2022 The Stadium Tour in San Antonio: San Antonio Current Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Poison, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas.August 13, 2022
Review and Photography by Michael Mullenix
Sunday, August 21st, Motley Crue made their return to San Antonio in spectacular fashion with the summer’s The Stadium Tour featuring Def Leppard and Poison. This tour had been delayed for two years, but the Alamodome and the entire Central Texas Rock Family were ready to welcome them back with open arms.
First up was Poison, who wasted no time running out onstage singing the opening cry of Look What The Cat Dragged In. Poison was on fire, and quite possibly the most dynamic band of the evening. The vibe of their set was like an intimate house party… that was attended by thousands of people, and they had their fans cheering for the duration of their set with songs like Talk Dirty To Me and Unskinny Bop. Impressively, the band is still composed of original/critical members who felt like they utilized as much of the space as possible onstage. Poison’s stage presence made them feel dynamic as they kept the entire venue engaged. As singer Bret Michaels put it between songs, they are a garage band that went the distance. After them was Def Leppard’s time in the spotlight which shift the tone entirely into something out of this world. Though they share a generation and pedigree with the other bands, their act felt like it reached a higher reverence, and songs like Promises, Animal, and especially Rock Of Ages carried a hymnal majesty to them. The performance was very expansive and made good use of the extended stage platforms, bringing the entire band (even including drummer Rick Allen) out for two “slowed down” acoustic songs This Guitar and Two Steps Behind. With the crowd at a fever pitch, Def Leppard gave San Antonio one last treat in the form of Photograph before closing out their night.
At the end of the night, the houselights went down and a fake emergency broadcast ran on the video monitors warning of the return of Motley Crue to the River City. With an ominous message that read “The Füture is Ours” the stage came to life with Tommy Lee commencing the start of Wild Side as the rest of the band stormed the stage. At this point in the evening, the audience was white hot with anticipation and Motley Crue brought out all the hits of their arsenal. Every voice in the crowd was singing along with hits like Too Fast For Love, Shout At The Devil, Live Wire, and Looks That Kill, making it feel like the largest party ever attended. The show had a well-paved path to it: after the slammers, the band slowed it down for a beat huddled around the piano and acoustic guitar with the song Home Sweet Home, and then regrouped for a string of hits to close out the night. Their stage felt full, between the moving platforms and backup dancers, to enormous Female Robots that flanked the stage during the song Girls, Girls, Girls and remained there for the remainder of the set. Special note should also be made of Tommy Lee climbing out from behind the drum kit between songs to address a recent Social Media controversy involving nude selfies and asking all the guys in the audience to…. Disrobe. At the end of the night and with no encore, Motley Crue gave their fans one last big sendoff with the eternal classic Kickstart My Heart putting an epic close to an unforgettable night.
