It took Mötley Crüe six and a half years to return to the stage, but drummer Tommy Lee only lasted five songs during the band’s reunion tour kickoff in Atlanta on Thursday night (June 16th). Lee explained from the stage that he recently had broken his ribs and that he wouldn’t be able to continue the concert. In his place, Ozzy Osbourne drummer Tommy Clufetos stepped in to complete the gig.
The fact that Clufetos was in the building likely meant that Lee probably knew he’d have a hard time finishing the set. According to Ultimate Classic Rock and fan video footage posted to Twitter (see below), Lee told the crowd, “We did it! You did it, we did it, we’re f**king here,” alluding to the fact that the Crüe’s co-headlining “Stadium Tour” with Def Leppard had finally kicked off after a two-year delay due to the pandemic.
He continued, “Okay, anyway, what I’ve got to tell you is about 14 days ago, I f**kin’ broke not one, not two, not three, but four f**kin’ ribs … I wish I had a f**kin’ badass story like me and Connor McGregor f**kin’ scrapping out in some f**kin’ bar or something, but I don’t. The doctors told me, ‘No playing, bro. No playing.’ And I was like, ‘Are you f**king high, bro? We’ve got a f**king tour to do!’ So anyway, I ain’t sitting out for shit. My boy’s gonna help me out here and I’ll see you guys later. On with the goddamn show.”
At that point, according to multiple sources on social media, Clufetos stepped in to complete the remaining 11 songs in the set, beginning with “Live Wire” and ending with “Kickstart My Heart.”
Lee later confirmed on Twitter that Clufetos will be filling in on upcoming shows, as well, writing, “Tommy Clufetos is here to help me out until I’m back at 100% … we’ve all been waiting years for this moment, and there’s no way I’m missing this!”
The show also featured an appearance by Machine Gun Kelly, who played Lee in the movie The Dirt. MGK joined the band for the live debut of “The Dirt (Est. 1981),” a song he recorded with the Crüe for the soundtrack to the Netflix film.
The Atlanta concert marked Mötley Crüe’s first gig since a December 31st, 2015 gig in Los Angeles that was supposed to wrap their last tour ever. The band had famously signed a cessation of touring agreement to never tour again, but famously blew up the paperwork after deciding to reunite following the popularity of The Dirt movie.
Stay tuned for a more complete wrap-up of the tour kickoff, including details on the sets by Def Leppard and support acts Poison and Joan Jett. See footage of Tommy Lee addressing the crowd and performing the set opener “Wild Side,” as well as Machine Gun Kelly’s guest appearance in the clips below.
“The Stadium Tour” runs through a September 9th show in Las Vegas. Tickets to all upcoming shows are available via Ticketmaster.
Breaking News: Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee takes the stage at The Stadium Tour but mid-set goes to the mic and says after 2 and a half years of waiting for this show he broke a few ribs recently and the doctors told him not to play. He promised to perform anyway #TheStadiumTour pic.twitter.com/VjKj9bVQMs
Advertisement— Greg DeBrosse (@GregDeBrosse) June 17, 2022
#TheStadiumTour #TommyBeast #mötleycfkncrüe #TheFutureIsOurs pic.twitter.com/Je5CRDSy9A
— Mötley Crüe (@MotleyCrue) June 17, 2022
[flexi-common-toolbar] [flexi-form class=”flexi_form_style” title=”Submit to Flexi” name=”my_form” ajax=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”post_title” class=”fl-input” title=”Title” value=”” required=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”category” title=”Select category”][flexi-form-tag type=”tag” title=”Insert tag”][flexi-form-tag type=”article” class=”fl-textarea” title=”Description” ][flexi-form-tag type=”file” title=”Select file” required=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”submit” name=”submit” value=”Submit Now”] [/flexi-form]
Tagged: Alternative Music, Glam Metal, Hard Rock, Heavy Consequence, Heavy Music News, Injury, music, music blog, NEWS