Motley Crue Reveal More Tour Dates, Talk New Stage Additions
Never ones to go gently into that good night, Mötley Crüe have announced the addition of 21 new North American dates to their already extensive farewell run.
The new shows, scheduled for October and December, will see the legendary hard rock band hitting smaller markets like Little Rock, Ark. and Lincoln, Neb. in the U.S., and Calgary, Edmonton and Saskatoon in Canada. All of the new dates will take place in arenas, thus enabling the Crüe to deliver the full effects of their Final Tour stage show.
“On the first leg of this tour, we went back and forth between outdoor places and arenas,” Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx tells Rolling Stone. “As much as we love playing outside, it’s frustrating when you can only use a certain percentage of your production. We decided we wanted to wrap up the tour this way, in a controlled environment where all the elements of the show are amplified.”
“The indoor production is fucking insane!” adds Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. “You need a full-on roof to mount the ‘Cruecifly’ drum rollercoaster, because it actually flies out over the audience about 200 feet to the very back of the arena!”
A new addition for the indoor shows will be “The Crüe’s Nest,” a levitating platform located at the opposite end of the venue from the stage, which will raise the band during the last song of the set, taking a number of fans along with them.
“We always want to try to find a way to involve our fans,” Sixx explains. “So why not take them for a ride with us? We have a ‘B’ stage that goes up about 40 feet in the air, so we were like, ‘Why don’t we just strap a bunch of fans to it?’ Of course, our production manager was like, ‘Well, you can’t really just tie fans to a stage with a rope!’ [Laughs] We had to build special seats with harnesses and seatbelts, but it’s really cool — it’ll be like an amusement park ride!”
The Final Tour, which kicked off last July, played to nearly 1 million fans in 72 cities last year, grossing more than $45 million. The tour will conclude on New Year’s Eve at Los Angeles’ Staples Center and the band is currently hatching plans for the final blowout. “I can just tell you that, if the Staples Center is still standing on January 1st, I’ll be surprised,” Lee says, laughing. “Hopefully we’ll be on the fucking news. ‘20,000 Fans Had More Fun Than Humans Are Allowed To Have!’ — that’ll be the headline.”
“I can only imagine it’s going to be something nuts,” adds Sixx. “I mean, we have to wear fire retardant on our clothes in our show now — and if that’s the starting point, I don’t know what we’re going to have to do. Wear fire suits and helmets? Put a steel wall in front of the audience, so they don’t burn up with us? Maybe we’ll go out in a ball of flames. Wouldn’t that be perfect?”
A celebration of 34 years of Mötley music and mayhem, the band’s Final Tour will be heading to Australia and New Zealand in May, and will take the band to European festivals in June before returning to North America in July. For some of the band members, it’s been an intensely emotional ride so far.
“It’s like a big bag of mixed emotions that’s just nonstop,” Lee says. “At the very end of the show, when I’m at the piano and playing ‘Home Sweet Home,’ that’s the point where I start to realize, ‘Holy fuck, this is it, dude — this is the last time I’m going to play for these guys!’ You’re dealing with the moment, you’re looking at what you’ve done and what you’ve accomplished, and there are 20,000 people there giving you the most amazing send-off that you could ever fucking want… and you’re sitting there going, ‘What is happening? I can’t even deal with this right now!’
“I’ve had some tears before; other times, I’m smiling, because it’s like, ‘Wow, this is insane — look at all these people!,’ he adds. “I’m getting emotional just talking about it. Honestly, I don’t think I’ll even get a grasp on what’s happening until it’s over.”
“I think the last night of the tour will be interesting,” adds Sixx. “I don’t know what it will feel like. I’m kind of looking forward to it just being a surprise. Your whole life, your highest highs and lowest lows spent with three other men, and you’ve done things together that people only dream about… and it’s like your last day of work, so to speak. Do I get a gold watch and a pat on the back?”
“I guess it won’t hit me ’til the very end,” admits Crüe guitarist Mick Mars. “The last couple of gigs might be a little weird, but I don’t think it’s going to be one of those things where we never see each other again; we’re still going to have our corporation, Motley Crue, Inc., and we still conduct a lot of [our business] stuff there. And I’m not going to spread any rumors,” he laughs, “but you never know! A couple of us may get together and throw something out, just for the heck of it. If that happens, it happens; if it doesn’t, it’s okay, too.”
Mötley Crüe’s The Final Tour (New dates bolded)
July 22 – Eugene, OR @ Matthew Knight Arena
July 24 – Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
July 26 – Billings, MT @ Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark
July 28 – Boise, ID @ Taco Bell Arena
July 29 – Salt Lake City, UT @ EnergySolutions Arena
July 31 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
August 3 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre
August 5 – St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
August 7 – Milwaukee, WI @ BMO Harris Bradley Center
August 8 – Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena
August 9 – Detroit, MI @ The Palace of Auburn Hills
August 11 – Hershey, PA @ Giant Center
August 12 – New York, NY @ Barclays Center
August 14 – Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
August 15 – Worcester, MA @ DCU Center
August 16 – Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
August 18 – Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena
August 19 – Cincinnati, OH @ U.S. Bank Arena
August 20 – Indianapolis, IN @ Bankers Life Fieldhouse
August 22 – Toronto, ON @Air Canada Centre
August 23- Ottawa, ON @ Canadian Tire Centre
August 24 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
August 26 – Baltimore, MD @ Royal Farms Arena
August 28 – Raleigh, NC @ PNC Arena
August 29 – Charlotte, NC @ Time Warner Cable Arena
August 30 – Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
September 2 – Miami, FL @ American Airlines Arena
September 4 – New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
September 5- Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
September 6 – San Antonio, TX @ Alamodome
September 8 – Monterrey, NL @ Arena Monterrey
September 10 – Mexico City, DF @ Arena Ciudad de Mexico
October 5 – Hidalgo, TX @ State Farm Arena
October 7 – Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
October 8 – Little Rock, AR @ Verizon Arena
October 10 – Evansville, IN @ The Ford Center
October 11 – Lexington, KY @ Rupp Arena
October 13 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
October 14 – Buffalo, NY @ First Niagra Center
October 16 – Bridgeport, CT @ Webster Bank Arena
October 17 – Manchester, NH @ Verizon Wireless Arena
October 18 – Bangor, ME @ Cross Insurance Center
December 4 – Lincoln, NE @ Pinnacle Bank Arena
December 7 – Sioux Falls, SD @ Denny Sanford Premier Center
December 8 – Grand Forks, ND @ Alerus Center
December 10 – Saskatoon, SA @ SaskTel Centre
December 12 – Edmonton, AB @ Rexall Place
December 13 – Calgary, AB @ ScotiaBank Saddledome
December 15 – Portland, OR @ Moda Center
December 19 – Phoenix, AZ @ U.S. Airways Center
December 20 – San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
December 22 – Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center
December 27 – Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Arena
December 28 – Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center
December 30 – Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center
December 31 – Los Angeles, CA @ Staples Center