US Fest 83: Motley Crue

I recently posted on the importance that the Motley Crue album Shout at The Devil had on me as a kid found here.  This post will be similar to the last post and will have a live performance from US Fest 83.  On "Metal Day" Motley Crue performed after Quiet Riot.  The performance was right before Shout at The Devil was released.  Below is a great clip of the Crue from that show.

US Fest 83: Quiet Riot

In a past post I talked about how if I could go back in time to see a concert it would be US Festival in 1983.  The opening act on "Metal Day" was Quiet Riot.  Below is a video of them performing "Cum on Feel the Noise."

Enjoy!

My Tenth Album

Shout at the Devil:  Front Side

This is another album I bought simply for the album art.  I happened to have $10 one day while shopping in the Kirkwood Mall in Bismarck, ND and went to Music City specifically to buy this album.  I had seen it there before and wanted it for one simple reason - It looked BAD ASS!  I don't know what caught my eye first, the Black cover with the Red font (and two dots over the "O" and "U"), the outfits they wore or the flames and smoke in the photo backgrounds - it just looked BAD ASS!  

Also, the back of the cover had a photo of Nikki, Vince, Mick and Tommy in their leather outfits with smoke in the background as well as their pentagram logo.  It just had a "KISS" effect but it was more in your face.

Shout at the Devil:  Back Side

I listed to this album until it became warped.  Everyone knows the classic songs "Shout at the Devil," "Looks That Kill"  and "Too Young to Fall in Love," but every song is good.  Also, one cool aspect of this album was it had two "Intro" songs to lead into the heavier songs.  "In The Beginning" led into "Shout at the Devil" and  "God Bless the Beast and Children" led into the Beatles remake "Helter Skelter."  I thought it was a cool touch. 

I loved this album as did many others.  Wyndmere, ND native and author of Fargo Rock City Chuck Klosterman wrote about how it impacted his life via music.  It impacted other kids lives as well as it has sold over 4 million copies[1].

References:
1.  Retrieved from:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shout_at_the_Devil

US Fest 83. If I Had a Time Machine...

...the concert I would have liked to see was "Heavy Metal Day" of the US Festival.  The date was Sunday, May 29 1983, the temperature was 110-degrees, there was an estimated 375,000 people attending and it was "The day new wave died and rock and roll took over" as Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil said[1].  The lineup for this day of the festival was incredible for the time.  The bands are listed below and individual posts with festival concert footage from each one will come in the near future.

References: 
1.  Retrieved from:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Festival

 Sunday, May 29th (Heavy Metal Day): 

(in order of appearance)

1. Quiet Riot
2. Motley Crue
3.  Ozzy Osbourne
4. Judas Priest
5. Triumph
6. Scorpions
7. Van Halen

As I have said in previous posts there isn't much to do in rural North Dakota.  I lived on a farm twenty miles from the closest town (Linton) and it didn't even have MTV.  In fact I remember a couple wrestling buddies of mine were upset that they couldn't watch Beavis and Butt Head when they stayed overnight for the Holiday Tournament.  Since there was no MTV you pretty much were limited to shooting things (Bottles, animals, signs, etc.).  

However, there was a memorable moment where I had to stay at my brother Mike's town house in Bismarck ND.  Mike is about 17 years older than me and was an attorney at the time.  He had to go to work and told me to watch TV.  I was kinda mad because I thought I would be bored but as I was flipping channels (Luckily he had Cable TV!) I found MTV for the first time (This was 1986) and the first video I saw was David Lee Roth's video for "Yankee Rose."  I knew of Roth because he was the front man for one of my favorite bands Van Halen.  He was replaced in 1985 by Sammy Hagar and I wasn't too happy about it.  However, when I saw this video and saw how talented his band members were (Billy Sheehan on Bass, Steve Vai on Guitar and Greg Bisinette on Drums) I thought he might give his former band a run for its money.  Unfortunately like the USA Olympic Basketball teams that didn't win the Gold metal, this band might have been too talented for their own good.  Sheehan formed Mr. Big and Vai had a successful solo guitar career.  I will close by saying they were a great band that only had one album together and anyone I knew who saw them live said they were incredible on stage.  Below is the video to give you an idea.

My Ninth Album

Like I said in a previous post, somehow I convinced my brother Mike to buy Twisted Sister's Stay Hungry Album for me.  He claimed I owed him big because it was one of his more embarrassing moments (Having to buy an album from a band he despised).  I can see why as when you look at the cover.  Twisted Sister front man Dee Snider joked on VHI Classic that he "Looked like Bette Midler in drag."  Despite my brothers embarrassment and how Dee looked, it was on of the many albums that I listened to over and over again.  It included many great songs and is known for the MTV classics "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock" which featured actor Mark Metcalf who is famous for his role as Douglas C. Niedermeyer from the comedy classic Animal House.  In addition to those songs every song is really good - there are no clunkers on this one.  One final note, Dee was great at pissing off parents (He is famous for appearing in court against the PMRC).  Every time I played this album my dad would get mad at me.  Funny thing is I played it more just to piss him off. When you live on a farm in rural North Dakota entertainment is hard to find.

A Very Important Song for Me

In 1985 we (My parents and I) were on a trip back home from visiting my grand parents in Beulah, ND.  It is about a 90+ minute drive.  Everyone loves their grandparents but most will agree that they are bored off their ass while visiting them.  Also with the lack of cool radio stations in rural ND it can be brutal.  Kids today have no idea how great they have it with I-Phones, I-Pads, etc. to keep them entertained.  Anyways that night I heard the song "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister and LOVED it.  Somehow I got my brother Mike to tell me who sang it and then I somehow got him to buy me the album.  He claims it was one of the more embarrassing moments in his life - to go to Music City in the Kirkwood Mall in Bismark ND and have the clerk think he was a Twisted Sister fan!  However, despite the shame he had he bought the album and I listened to it many times.  The extended video with the Douglas C. Niedermeyer (from Animal House) scene is below. I remember seeing the video and thought it was funny.  However, if I would have known who Niedermeyer was it would have been hysterical.