Video: Mötley Crüe’s Vince Neil Actually Finished a Set, Still Sounds Like Crap
Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil’s performance with his solo band in May, his first since the pandemic, was so disastrous it went viral. Telling the crowd, “Hey, guys… I’m sorry, you guys. It’s been a long time playin’. My fuckin’ voice is gone… Uh… We love you, and we’ll hopefully see you next time, man. Take care,” Neil walked off stage during Crue’s “Dr. Feelgood” and let his band finish the song before the set ended. Neil then canceled his next performance, nearly a month later, without giving a reason.
Now Neil has returned to the stage and… he finished the set. Applause! But he’s still up to the same old shenanigans (and invisible backup singers) he’s been employing for the past couple of decades.
Neil has sounded like shit live for years but the walk-off was especially notable because Mötley Crüe and Neil had been in the press a whole bunch leading up to their planned 2020 stadium tour with Def Leppard, addressing the issue head-on by saying Neil was practicing and getting in shape. That tour was rescheduled to 2021, of course, and now 2022, giving Neil more time to get up to speed vocally, which he clearly hasn’t utilized yet.
Neil’s return to the stage came on Thursday, August 5 at a private event in Austin, TX — where the Covid-19 situation is “dire” and hospital beds are in short supply (but yay! let’s pack together at a concert! freedom!) — hosted by SiriusXM radio personality Eddie Trunk (Sammy Hagar also performed).
And thanks to fan-filmed video of the performance, we can see that Neil is employing all of his old tricks: pointing the mic towards the audience to sing key lines, skipping words (“… soothe your soul… take his hand…”), and sounding generally out of breath. Ya know, what he’s been doing every performance for the past twenty years.
You can watch clips of “Dr. Feelgood” and “Looks That Kill” below.
Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen recently pointed out that Neil has a year to go before the two bands’ co-headline tour, saying about the Crüe singer, “Hopefully everything is cool by then. I hope so. Fingers crossed.”
Neil was recently announced as a headliner at the inaugural DrinksGiving celebration and free concert in Las Vegas this coming November, an event that also features “soon-to-be announced drink specials, pub crawls, drinking games and more.” Neil has famously struggled with alcohol addiction in the past. In 2016, he was charged with misdemeanor battery for drunkenly assaulting a fan. Just last year, a Cameo video he was hired to make for a fan’s birthday went viral because Neil is very clearly intoxicated in the clip.
Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Poison, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts tour dates for 2022:
6/16 – Atlanta, GA @ Suntrust Park [tickets]
6/18 – Miami, FL @ Hard Rock Stadium [tickets]
6/19 – Orlando, FL @ Camping World Stadium [tickets]
6/22 – Washington, DC @ Nationals Park [tickets]
6/24 – Queens, NY @ Citi Field [tickets]
6/25 – Philadelphia, PA @ Citizens Bank Park [tickets]
6/28 – Charlotte, NC @ Bank Of America Stadium [tickets]
6/30 – Nashville, TN @ Nissan Stadium [tickets]
7/2 – Jacksonville, FL @ TIAA Bank Field [tickets]
7/5 – St. Louis, MO @ Busch Stadium [tickets]
7/8 – Chicago, IL @ Wrigley Field [tickets]
7/10 – Detroit, MI @ Comerica Park [tickets]
7/12 – Hershey, PA @ Hershey Park Stadium [tickets]
7/14 – Cleveland, OH @ First Energy Stadium [tickets]
7/15 – Cincinnati, OH @ Great American Ballpark [tickets]
7/17 – Milwaukee, WI @ American Family Field [tickets]
7/19 – Kansas City, MO @ Kauffman Stadium [tickets]
7/21 – Denver, CO @ Coors Field [tickets]
8/5 – Boston, MA @ Fenway Park [tickets]
8/6 – Boston, MA @ Fenway Park [tickets]
8/10 – Buffalo, NY @ New Era Field [tickets]
8/12 – Pittsburgh, PA @ PNC Park [tickets]
8/14 – Minneapolis, MN @ U.S. Bank Stadium [tickets]
8/19 – Houston, TX @ Minute Maid Park [tickets]
8/21 – San Antonio, TX @ Alamodome [tickets]
8/22 – Arlington, TX @ Globe Life Park [tickets]
8/27 – Inglewood, CA @ Sofi Stadium [tickets]
8/28 – San Diego, CA @ Petco Park [tickets]
8/31 – Seattle, WA @ T-Mobile Park [tickets]
9/7 – San Francisco, CA @ Oracle Park [tickets]
