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Friday, 9th December 2011
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Glasgow, Scotland - Fan Reviews

Fan Review - By Donnie McGilvray, Inverness

I was expecting Motley Crue to have to try hard to better Leppard in Glasgow, especially because when the show was announced Billy Rankin had a quick straw poll on the then Rock Radio breakfast show and not one person voted for Motley Crue to headline. Glasgow then and the travelling Scottish fans are Leppard biased you would imagine. However, whilst waiting in the usual queue of die hards to get to the front, it was surprising how few Lep t-shirts were on the go, in fact most fans were wearing Crue gear or dressed like Steel Panther! And this trend continued as I watched everyone else arrive.

So on to the show. Hall 4 filled up very fast and not many seats were left empty when Steel Panther took to the stage. There were quite a lot of Panther fans down the front, and I have to say I was quite impressed. Taking the musical side quite seriously with very melodic songs and with the dress sense of Spinal Tap and the crudest and funniest lyrics of cock rock that I have heard in years, Panther were a revelation. The banter between songs should have got a nomination at the comedy awards. The guys did the job they said they were hired to do and warmed the crowd up nicely. And I for one will be buying their albums......I still can't get Tiger Woods out of my head!

Motley Crue came on with a bang of pyrotechnics and flame bursts to a great reception! Nikki was obviously in playfull mood and was acting up to the crowd. The whole band seemed to be enjoying themselves and it came across in the show. The last time the Crue were in Scotland was June 2005 and on that occasion they couldn't sell out the SECC. With no album to plug they were free to play any setlist they wanted with the usual hits getting a showing, but the stand out songs for me were from the Saints of Los Angeles release, including the title track and Mother F**ker of the Year! Time was taken to entertain, with the now legendary Tommy Coaster with a fan also getting a shot. Call me old fashioned, but after the Whirly Gig, I thought this was a little tame. The crowd lapped it up though. Mick Mars gave a solo stint and you have to admire the guy still giving it his all and making sure he keeps up with the rest of the Crue despite being in constant pain. With the Crue ending with another blood soaking for the crowd I have to say I was standing there wondering how lep were going to better what had come before.

And this is the point where my review may differ to that of anyone further back or in the seats. At the front there were hardly any Leppard fans. After the pyrotechnics of Motley Crue, the Leppard entrance seemed a bit lacklustre. Joe seemed to be trying hard, but with this being my 8th Leppard show (Barrowlands X tour still the best) I could almost feel that something didn't feel right. Half way through the Leppard set I am pleased to say that the Crue fans drifted away from the front of the stage, and at the same time Joe fell out with a member of the audience that had rather unwisely thrown a beer in his direction. It seemed to be a turning point in the show. The crowd got behind Leppard after this. The one thing about coming to Glasgow is that you are going to get heckled in one form or another...it is sort of a challenge from Scotland to see if you can take it and prove how good you are. Joe showed them that he had the balls and if anyone wants the proof, then search YouTube for Two Steps Behind where you will see Joe "havin a go".

At this point Joe also explained that he had a cold and a sore throat, and I realised what had been wrong. But Joe was now fired up, the band were fired up and so were the crowd. The second half of the set seemed to pass in a blur. stand outs were switch 625, (giving Joe a chance to rest his throat) which ended with a solo from Rick. Not since The Slang tour has Rick given a solo in Scotland, its been a 15 year long wait to see it again but it was worth it....just brilliant. So Leppard ended on a high with Photograph, Sugar and Rocked going down a storm and leaving everyone satisfied. Criticisms from a Lep fan? Isn't it time that the look of the set was changed, and I understand that the band say that they always have to play the hits, but does it always have to be the same ones? Sparkle was a hit album, but where was Nine Lives or Bad Actress. Nothing from X, Euphoria, Yeah or Slang either! When will Leppard realise that the fans have more than 3 or 4 albums! If we are going to pay nearly 60 pound a ticket, then trust me, we have all of the cd's too. And by the way Love and Hate Collide was an English hit, it is wasted in Scotland.

So anyway, to summarise Steel Panther were a pleasant surprise that rocked and laughed too! (Steel Hyena instead maybe..). Motley Crue had fun and entertained at the same time. Leppard needed a kickstart but finished in glory! All in all a great night but if I was pushed I would say that the Crue edged this one.

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