Have the Mighty Fallen? Or is this just a Great Booking?

The big announcement of the Motley Crue and Tesla concert at the Jones County Fair in July was made. Finally, the Jones County Fair is having a good concert. The Jones County Fair has a history of good bands playing. The only one that sticks out in my head is Styx. Getting Motley Crue to play is a major accomplishment. The controversy surrounding the band is legendary.

• Vince Neil - involved in a car crash where the Hanoi Rocks drummer died. 
• Nikki Sixx - he "died" from a heroin overdose and was revived. 
• Tommy Lee - there was a sex tape of him and Pamela Anderson - I guess it is worth watching. 
• Mick Mars - his health battles have plagued him since he was 17.

I have never been to a concert at the Jones County Fair. It has always been in mid-July and I've never had the weekend free since it is in the thick of our camping season. That's not a complaint - it's reality.

But I'm not writing about that.

I've seen Motley Crue in concert twice. The first time was in 1987 at the Five Seasons Center (now the US Cellular Center) in Cedar Rapids. This was on the "Girls, Girls, Girls" tour with Whitesnake as the opening band. This was the tour where Tommy Lee had a drum riser that went in circles. Supposedly, he was not feeling good that night and didn't do a drum solo. I felt ripped off. I've never let it go. Then, in 1997, I went to the same venue and watched Cheap Trick open for them. I wasn't impressed. I've always criticized the band in every piece of writing I've ever done about Motley Crue. They're not my favorite band. I respect their record sales, but not them as human beings.

Tesla, on the other hand, is awesome. I saw them in concert as well with Badlands and Great White at the Five Seasons Center. Badlands was awesome and featured drummer Eric Singer. Great White was good, but I don't remember much of them. Tesla was the headliner and rocked. I remember members of Badlands and Great White came out and they jammed on "It's Only Rock and Roll (But I like it)" at the end of the gig.

Tesla has always gotten a bad rap. They were unfairly lumped into hair metal because of their ballad "Love Song." However, I argue that "The Great Radio Controversy" is one of the great releases of all time. Maybe not top 10 or top 20, but definitely top 50. That's in my world. Songs like "Makin' Magic" have always resonated in me. Are the lyrics awesome? Perhaps not. I love the drumming, though. I listened to the release over and over.