Mötley Crüe bring the ‘Dogs of War’ secret show to the Camden Sunset Strip

Words: Francijn Suermondt / Photos: (C) Sam Shapiro

The build up to the concert from Dogs of War was huge, with tickets selling out literally within seconds. Just a taste of the possibility that this could actually be Motley Crue sent hardcore fans of the band into a frenzy and one look at the queue snaking around the Camden Underworld this evening made the perfect statement to those doubters who have been speculating as to whether the Crüe are past their best.

The news of the intimate show first came last week to fans via a cryptic flyer across the band’s Twitter, under the name ‘DÖGS OF WAR’. Tonight this show put an end to all speculation, as the band revealed this is the name of one of several brand new songs that they have recently recorded with Bob Rock in the studio.

Once inside, all of those I spoke to ( and I spoke to a lot in my excited anticipation) felt as if they were dreaming. None of us could believe we were actually going to see Tommy, Nikki, Vince and John at such a small venue. This surreal feeling continued and smacked you in the face when the band charged into their evening with Wild Side. I was tentative, I must confess, after social media had been rife in recent weeks with talk of backing tracks being used and some stating Vince was past his best ….doubters be damned….I have rocked out at a lot of gigs over the years, too many to mention, but this topped them all.

As I write this at 6am, still buzzing from the night before, I cannot completely get to grips with what I experienced last night. Tommy, as usual, was a demon on the drums, I have never heard Nikki play so good, if you closed your eyes Vince’s voice could have been circa 1984 on the Sunset Strip and the new boy in town John 5 shredded with gusto!

To make my evening even more surreal some ladies stood in front of my view. After explaining that they were in my way and I was writing a review, one of them apologised and said she was Courtney Sixx. For the rest of the evening we danced to the band and chatted…what a doll!

It is so hard to pick a stand out from the set list, all of the songs were, to put it in one word, perfection. The crowd were buzzing, the atmosphere electric and everyone went bonkers to the cover of Fight For Your Right by the Beastie Boys. The Crüe are bringing a fresh new edge to their sound and the energy is explosive.
If you are heading to Wembley today you are in for a fist pumping, head banging, hip swinging treat …and I for one can’t wait to get in the Crüe roller coaster again!

If you don’t already have tickets, today (Saturday 1 July) by contrast, Mötley Crüe will perform at Wembley Stadium in front of 50,000 fans as part of their current European leg of The World Tour with Def Leppard, which ends on 6 July in Glasgow before they head back to the U.S. for more stadium shows in August and the tour continues in Japan and Australia this Fall.

If you weren’t there… a quick hunt through Social Media & YouTube comes good and we find this: 

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Adrian Hextall

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