LIVE: MÖTLEY CRÜE – Charotte, NC, USA – August 17, 2026
Venue: Truliant Amphitheatre
City: Charlotte, NC
Dates: August 17, 2026
Review and Photographs by: Todd “Toddstar” Jolicoeur (www.toddstarphotography.com)
A month to the day after hitting Upheaval Festival in Michigan, I found myself back at it with camera in hand, this time covering Mötley Crüe and special guests Tesla and Extreme. On a blistering hot day in Charlotte, I watched as the venue slowly filled from the time the doors opened, and we all waited for the music to begin. First up, Extreme hit the stage and delivered a tight set of hits from across their career and sounded as good as I have ever heard them live. From frontman Gary Cherone’s vocals to Nuno Bettencourt’s guitar wizardry, these guys nailed every moment they were given on stage. From the minute they kicked into opener “Decadence Dance,” it was a whirlwind of killer tracks with an abundance of their material coming arguably their biggest album Extreme II: Pornograffitti (A Funked Up Fairy Tale) and their latest release SIX. The opening track is one of my personal favorites, so the night was off to an amazing start. The led into a one-two punch of “#REBEL” and “BANSHEE” from SIX that kept the rock hard and rolling, especially the latter with Nuno’s great riffs and a powerful vocal delivery from Cherone. They went back to their debut disc for the fun and frolicking rock rhyme “Play With Me.” The core sound was anchored by bassist Pat Badger and drummer Kevin Figueiredo who kept the show tight and in perfect time. The band rolled through two huge fan favorites “Hole Hearted” and “More Than Words” with the crowd singing along to every word of both tracks. Nearing the end of their set, they jumped into the track that first won me over years ago and made me an Extreme fan – “Get The Funk Out.” After another new song, the band closed their set with a nod to Ozzy Osbourne (and a refresher on Nuno’s appearance at the Back To The Beginning show celebrating Ozzy and Black Sabbath), the bad departed with a cool medley of “I Don’t Know,” “Bark at the Moon,” and “Crazy Train.”
Before long, Tesla was on stage and they delivered hit after hit with precision. “Modern Day Cowboy” got things rolling and the band sounded great. There was no filler in Tesla’s set as they progressed through their time on stage. Frontman Jeff Keith sang his ass of throughout the set, including “Hang Tough.” The pairing of “The Way It Is” paired with “Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out)” had a great sound and groove that kept the show flowing while guitarists Frank Hannon and Dave Rude traded licks and provided a wall of guitar sound. Another couple of songs made their way into the setlist before another huge hit – “Love Song” – came flowing through the venues sound system. The tandem of Brian Wheat and Steve Brown provided the perfect rhythm section on bass and drums respectively as the set wove towards its end with “Little Suzi” before they wrapped up with “Signs.”
Growing up in the 80’s listening to rock and metal that rolled across the Midwest from the Sunset Strip, this wasn’t my first Mötley Rödeo, but my first since October 2015. With a huge red & white circus tent as the fore and backgrounds, the Carnival Of Sins landed in Charlotte, NC. A ringmaster of horrific proportions welcomed us all to the show moments before the curtains parted and we were off on a red-hot night with the opening strands of “Red Hot” coursing through the venue’s speakers. With a catalog full of hits, fan favorites and deep cuts, the band came fully loaded to deliver the show we all wanted to see. The set was pretty evenly divided between their first five albums and only two tracks coming from the 90’s. Continuing the sonically pummeling, the band tossed “Louder Than Hell” at us before allowing the circus barker another opportunity to welcome us and intro a song for us as the overly familiar motorcycle rev of “Wild Side” kicked in. Bassist Nikki Sixx ran, jumped, and constantly ran around stage while punishing his bass song after song. The band rolled back to their first two albums for the next run of songs including “Shout at the Devil,” “Too Fast for Love,” and the killer pairing of “Looks That Kill” and “Too Young to Fall in Love.” From behind the mic, Vince Neil led the band on the oddest run of songs in the show as “Take Me to the Top” led to the previously mentioned lone songs from the 90’s “Primal Scream” and one of my favorites played tonight, “Afraid.” On a personal note, they could have played every track from Generation Swine tonight and I would have left perfectly satisfied. Nikki, Tommy, and Vince each added to an ever-growing story that helped us all understand the origin of the band’s hit ballad “Home Sweet Home.” Before running through any hits, guitarist John 5 led us all through a six-string tutorial that included killer tips of the hat to his heroes Van Halen, Sabbath, and Zeppelin. Before we knew it, we were in the home stretch as the band worked into “Smokin’ in the Boys Room” and “Live Wire.” Drummer Tommy Lee, who added punch and depth to the set from behind his kit all night long seemed to hit harder as the final trio of songs were thrust upon us, starting with the introduction of the Nasty Habits before “Girls, Girls, Girls.” The band closed the evening with a pair of headbanging perfection that is “Dr. Feelgood” and “Kickstart My Heart.” We are all a little older and wiser, but a summer evening full of amazing rock and roll from our youth was the right soundtrack for a trip down memory lane that took us all back 40 +/- years for 90 minutes… and I would do it again and again.
Mötley Crüe Setlist: Red Hot – Louder Than Hell – Wild Side – Shout at the Devil – Too Fast for Love – Looks That Kill – Too Young to Fall in Love – Take Me to the Top – Primal Scream – Afraid – Home Sweet Home – Smokin’ in the Boys Room – Live Wire – Girls, Girls, Girls – Dr. Feelgood – Kickstart My Heart
Tesla Setlist: Modern Day Cowboy – Hang Tough – The Way It Is – Heaven’s Trail (No Way Out) – Mama’s Fool – Call It What You Want – Love Song – Little Suzi – Signs
Extreme Setlist: Decadence Dance – #REBEL – BANSHEE – Play With Me – Hole Hearted – Midnight Express – More Than Words – Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee – Get the Funk Out – RISE – I Don’t Know / Bark at the Moon / Crazy Train
COMPLETE SET OF MÖTLEY CRÜE PHOTOS
MÖTLEY CRÜE LINKS:
TESLA LINKS:
COMPLETE SET OF EXTREME PHOTOS
EXTREME LINKS:
Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries
About the Author (Author Profile)
ToddStar - that's me... just a rocking accountant who had dreams of being a rock star. I get to do the next best thing to rocking the globe - I get to take pictures of the lucky ones that do. I love to shoot all genres of music and different types of performers. If it is related to music, I love to photograph it. I get to shoot and hang with not only some of my friends and idols, but some of the coolest people around today.Subscribe
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