The Joint is no place for Crue control

Spencer Patterson

Monday, March 21, 2005 | 8:21 a.m.

Midway through Motley Crue's show at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel on Sunday night, Nikki Sixx paused to reflect on his band's reunion.

"I gotta thank you," the hulking bassist told the sold-out crowd of 1,800. "I don't know very many bands that get a second chance."

Actually Nikki, any band that wants a second chance gets one these days.

The Who, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel, Duran Duran, the Sex Pistols and the Pixies are just a few of the comeback acts that come to mind in a touring era fueled by nostalgia.

In Motley Crue's case, friction between the four members -- Sixx, vocalist Vince Neil, drummer Tommy Lee and guitarist Mick Mars -- was widely believed to have been the key hurdle preventing a reunion.

More likely, however, the quartet were simply biding their time, waiting for when their music would be most viable again, to provide the best chance of filling arenas and selling new CDs.

And they knew that time would come. If rock 'n' roll is anything, it's predictably cyclical. A style becomes all the rage, then suffers a massive backlash and turns incredibly uncool, only to later resurface as a retro phenomenon.

How many of those 30- and 40-somethings who filled The Joint Sunday night would have shown their face at a Motley Crue concert five years ago, when the Los Angeles band's music was being derisively slagged as "hair metal" and laughed off by the mainstream?

Sure, the diehards would have turned out regardless, guys who make funny faces while air guitaring and girls who pull their tops down when they think Neil, Sixx or Lee are looking their way.

But the rest of Sunday's crowd? No way. It came out because Motley Crue is suddenly the hot ticket, which means they're free to sing the lyrics to "Girls, Girls, Girls" out loud like it's 1987 all over again.

Give Motley Crue credit for knowing what their fans want. The first of their two Vegas stopovers (they'll be back at The Joint this Sunday) featured exploding pyrotechnics, scantily clad female dancers who kissed and fondled each other and videos of strippers.

The show was also filled with hits, from the early tunes that originally got the band noticed ("Shout at the Devil," "Looks That Kill") to the later songs that impacted the pop charts ("Dr. Feelgood," "Kickstart My Heart.").

Most of the songs sounded the way they were supposed to. Neil conjured up healthy, high-pitched screams, Lee bashed away savagely and Sixx provided a booming backdrop that still rang in your ears hours later.

The demonic-looking Mars, who suffers from a degenerative bone condition and had a hip replaced in October, also managed to fill his role admirably, providing the familiar solos that accompany virtually every song in the Motley Crue catalog.

After about eight songs, however, it became apparent that most of the crowd was more excited about the prospect of witnessing the band's comeback than soaking up its music, a fact not lost on the four men onstage.

"Do not get quiet on me now!" Lee urged the hushed room between numbers. "What, not enough cocktails out there? You're at a Motley Crue show -- make some noise!"

Lee ultimately brought the audience out of its shell during a break in the set. The shirtless, tattoo-covered drummer carried a video camera to the front of the stage, cued the house lights and began filming women.

One by one, they stripped off their tops, allowing the entire room to view their bare breasts on two giant screens on either side of the stage, along with smaller TV sets near the bars.

Not as well received were Motley Crue's two new songs, "If I Die Tomorrow" and "Sick Love Song," which sent a stream of fans to the exits a few minutes before the two-hour show concluded.

Those who stuck around got to hear one more gem from the mouth of Sixx.

"I guess rock 'n' roll is back!" he proclaimed.

Or maybe it never went anywhere.