Motley Crue will end up playing well over 100 dates in 2005, surprising many in the industry. Nine shows into a 50-date North American tour, the Crue is doing sell-out or near-sell-out business. And the band is set to announce another 57 shows in North America, with Europe sandwiched between.
The first U.S. leg wraps May 1. The band will then hit Europe before picking up again in North America July 26 for a run until mid-October, under the “Carnival of Sin” tour banner. For the first month of the summer run, Crue will join several other hard-rock bands for a package bill, including Sum 41 and the Exies in select cities. Summer shows will play a mixture of arenas and amphitheaters.
Following the North American dates, the Crue will play Southeast Asia, Australia and Japan.
Managed by Allen Kovac at Tenth Street Entertainment and booked by Dennis Arfa and Pete Papalardo at Artists Group International, the tour and its success and magnitude caught many in the business off-guard.
“This tour was not only great for Motley Crue but, as the first major tour of 2005, it’s great for the business,” says Papalardo, “especially with everyone coming off such a horrific year.”
Promoters for Crue include AEG Live, Clear Channel Entertainment, Jack Utsick Presents, and Frank Brothers, as well as in-house arena promoters. Of the latter, Kovac says, “It was the buildings who funded and helped make this happen when the promoters wouldn’t step up.”
