One of the best weekends of the year

9/12/2011

The weekend commencing the 9th of December 2011 was either the best weekend of the year or one of the best weekends of the year.  I'm struggling to think of one that compares.

Friday

I always knew this day would be great but it turned out to be a lot better than I had initially thought it would be.  It was the day of the Steel Panther, Motley Crue and Def Leppard gig at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC).  We arrived at 2pm in order to que, even though the doors were not opening until 5.30pm.  We met with some people we knew and had some general banter whilst waiting and the wait was certainly worth it - we got to the barrier.  I have only ever been at the barrier for one other big gig and that was the Red Hot Chili Peppers but it does not compare.  Motley Crue are one of my favourite bands and although I have seen them before (at Download Festival) I was still super excited because Motley Crue are known for being amazing at arena tours.  The DVD of their previous tour 'Carnival of Sins' gave me some inclination to as what to expect.  The band did not let me down.  The sound quality was amazing and the atmosphere palpable.  It reminded me of how much music can influence your mood and in turn your life.  The days before the gig I had been feeling pretty down, just not feeling myself, but the gig reminded me of just how wonderful life can be and how sometimes you just got to push the stress aside and have some fun.  The Highlight of the Motley Crue set was Tommy Lee's drum solo on his drum roller coaster.

Home Sweet Home was one of the best songs of the night.

Apart for remembering how wonderful life is...now you're in the world (aha sorry I had to) I found a whole new appreciation for the lead guitarist Mick Mars. You will notice in the video that he doesn't move very much for a guitarist but this is because he has ankylosing spondylitis - a chronic, inflammatory form of arthritis that affects the spine and pelvis.  He was diagnosed when he was seventeen so he has been dealing with it most of his life and it is clear through watching him that he is in a lot of pain but man does he play guitar well! I don't think he gets nearly enough credit because he's overshadowed by the other three members.  I'm not saying the other three Vince Neil, Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx are not as equally talented, I just think it would be nice if Mick Mars got a little bit more recognition.

I didn't manage to get very good photo of Motley Crue because my phone battery was dying and Suzee was not allowed to use her camera because we were so close to the front but I did manage to get some good photo's of Steel Panther who were on before Motley Crue.  I haven't been a Steel Panther fan as long a time as I have been a Motley Crue fan but in the last couple years I have came to regard them as one my favourite bands.  Unlike Motley Crue I had never seen Steel Panther live due to missing seeing them at Download Festival 2010 because it rained heavily - I'm still blaming Billy Idol to this day for bringing the rain - Blame it on Billy!   They were worth the wait though - such an entertaining band to see live.  If you think they are funny on record, you need to see them live. The charade of being a womanising glam band is emphasised on stage. The bassist Lexxxi Foxx having a pink sparkly mirror - to enable himself to check his hair is still sitting perfectly in between songs - attached to his bass is one of the funniest things I have seen to date.  It is even funnier if you are aware that all members of Steel Panther except the lead singer Michael Starr wear wigs.

Lexxxi Foxx is the person in the middle photo and Michael Starr is the photo directly above. I think Lexxxi's wig is rather convincing.

There was also a lot of flirtation going on between the band and the crowd and quite a lot of panties being thrown on stage and no none of them were mine.  I'm saving my fluffy thong for a more intimate gig. Starr stopped by the club I went to after the gig but I sadly did not get to meet him. Next time though, he'll obviously need to meet me after being hit by my fluffy thong.

Starr's vocal were amazing.  His voice is in my opinion better live than on record.  This might be a bit controversial but his vocals are maybe of a better quality than Vince Neil's...  It would be interesting to hear them sing together side by side. Hmmm.  There's a thought for you.

We did stick around to see a bit of Def Leppard - who were the headline act but most people were there to see Motley Crue.  Well most people standing.  The seating area appeared to be mainly Def Leppard fans.  Although the crowd of guys next to us certainly had a great time dancing about - obviously they had been let out by their wives for the night.  This was the second time I had seen Def Leppard

After the gig we obviously went out and got drunk. I don't think anything else would have been acceptable after seeing Motley Crue and Steel Panther live.  It was the Cathouse's 21st birthday - the rock night club in Glasgow - and it was really busy which just added to the atmosphere of the night.  Everyone that was out that night appeared to have an excellent night - it was like everyone was just high on life...and jager. And other things...no doubt.

It was an amazing night. Just. Amazing.