The Boys Are BAck
MöTley crüe reTurns To The JoinT for An encore residency
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by
matt jacob photography ErIK KabIK
ou knew if Las Vegas was to ever lose its rock ’n’ roll residency virginity, the two partners crawling under the sheets would be Mötley Crüe and The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. You also knew if such a relationship was consummated, sparks would fy, and the pair eventually would reconnect for another roll in the hay. Sure enough, 18 months after a highly successful three-week, 12-show residency, the Crüe and their unique brand of mayhem—think midgets, stilt-walkers, freak-show artists and stripper poles—are returning to The Joint in September for another extended stay. “Frankly, it was inevitable that we would have the bad boys back for another run at The Joint,” says Paul Davis, vice president of entertainment for Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. “The property and The Joint were made for bands like Mötley Crüe.” For their frst residency, in February 2012, the four band members of the legendary group invested their personal time and energy into making it an experience that was customized to the property and to The Joint. “They envisioned a full property takeover,” Davis says. “When Bobby Reynolds from AEG Live and myself spoke to [bassist] Nikki Sixx right before the run opened, he thanked us and acknowledged that the team had turned their vision into a reality. What could possibly be more cool than that?” Mötley Crüe closed down the original Joint with two shows in February 2009 and frst played the new Joint that August. “They fell in love with the place,” Davis says. “We always knew they would sell a ton of tickets. Their crowd is our crowd, and it’s a match made in heaven—or elsewhere, depending upon how you look at it.”