pyro, the roller coaster and then everything else.
On this tour, you let fans select the set lists. Any surprises?
No. I mean, a lot of the songs we knew were gonna be on there, obviously like “Girls, Girls, Girls” and “Wild Side” and “[Dr.] Feelgood” and “Home Sweet Home.” … But some of them, like “Smokin’ in the Boys Room” was a big fan favorite. We hadn’t played that in a long time. And then “Too Young To Fall In Love,” which we hadn’t played in like 20 years.
Is that because you reached an age where you weren’t too young to fall in love?
Well, that song was written 25 years ago. [Laughs] It’s just a song, man.
Nikki wrote a lot of the songs. When you sing those words after all these years, do you get something new out of it?
Well, no. I mean, I’m performing. I’m not acting out those words, I’m singing a song. … That’s all.
Has life on the road slowed down over the years, or is it still like the Crue bio, “The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band”?
Well, we were a young band. We’ve been together for 30 years now, you know. You don’t do those things. We’re not drug addicts like we were. There are things that you do when you’re 20 years old you don’t do when you’re 50.
Poison and the Dolls
You’re touring with Poison and the New York Dolls. The first
incarnation of the Dolls had imploded by the time the Crue first came
out. Tell me about how they influenced you.
If you read any of our early bios, the New York Dolls were one of our
influences for Motley Crue. The style, not only fashion style, but the
song style. If you listen to a lot of stuff on the first record, you can
hear some Dolls in there. We love those kind of bands, like the Sweet,
that kind of glam, that’s what we kind of fashioned ourselves as.
Are there any collaborations on this tour where you guys are sharing the stage with Poison or with the Dolls?
No, no. We do our set, you know. This isn’t a jam session. We have a lot
of pyro and a lot of visual stuff. We do our job, they do their jobs.
Motley Crue with Poison and New York Dolls Tuesday, 7 p.m.
Comcast Center, Mansfield
$25-$95, 800-745-3000
the Comcast Center
this weekend. Stephen Marley — Revelation Part 1: The Root of Life Tour
Friday, 7 p.m.
House of Blues
This five-time Grammy award winner (and son of legendary reggae god Bob Marley) has returned to his reggae roots with a vengeance. Marley has said his new album is a retaliation against those who believe the genre is on a downward spiral. If anyone could prove reggae is still alive, it’d be you, Stephen.
Lil Wayne with Rick Ross, Keri Hilson, Far East Movement and Lloyd
Sunday, 7 p.m.
Comcast Center
Lil Wayne and his notoriously large and controversial entourage are joined by, among others, “Pretty Girl” Keri Hilson, “Hustlin’” Rick Ross and Far East Movement. The show also features an artist who is billed simply as Lloyd. Like Madonna, Shakira and Cher, Lloyd felt his name had the certain panache that needs no last name. Sorry Lloyd, some artists just weren’t born to have a mononym. Then again, his real last name is Polite, so maybe he did make the right choice. METRO/JESS LUCERO
