After several years of waiting, thanks to the pandemic, it finally arrived!  Originally the bands were not scheduled to do the show in Indianapolis, but because of the delay, we were able to get the show here, in the Circle City.

The Stadium Tour kicked off with Classless Act, who I’ve known of since I’ve been playing them on the Back To The Arena show along with my online radio station, The Shark.  And for being newbies as compared to the legends to play after them, I was quite impressed with the stage show, the facial expressions of the lead singer and the music.  A great way to start the show.

Next up after a quick stage reset, was Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.  The second songs they blasted out was the cover of the classic Runaways song “Cherry Bomb” and from there, it kept getting better. Especially when they rocked “Do You Wanna Touch Me”, which has always been my favorite Joan Jett song.  Of course, everyone was waiting for “I Love Rock And Roll”, but I also didn't mind the wait hearing the songs “Crimson and Clover” and “I Hate Myself For Loving You”.  Of course we ALL love rock and roll, and after two bands, I was happy with what I had seen so far.

The reason I wanted to go to the show was next: Poison.  Of course they kicked off with “Look What The Cat Dragged In” going into “Ride The Wind”, one of my favorites. I was kind of bummed that their set was so short and that they had to still have a guitar solo and a drum solo taking up valuable time that they could have rocked songs like “(Flesh And Blood) Sacrifice”, or “Stand”, “Something To Believe In” or many more.  One thing that made my night was them "ging off the set list" to do "Unskinny Bop"... that was very cool.  They did cover the big classics including the always heart-thumping “Nothin But A Good Time”.  Hearing that song only made me want 10 more Poison songs… but I didn’t get them.  Poison for me, brought the most energy of the night.

Def Leppard was next and started off with a new song, which I get it, they want to promote the new music… but why not wait until you have the crowd pumped with some of the classics?  But yes, they did bring the classics and they sounded good as always.  The songs took me back to the good old days of hair metal and as always, I enjoyed Def Leppard.  I really enjoyed hearing “Promises”, “Two Steps Behind” and my favorite highway crank-it-up song, “Animal”, just to mention a few.  They did over 15 songs and, although I enjoyed them, I was still wishing to see a handful of songs more from Poison.

Then came the Crue.  I was glad to see that they were the headliner as both Def Leppard and Motley Crue alternated shows as the final act.  Kicking off with “Wildside” was a killer start.  I would have hoped for “Kickstart My Heart” since they were “kicking off” their set.  But “Wildside” did the trick as well.  I was surprised to hear “Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)”... but surprised in a good way, since I love that song.  The medley in the middle was sweet too.  I won’t ruin it for you, if you have tickets for an upcoming show, but the songs were Crue covers… except one.  Everybody rags on Vince and his “singing” but the guy is over 60 and has hundreds of songs in his music bank… I would need a little help with the lyrics (via “teleprompter”) too.  I saw Jon Bon Jovi do the same thing earlier this year.  Vince was never a “great” singer, but he was/is in a hair metal band… he doesn’t HAVE to sing well, right?  Leave the poor guy alone.  So he hums a little. HaHa.  Tommy still rocks the drums, Mick still cuts the riffs while barely moving from his spot on stage and Nikki… well, let’s just say this Nikki Sixx is still classic Nikki Sixx… just sober.  He moved like he was 22 years old.... color me impressed.

All in all, I think everyone who paid for admission had to get their money’s worth.  Unless they went for Poison, then it was kind of a gyp.  I waited almost 3 years for this show and I would love to see it again with some other classic hair bands… if they are still together and or alive (sad but true).  It’s great to see bands stick together through the years and bring back that sound of music that is what my show, BACK TO THE ARENA, is all about.  Getting these hair metal style bands BACK to the arena and rocking the masses.

Photos on the Back To The Arena Facebook page (@BackToTheArenaShow).