A YouTube channel labeled as Bigdigs26 has shared a video recording of what appears to be a Mötley Crüe concert from 2022 while Mick Mars was still performing with the band. However, what’s pretty interesting is that the video comes with audio that’s actually an in-ear monitoring mix that was done especially for Mick.
Since this is an in-ear monitoring mix, what comes out of it is what a musician prefers to have in order to have full control over their performance. In this case, if the audio is legitimate, the mix includes a click track and Mick’s guitar. There are a few other things bleeding through but we could assume they’re being picked up by the microphones aimed at Mick Mars’ stage amplifiers. Additionally, there’s a moment at the intro of “Kickstart My Heart” that includes a male voice counting into the song’s main part. You can check out the entire shared footage below.
What’s also important to note that the video was also shared by Ultimate Guitar who added this to their new post:
“An insider source close to Ultimate Guitar has confirmed that the recording above is ‘1000% legit.‘”
The current video came out right in the middle of a clash between Mötley Crüe and their guitarist Mick Mars who officially left the live lineup back in late 2022 and who was replaced by John 5. After some public speculation by fans, as well as a few suspicions shared by the band’s former vocalist John Corabi, drummer Carmine Appice, who’s close to Mick Mars, revealed that the guitarist wasn’t exactly satisfied with what was going on in Mötley Crüe.
According to what Appice said in a recent interview, Mick Mars revealed to him that the legendary glam metal band was playing to mostly pre-recorded tracks on their live shows. In other words, they weren’t exactly playing live but mostly miming. Asked about Mars’ departure from the band, Carmine said:
“Well, I tell you what I’ve been talking to Mick, and he told me, ‘When I was on the Stadium Tour, I was not happy.’ Basically, everything was on tape; it was all planned out and ultimately a lot of crap. And Mick is a pretty good player, and so, to now let him loose and play the way he wants, that was never going to work for him.“
“The truth is that everything has been weird for a while with Mötley Crüe, and Mick didn’t like that everything was on tape. Mick told me that people that came to see it could tell that it was all pre-recorded and that everything was on tape.“
“When you play in a stadium like that, you can hear a lot of things come to the monitors or what doesn’t. And with Vince’s vocals, bass, drums, guitars, and all the other stuff, it was obvious that it was all on tape. And Mick was pissed off and said, ‘I can play these things. I want to play them. I don’t want to make believe I’m playing them.’“
“So, I think that’s one of the reasons why he said, ‘I’m done.’ Sure, the disease that he has doesn’t help, and it doesn’t make life easy on tour, but Mick can play all the licks, and he was allowed to.“
Asked whether Mars wasn’t getting along with the rest of the band, Appice replied:
“No, he wasn’t. He had his own means of travel and would travel alone on a bus while the other guys flew everywhere. He said, ‘Man, these guys are pissing their money away, flying to every gig.’ They were all busy still trying to be rock stars, and Mick just wanted to play the music. Mick wasn’t interested in wasting time and money flying everywhere, so he traveled by bus.“
“Their lifestyles are different than his, and so there were a lot of disagreements. I think he was just done. They were supposed to have done their last tour, and then they came back. Then they did the Stadium Tour, and that was apparently supposed to be the last. So, when they came back again, he said, ‘You can do it. I’m not going out with you for this.’“
Of course, after Carmine’s statement, Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx came out all guns blazing, accusing him of being a “washed up drummer.” After some back and forth between Mötley Crüe and Carmine Appice, as well as Mötley Crüe and Mick Mars, all hell broke loose when Mars officially revealed a legal battle against the band.
After that, the band claimed that the guitarist was having trouble with his mental health and that was, allegedly, forgetting chords and other parts. While this is obviously just speculation, a leakage of such a track might be Mars’ way to prove that he was more than capable to perform.
As of this moment, Mick Mars and Mötley Crüe are in the mids of a legal battle, with the band trying to take away his share within the legal entity. In the latest interview, conducted by Variety, Mars said:
“Those guys have been hammering on me since ’87, trying to replace me. They haven’t been able to do that, because I’m the guitar player. I helped form this band. It’s my name I came up with, my ideas, the money that I had from a backer to start this band. It wouldn’t have gone anywhere. And then to be hearing stuff from people like Bob Daisley from Ozzy Osbourne’s band, when we were touring with them, and Carmine Appice…”
“The thing that they keep pushing, for many years, is that I have a bad memory. And that’s full-blown, out-of-proportion crap. Around 2012, when they first started saying that my memory was bad and I didn’t remember the songs, I came home and saw all my doctors, because I keep myself together, because I’m an old bastard. They had all the 10th Street people there [from the band’s management] — probably about five or six people — [versus] all my doctors going: ‘There’s nothing wrong with him.’ And now they’re still playing that game with me.”
“So, no, the truth is: I want to retire from touring because of my AS [Ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory, arthritic disease that causes vertebrae to fuse]. I don’t have a problem remembering the songs. I don’t have a problem with any of that stuff. But I do have a problem with them, constantly, the whole time, telling me that I lost my memory. No. Wrong. That’s wrong. Absolutely wrong.”
“But my stupid body is telling me ‘No, don’t do that’ [stay on the road]. You know, I’m gonna be 72 years old, and I’ve been touring with these guys 41 years, helping build the brand, helping do this and that. And you’re served with papers and going, this is crazy. This is stupid. I mean, come on.”
He also added:
“On this particular tour, Nikki’s bass was 100% recorded. Tommy’s [Lee] drums, to the best of my knowledge, there was a lot. I can’t say he did all of it recorded, but there were some reports from people in the audience that said, ‘Oh, I heard the drums playing, but there’s no Tommy on there. The song started, and there’s no drummer.’ Stuff like that. And actually everything that we did on that stadium tour was on tape, because if we didn’t, if we missed a part, the tape would keep rolling and you’d miss it.”
“Anyway, that was the worst 36 gigs ever had with the band. It was 36 [instead of the originally scheduled 12] because they knew I wanted to retire from it after that. I don’t know, and I can’t say I positively know, but I have a pretty good feeling that they wanted me gone anyway. Because they’ve been wanting that forever. It’s just frustrating for me. I’m pretty upset that they’re even pulling this crap when I carried these bastards for years.”
“I think that those guys are hoping that I’ll just fold and lay down. Because I’ve done that many times. But this thing that I helped build for 41 years, I’m sorry, you’re not gonna take that from me. I worked very hard for that. It’s mine. I’m keeping it. You can’t have it. Sorry. But they’re well prepared, I can already tell you, because I’ve known them that long too. But I’m not backing down. I’m not gonna fold. And we’ll see what happens. I’m most definitely not afraid of them, or intimidated or anything else.”
Photo: Shadowgate (Motley Crue 20 (3689110677))
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