Concert preview: Cruefest at Superpages.com Center (August 8)

by Justin Press of Justin Press: Dallas Rock Music Examiner

Never ones to be overly original (Ozzfest ... Cruefest) or all that musically challenging, Motley Crue bring their touring sideshow back to Texas for the second installment of, well, Cruefest (Saturday, August 8 at Superpages.com Center). An ode to the good times, four chords and style over substance, with the showcase this year being their rendering of the six times platinum 80's masterwork Dr. Feelgood in its entirety, though Shout At The Devil would have been a better choice, since Feelgood is 50/50 killer vs filler. But with Motley you're not getting a lesson in musicality, but more of a dive into bombastic. Their stage show for this go-round is two-parts insane asylum, and two-parts garage from Hell. Though not to totally knock their catalog because they've got two handfuls of tracks that are custom made for heavy drinking and careless sex. "SameOl' Situation," "Primal Scream," "Looks That Kill," and "Live Wire" are all white hot classics that used to litter the parking lots of high school stereos everywhere.

Mid-headliners Godsmack are said to just be kicking the ass off the competition on this road trip and why not, they've got those meaty, big rock chops that sound great live and probably one of the best drummers in the world in Shannon Larkin (hats off to Tommy Lee as well). Plus their solid-state tracks like "Awake," "Greed," "Straight Out of Line," and "Keep Away" do two the crucial things you need for a stellar rock show: make the dudes bang their heads and make the chicks shake their asses. Essential.

Dallas' own Drowning Pool seemed to have been re-born as of late with their latest track, "37 Stitches," from 2008's Full Circle garnering modern rock play and their triumphant "Soldiers" remaining an anthem on foreign soil. Through the thick and thin of their twisted journey, Drowning Pool have held steadfast and when the dire times seem to be breathing down their necks, they bucked up and are now on a 10K seat a night shed tour. Oh yeah, for those living under a rock, "Bodies" and "Tear Away," this band did those.

Theory of a Deadman are a Nickelback-style band -- ironically they were initially scouted by NB's Chad Kroeger and Charm City Devils are a dead-on for Bon Scott era AC/DC, but also, aren't.

Along with the main stage at this year's Cruefest, Motley saw fit to add another slate of bands. So it's only fair that we recognize this year's Monster Energy Stage line-up -- numerous strippers will be stoked.

Powered by Peavey, this year's debut of the Monster Energy Stage is headlined by longtime "on the brink" stalwarts, Rev Theory. Mohawks and brawn aside, Rev Theory are the sort of hard, melodic rock that modern rock stations gobble down like Xanax. Those familiar with NASCAR, WWE and yellow mustard will be familiar with "Hell Yeah," the intro single from last year's Lit It Up album, but the tracks that is gaining traction right now are "Far From Over" and "Broken Bones," paint-by-numbers power ballads from the school of Staind.

Cavo can be broken down in eight words, "coulda been the champagne, coulda been the cocaine." While 16 Second Stare cover ground already broken by the likes of Puddle of Mudd and Jet, nothing outside the lines, but the perfect complement to your ever-growing heatstroke and drunkenness.

The real head-scratcher here is Shram, who really haven't had much recorded output available, but the tracks available include "Muskie Maniac," which comes off as a snot-filled party rock anthem, while "Molly" sounds like a throwaway from the Warped Tour. Collectively this is a mixed bag but at the end of the day, Rev Theory will win a lot of new fans, and prove Nikki Sixx right that the addition of some more bands was worth the investment.

Note to attendees, wear white clothing, 110 degrees on asphalt is stroke city, baby.