Critic's evaluation
The afternoon of 03/07/23 was a clear sky with few clouds, despite being filled with signs of rain. Even with this landscape, the urban thermometers marked 28°C, which resulted in a hot climate that was not suffocating, but made one perspire. Even under this apparent inconstancy, lines of people wearing black bathed the sidewalks of Francisco Matarazzo Avenue.
Following the trail, it became apparent that the anthill was at Allianz Parque, a place that, at 5:39 pm, was frequently filled with smiles, frantic strollers, shouts, and an energy that transcended satisfaction. This energy completely contaminated the environment.
Curiously, this scenario, experienced in the middle of Tuesday, indicated that something important was about to happen, after all, the people there had to give at least a plausible satisfaction to leave work early. And yes, there was a plausible and even tangible reason.
In a few hours, that audience coming and going would witness an unlikely meeting and even, who knows, the ultimate one. Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard, two generations of hard rock, on the same stage, separated by only a few minutes. Before that, however, Edu Falaschi would open this eccentric event, to say the least, which was named The World Tour for the simple fact that it came out of the United States.
While the bleachers were timidly filled, the dance floors experienced a different scenario. More and more people were arriving and putting on different shades of black under the white protection of the grass. The most interesting thing was that there were confused looks at something that seemed to be a defect. A raised corridor divided the premium dance floor in two, but what it communicated, in its provocative silence, was that its space would be used in and by the performances, promising high degrees of frenzy.
With four minutes to go until the start of the performances, according to the producer's schedule, the stadium was still very crowded in all sectors. Among the paying customers, Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard T-shirts shared the landscape equally. With regard to Falaschi, there was nothing to be seen, not even products from bands he has participated in before. Instead, bands like Sabaton, Iron Maiden, Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath were represented by bandanas or T-shirts.
Edu Falaschi
At 6:15 PM, while the sky remained clear and the temperature still warm, Edu Falaschi and company entered the stage already performing the powerful Acid Rain for a silent audience, but who visibly enjoyed the sound. For Falaschi, the behavior seemed to bother, especially when his attempt to call for a more emphatic audience participation failed.
During the performance of Fire With Fire, the only song from Vera Cruz, the new solo material from São Paulo, it could be noticed that, although strong and firm, the sound was not properly equalized. This factor made the instrumental sound stand out over the vocals. Even so, the show went on.
And it was with another Angra song that Falaschi reached the high point of his presentation. In Bleeding Heart he asked the audience to illuminate the stadium with the lights of their cell phones, which was gladly obeyed. Despite the arms' waltz out of sync, such participation made the track's execution even more dramatic.
While In Excelsis was played over the loudspeaker, Falaschi was called to the corner by a man who seemed to be part of the event's organization. When he returned, the singer communicated that his set should be shortened and that, then, he would have to make the last drink. And the chosen one was Nova Era, another Angra song.
At 6:45 pm, with an extended falsetto shout, Falaschi put an end to his performance, removing himself, the guitarists, the bassist, the keyboardist, the drummer and the two backing vocals from the stage. The same way he entered, the fifty-year-old Paulistano left the Allianz Parque stadium. No shouting or clapping, just silence. A proof that the public either didn't know him very well, or in fact was not very receptive to him.
Curious to note that, despite such a behavior from the audience and the defense of power metal, Edu Falaschi performed wearing an outfit that communicated something more glam because of the glitter, showing that even he was bothered by something. Not by chance, Falaschi didn't hide the discomfort of feeling like a stranger in the nest, an individual who, apparently, in his vision, broke with the hard rock energy proposed for the event.
A few minutes later, at 7:18 pm, the stadium was completely filled. The eyes of the people there, even though it was still early for the next concert, hungrily stared at an empty stage in the naive hope of seeing someone from the Mötley Crüe team, the next to perform.
Mötley Crüe
When Mozart's Requiem In D Minor, K. 626, began to play over the loudspeakers at 7:25 p.m., the audience already knew. The time was coming. During the introduction, made by an episode called Breaking News Report created for the tour and broadcast under the artificial lights of the stadium, the public couldn't contain its unbridled eagerness to see Mötley Crüe eight years after what would be the last performance of the group in Brazilian lands.
At 7:30pm, the stadium lights go off and the audience is in a frenzy until the Californian quartet gets on stage and starts Wild Side. The most curious thing is that, although the audience was definitely in ecstasy at the beginning of the performance, most of them clung to their cell phones to capture the moment, whether in video or photo. This created bottlenecks of silence, which were broken whenever Vince Neil pronounced the name of the song, sung in chorus by the audience.
And it wasn't only in Wild Side that cell phones had a VIP participation. Also in Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away), the devices were frequently deployed to capture the group's image during what was the first performance of a ballad in the track list.
This means that the show was filled with explosive, danceable songs. Indeed. What Mötley Crüe delivered was a 16-song selection of catchy hits that created several high points during its one and a half hour duration. And the first of these was Too Fast For Love, which led to wild screams and active audience participation.
The sequence Live Wire and Looks That Kill is another example, although the first one had an audience with looks of a clear extra dose of pure adrenaline and ecstasy. However, one song in question surprised not because it was included in the set, but because of the reception it got from the audience.
"You guys are the best audience in the world! This is a song that we made for a movie...", Neil teased, while Nikki Sixx pulled out the groovy intro to The Dirt. Despite being well received by the audience, the way the sound resonated left the song with a level of pressure and power curiously below the studio version, because the presentation, on the part of the Crüe, had no explosive impetus or anything that would make the moment remarkable.
A moment that will certainly be marked does not concern a song, but an interaction. After the compilation Rock and Roll, Part 2 / Smokin' in the Boys Room / Helter Skelter / Anarchy in the U.K. / Blitzkrieg Bop, Tommy Lee positioned himself in the extended area of the stage and started a conversation with the audience. "Hey, may I move here? I hate America", he began, receiving shouts of approval. "Guys, give me a favour: put your girls on your shoulders and let me see his 'tetas'".
After a few seconds, some women perched on the shoulders of their respective peers, but none with their breasts showing. At most, they were wearing bras. But that was enough for Lee, who, with shining eyes and a wide, debauched smile, confessed: "wow, I'll definitely move here!".
Home Sweet Home came next to calm the spirits, being responsible for closing the set's list of ballads. Besides already having a soft base that mixes drama and melancholy, the audience had a great part in the increase of these emotions. In the chorus, she sang all the verses, making the passages almost an a cappella cut. In addition, the audience lit up their cell phone flashlights illuminating the darkness of the night with bright spots scattered throughout the Allianz, forming a beautiful image.
Doctor Feel Good had an active and definitely necessary participation from the dancers recruited by the quartet. During the performance, as in the other songs, Ari and Hannah presented steps with triple sensuality and provocation, always with their firm and electric gazes.
For those who think there was no surprise, they are wrong. For the performance of Girls, Girls, Girls, considered another highlight for having a great participation of the public in the chorus, Mötle Crüe was accompanied, besides the dancers, by two giant balloons in the shape of a sculptural female body. They became part of the set until the end of the performance.
After a while, John 5, Mick Mars' replacement, started an intro that got the audience off the floor and made it necessary to wear earplugs because the screams were so loud. That sounding disharmonious sound was simply a dissonant way of calling for Kickstart My Heart, the final performance of the set, which formed an uncontrollable frenzy throughout the audience until its official end at 9:01 pm.
In retrospect, the show was good, but less than expected. True, it was filled with big hits, but even these were not enough to guarantee the absolute attention of the audience. Also, there was no explosion, fire or pyrotechnics, with Lee as the main member showing the signs of age, even though he was physically fit. There were not even reminders of a savagery coming from a dangerous L.A band from the 80s. A farewell with generous sips of nostalgia for what was once Mötley Crüe.
Still, a curious situation would happen. A large part of the audience that filled the lawn started to move quickly towards the exits, with a lot of buzzing like "I've seen the band I was supposed to see" or "the show is over". In a few minutes, large bottlenecks formed in all sectors, giving space for those who remained to move more comfortably.
Def Leppard
What seemed like just a moment ended up solidifying. Those who left didn't really come back, and Def Leppard's performance was noticeably less crowded. Still, the quintet was not shaken, and at 9:32 pm, they entered the stage to start the last performance of the night.
Take What You Want seemed to give reason to those who left the stadium. While the sound was blasting, those who remained looked prostrate, tired, and even ignorant to what was being presented. However, everything changed after the second act.
The energetic Let's Get Rocked, besides coming with a better sound, got a good participation from the audience, who sang the chorus at the top of their lungs while they retracted and stretched their arms with horned hands. Animal, which came next, had even more interaction, with an audience that sang and even jumped and clapped at the end in appreciation. Foolin' followed the same recipe finishing a first great trio of songs.
After introducing Kick with the intention of promoting Diamond Star Halos, their most recent album, Def Leppard brought Love Bites, a song that took over as the first ballad of the set. At this moment, while the lights of the cell phone flashlights illuminated the audience, other individuals took care to record the performance, making the devices the extension of a shout, a chant, a silent participation.
At the end of Promises, Joe Elliot positioned himself at the end of the extra aisle on the stage and made the introductions indicating Phil Collen, Vivian Campbell, Rick Savage and Rick Allen, the youngest of the quintet, on stage. With each one introduced, roars and claps were mixed into one big unison.
Rocket was another important moment. In it, although the audience was shy, but with a clear cheer, there was a delivery of participation with dancing, head bobbing, and hands raised high. This scenario was repeated in Bringing On The Heartbreak, which was received with shouts and intense participation in the chorus.
The climax, that unbridled hysteria, would come only after Hysteria. When the guitar riff became clear, the stadium collapsed. Screaming, howling, whistling and awkward dancing took over the crowd during Pur Some Sugar On Me, the track that gave Def Leppard's performance its first declared viral frenzy.
Rock Of Ages had the same effect, but it was with Photograph, the last drink, that another collective ecstasy was formed until 11pm, when Def Leppard left the stage of Allianz Parque under applause, as it was with Mötley Crüe. Thus, The World Tour was over, at least for São Paulo.
It was simply an honest show. Full of ballads and radio songs, Def Leppard's performance had a better equalized sound and managed, with sincerity, to deliver a lively and contagious performance, more lively and organic than the previous one.
As far as Mötey Crüe's performance was concerned, it was possible to notice that John 5 was loose and free with the glam atmosphere and the essentially sensual songs of the Californian group. He really seemed at home and honored the role of Mick Mars. However, in the summation, the scenario looks a little different.
Reminiscing about the first show of the day, Edu Falaschi could not even participate in the dispute for the title of best show of the night, because besides being uncomfortable, his set was shortened. It is curious to see that, despite seeming more still, the Def Leppard concert had more frequent and consistent positive responses, besides the sound being better in relation to Mötley Crüe.
It is true that the real reason for the shortening of Falaschi's show is unknown, but the predatory behavior of international showbusiness over local productions is well known, a considerable reason for the occasion. Other than that, the organization was impeccable. Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard started and finished their sets on time.
An insane tour with an improbable line-up and showered in the sensuality of hard rock. A tour that took, maybe for the last time, two great bands from the history of hard rock on the same stage. This is what The World Tour delivered for São Paulo and will certainly repeat this same recipe in the remaining events.
