Vince Neil Just Announced a Solo Show During Mötley Crüe’s Summer Stadium Tour
The other day I started to feel bad about the harsh words for Vince Neil we’ve posted around here of late. Then I hit play on fan-filmed live footage of his most recent concert and was instantly reminded that yes, he truly is that awful and every bit deserving of the negative coverage here and elsewhere. It’s embarrassing. It’s disrespectful to fans who pay to see him. And he’s got to be aware of how bad he is, meaning there is only one reason he does these gigs… money! Notice that most of them are at festivals, fairs or casinos, typically the highest paying gigs.
So it’s no surprise, then, that Neil has announced a show with his solo band for July 16 in North Dakota, smack dab in the middle of Mötley Crüe’s long-planned and twice-delayed summer stadium tour with Def Leppard.
Some fans have speculated online that the show’s existence means that Crüe’s own tour is yet again in jeopardy due to the pandemic. But I posit that is not the case: it’s nestled between a July 15 show in Ohio and one on July 17 in Wisconsin, undoubtedly a careful orchestration designed to accommodate a fat paycheck when the promoter in North Dakota called up Vince’s agent. Since the show is at a fair (naturally) the budget likely allows for Neil to fly in and out between his commitments with Crüe while his solo band members do the same. Every gets hella paid. And if Crüe’s tour does end up getting postponed yet again, well, Neil’s still got his own payday waiting. It’s the perfect hedge, really.
Fans, meanwhile, can surely expect the same level of lackluster performance Neil has delivered lately, struggling for breath, out of tune, and relying on his band’s backup singers and the audience to sing key lines, the same tactics he’s been employing at recent shows (as well as those dating back some 20 years).
You may recall that Neil’s performance back in May, his first since the pandemic began, 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.
At a handful of shows since, Neil has been highly criticized for his inability to keep up vocally.
The singer’s physical and vocal shape had been a frequent topic leading up to Mötley Crüe’s planned 2020 stadium tour with Def Leppard, with the band and Neil both promising that he 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 made headlines in September when he revealed that he was attempting to get in physical shape by using a “a revolutionary non-invasive fat burning and muscle building device that helps trim, strengthen, define, lift and tone your body with incredible ease.” Its creators claim that half-hour treatments “can help you achieve your dream body without sacrificing your lifestyle — because who has time to spend hours at the gym?”.
He also came under fire for promoting and appearing at the DrinksGiving event. Neil has famously struggled with alcohol addiction in the past. In 2016, he was charged 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.
You can watched fan-filmed footage of Neil performing a couple of Crüe classics at last weekend’s Indiana show below.
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]
[via Blabbermouth]
