I’ll defend hard rock and metal music to anyone who will listen; fighting the Spinal Tap Stone Henge stereotype all the way to the Winter Solstice if needs be. But I’m not sure even Beelzebub can help me now…
Having recently argued that rock and metal does not need to rely on spectacle to make up for the awful music on show, I have been presented with this:
And no, your eyes are not deceiving you. That IS rock berk Tommy Lee playing the drums whilst hanging all but upside down on something resembling The Viper ‘coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
In a spectacularly Spinal Tap moment, Lee has been forced to take to Twitter this week to explain why his rig – dubbed The Crüecifly – didn’t make an appearance at a recent show in Milwaukee.
After fans who attended the 4th of July gig left disappointed at the no-show, they kicked up the proverbial stink across the web, prompting Lee to Tweet: “Hi guys! Want you to know certain venues cannot handle The Crüecifly! It’s not our fault their roof cannot hang the rig! It’s massive!”
Indeed, Tommy, indeed.
The Crüecifly forms part of the stage show for Crüe’s current US jaunt, titled “The Final Tour.” Speaking to Music Radar, Lee once explained how the idea of mounting his drum kit on to a roller coaster track came about: “Every tour we do, everybody’s always wondering, ‘What’s Tommy Lee going to do next? What new, wild and crazy thing is he going to come up with?’ And what’s funny is, the thrill-seeker and the amusement park fan in me took over this time. Whenever I go on a roller coaster, I always say the same thing: ‘Man, I have got to find a way to take the cars off this ride and put my drums on the track!’ That’s basically where it all started. One day, I drew a design for the whole thing on a cocktail napkin.”
*sigh*
If only Tommy and his Mötley Crüe bandmates had put as much thought into their last album…
If you’re so inclined, you can watch fan-shot footage of Tommy and his massive rig in action at the Vanandel Arena, Grand Rapids below:
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