Mötley Crüe - live from the Underworld
DÖGS OF WAR (MÖTLEY CRÜE)
The Underworld, Camden, London - 30th June 2023
Words by Andy Rawll
Tonight, the Dögs of War proved that the band's bite was even more ferocious than the media’s barked promise of this special Wembley warm-up gig.
As their Rose-tinted, fellow Sunset Strippers welcomed a Hyde Park crowd of over 60,000 to the London Jungle, Mötley Crüe's sleaze-club alter egos demolished the Camden Underworld, like Minotaurs on heat, in front of a rabidly molten gathering of 400.
Incandescent in energy, feral in attitude and Blitzkrieg in intensity, this return to the glorious grime of the subterranean club gig was everything that long-time fans dreamed of, since the band's much-vaunted Donington warm-up gig at the Marquee in 1991.
Supposedly dubbed the Dögs, after the title of one of the new songs, that the band have recorded for a forthcoming release, this show was as much a promise of the future as a celebration of the past.
This was the perfect way for the core trio of Vince, Tommy and Nikki, to reconnect with their roots as Sultans of the Strip, now augmented by Guitar John 5, whose otherwordly command of his instrument makes the it cry, sing, howl, moan, wail and orgasm, whilst honouring the crunching riffs and demonic tone of his Martian predecessor.
Decades may have passed, books may have been written, farewell tour contracts shredded and reputations thrown into question, yet, when it counted, the band stepped up and delivered, possibly the most vibrant and reverberant show that this great little North-West London venue has ever seen.
No tapes, no smoke, no mirrors and no more Mick, just a triumphant, loud, raunchy, sweaty and incontestable rock show.
Roll on tomorrow’s victory lap at Wembley Stadium and the subsequent shows on their joint-headline World tour with Def Leppard, including Dublin on the 4th and Glasgow on the 6th July.
SET LIST
Wildside
Shout At The Devil
Too Fast For Love
Live Wire
Looks That Kill
MEDLEY
Rock & Roll Part 2
Smokin’ in the Boys’ Room
Helter Skelter
Anarchy in the UK
Blitzkrieg Bop
Fight For Your Right
Dr Feelgood
Girls, Girls, Girls
Primal Scream
Kickstart My Heart
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Photo Credit (live shots): Sam Shapiro