MOTLEY CRUDE/HARSH Live at Glasgow Garage Review

There are not many direct links between Glasgow and Los Angeles, The famous Queen Mary liner was built on the Clyde and now resides in Long Beach as a floating hotel for the rich and famous and many a Scottish actor visited Hollywood to record the latest epic blockbuster but for tonight Glasgow's famous Sauchiehall Street is our own Sunset Boulevard in the 1980's and if the original crew of misfits and hell raisers can't be here we are making do with the best goddam tribute on the planet. Motley Crude are widely recognized as the best tribute to the hard partying legends of the LA 80's metal scene Motley Crue.
Such is the appeal of tonight's doppelgangers and no Matthew Trippe is not in town, The Garage is packed and the Scottish crowd adore the band as if it were the real deal on the Garage Stage, but more of that later.

Tonight's opening act are none other that champions of Rockfiend French glam rockers Harsh. Such is their love of Scotland they had driven 16 hours in one go to open on both tonight's show and Alloa the following night. The boys have just released their excellent latest album “Feels” and a mighty fine slab of melodic glam rock it is. On stage at the ludicrously early hour of 6.30pm due to the Garage's strict curfew the venue is filling up and by the end of the 35min set the place is pretty full and also pretty captivated by our Parisian rockers. The set is mainly made up from the new album with a couple of songs from 2022 Out Of Control album. Opening with Break Your Way the opening track from Feels and Losing My Mind, both big rocking numbers with big sing along chorus's those in attendance who had never heard the band before were now sitting up and paying attention. A trip back to 2022 and Out of Control for The Sound She Does and another new number Offer You a Rome bring us to one of the highlights of "Feels"  and Forever Yesterday, a soaring power ballad that builds and builds to the end and a face melting solo from Severin on guitar. The hall is now filling up nicely in time for the crazy fun cover of Maniac made famous in the Flashdance movie. The Garage crowd are loving it and as the band finish with the excellent All I Ever Wanted they are singing along in unison with Albert. We have an impromptu drum solo frome Leo as he is forced to fill as Julien is forced to change a bass string, in all my years of gig going I cant say I have ever seen a bass string go mid song but the matter is rectified by ripping off the old string mid song and hastily replacing it..

Its fair to say the band have made a good number of new fans tonight if merch sales are anything to go
on and hopefully its not too long before they return to a bigger venue in Scotland.

As the video track behind the drum riser kicks into life and a short intro video tells the story of Motley Crude the lights dim and the band burst onto the stage to the classic Live Wire. The show is based around The Dirt Movie soundtrack and without skipping a beat Looks That Kill follows. AS mentioned before the amassed rockers at the barriers are fully invested some complete with Nikki Sixx make up and 80's style gear. Indeed many of those lining the barrier would not even be a speck in their fathers eye when the real deal were laying waste to everything in their path back in 80's LA but if they could not be there then they are getting as good as it gets to being there. Shout At The Devil and Too Young To Fall In Love are closely followed by Piece Of Your Action and Smokin In The Boys Room, with a back cataloge like Crue's you are guaranteed hit after hit after hit. Our Vince Neil on the night is a blur at times as he runs around the stage and jumps from the drum riser, Nikki and Mick lurk in the wings laying down the iconic riffs that for many of us were the soundtrack to our youth and at the back the Crude version of Tommy acts just like the real thing complete with a Jack Daniels slug off with Nikki. Such is the appeal of the band they have just returned from being the first non American crue tribute act to appear on sunset strip at the famous Whisky a Go Go club where the original band made their name all those years ago and they went down so well they have been asked back next year, cementing their status as the number 1 Crue facsimile. Hit after hit keeps coming and Same Ol Situation and Ten Seconds To Love lead us into Home Sweet Home and it would be fair to say that our Vince could take a well earned rest if he wanted as the vocals are belted out from the throng word for word.

We are now heading into the home straight of an incredible 2 hour and 20 song set.  Dr Feelgood, Helter Skelter and Jailhouse Rock bring us to the closing numbers. Girls Girls Girls, no dancers on the night sadly although I am sure there would have been a few volunteers in the audience if asked but I am not sure Mr Rockfiend would have been an attractive proposition in his undies. We end with what else but Kickstart My Heart.

A thoroughly enjoyable night full of great memories and by the way the venue is packed out there is certainly a large market for good tribute acts that can capture the essence of the original acts the way that Motley Crude can.

And there we have it, the inane illiterate ramblings of a photographer who barely passed his English exams so excuse the poor punctuation et all......

The tour continues throughout the year so get out and support live music, enjoy classic tunes and keep rock alive........