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Motley Crue; Gilby Clarke
((Palladium; 3,835 seats; $ 20 top))
Bands: Motley Crue: John Corabi, Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, Mick Mars; Clarke: Gilby Clarke, Marc Danzeisen, Will Effertz, Ryan Roxie.
The last time Motley Crue played the Palladium, in 1981, many in the industry saw the metal bunch as a long shot to last more than one or two records. Back at the Palladium, after 13 years and five multiplatinum Elektra albums, the band's luck, it appears, has finally run out.
When the Crue's original singer, the flashy yet shallow Vince Neil, was dumped in 1992 for John Corabi, the pop music world was cleansing itself of any holdovers from the L.A.-spawned '80s pop-metal scene, replacing them with the likes of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, etc.
But Motley Crue, one of the few from that long-ago time that still makes records (its latest self-titled effort is a commercial and artistic dud), has yet to see the proverbial handwriting on the wall. But give them time.
A better singer than his predecessor, Corabi lacked a style or an original approach that might have made this tour a new beginning, instead of the unintentional self-parody it became.
Guns N' Roses guitarist and Virgin Records solo artist Gilby Clarke opened the show with 35 minutes of music from his recently released album, "Pawnshop Guitars," and fared only slightly better than the headliners.
Also seemingly lost in a time warp, Clarke mixed a few catchy numbers into a set dominated by mindless hard-rock riffing and posturing. Semi-tolerable songs such as "Cure Me Or Kill Me," were sacrificed to the Palladium sound system.
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