I am currently keeping my eye on two different ill-advised tours, and they keep on getting more ill-advised. Both Mötley Crüe and Queen with Paul Rodgers are shaping up to be as unfortunate as I had expected, but right now the Mötley Crüe tour is taking the prize for bad ideas.
As of two weeks ago, the latest and greatest rumor is that Mick Mars isn't going to be able to play the full tour because his (newly replaced) hip hasn't had enough time to heal. Of course no one causes rumors like Mötley Crüe, especially since this is their first tour with the four original members in about five years, but I believe this rumor has merit.
CEB sent me the scoop and it included comments from Tommy Lee. Tommy doesn't think Mick has been given as much recovery time as he needs. What? Since when is Tommy Lee a kind and understanding fellow? I was chatting about this with LCG and CEB and LCG figured it out. "Well, Tommy was always selfish in the way that a little boy is selfish. So, when he does think of someone else he's sweet, because that's how a little boy would act. Nikki was the one who was a complete asshole."
LCG made an excellent point, and then we all agreed that it was a good thing that someone in the band was concerned about Mick. The second part of the rumor is that Mick Mars will only be coming out for the encore, the actual set will be played by a substitute. Good rumor, bad idea. For one thing, people are buying tickets for this because it's all four original members. Second, how is that going to help Mick Mars?
It may be less strenuous than playing for two hours every night but he's still on the road. He'll get all the hassles of touring without getting to play (much) music. He's still going to have to be at the venue for a couple of hours each night, and still have to put up with erratic hours and hotel beds. Shouldn't he be at home going to physical therapy? Eddie Van Halen and Liza Minnelli have both had their hips replaced, I'd be interested to know how long they waited before going back on stage.
I did send these rumors on to a reader who is looking forward to seeing Mötley Crüe and she quickly dug up the denials. Mick is fine, there is no substitute, the show will go on, et cetera. I sent them on to CEB and we both still agreed: something is going to go wrong. Just because they are trying to nip this rumor in the bud doesn't mean it won't happen. It may even give them an idea. If it does happen, I am wondering if disgruntled fans will be able to get refunds. They bought tickets to see a reunited Mötley Crüe, not three members of Mötley Crüe and some guy.
We have also discussed the fact that maybe fans won't care as long as they have Nikki, Tommy, and Vince. That would bum me out because even before I read The Dirt, Mick Mars was always my favorite member of Mötley Crüe. Buried somewhere in a box of guitar magazines I have an 8 X 10 glossy of Mick Mars from the Theatre Of Pain era. A kid at my middle school found it on the floor of his old school and took it home. Then he transferred to my school, found out I liked Mick Mars and gave me the photo.
I never put the photo anywhere other than a folder though, because Mick wasn't as pretty as Poison and of course all of my wall space was devoted to attractive (well, "attractive") bands. So what was I doing with a Dangerous Toys poster? Good question, although it did arrive on my wall a couple of years later when my standards weren't so lipstick-y. Somewhere, I also have a button of Mick Mars that I wore on my jean jacket.
Point being, no Mick Mars means no Mötley Crüe. Of course, this is all speculation and hearsay but I'm going to continue keeping a close eye on the Mötley Crüe news. If I had purchased tickets only to find out that it was three-quarters of Mötley Crüe, I would be marching down to the venue to request a refund and I look forward to seeing how many people do just that.