Concert review: Mötley Crüe plays it less than saintly at Xcel

Ash Wednesday came one week early for Twin Cities metalheads -- albeit a different kind of ashy Wednesday -- when two bands ripe for repenting, Mötley Crüe and Hinder, rode into Xcel Energy Center.

The bad boys from two different eras brought loads of smokers to the St. Paul arena (cigarettes and otherwise), plus a stage full of pyrotechnics from the '80s heyday of hair-band metal. Attendance-wise, though, the modest-size crowd of about 9,000 was no match for those gaudy glory days.

Always a hit-or-miss live band -- its 2006 gig in town opening for Aerosmith ended with singer Vince Neil cussing out the fans' lack of enthusiasm -- the Crüe was actually firing on all cylinders Wednesday, or at least as many cylinders as can be expected after its years of debauchery. Even the shriek-voiced, paunch-battling Neil sounded solid, while the rail-thin Mick Mars led the pack on his ever-shredded guitar.

Of course, Neil still cussed out the crowd, but in a good way. After the band's fist-pumping openers "Kickstart My Heart" and "Wild Side," he yelled, "If you like what you're [expletive] hearing, say, '[Expletive] yeah!"

Fans could have replied that the guys had better &%$#! sound good, since they played a mere 90 minutes. That included the requisite guitar and drum solos, plus the band's look-at-me drummer, Tommy Lee, had another lengthy exchange of Jagermeister shots with the crowd, during which he praised President Obama and revealed that his late father was from St. Paul (who knows, it might've just been the Jager talking).

What's more, Wednesday's show had nearly the exact same set list of every gig the quartet has played since last summer's release of their new album, "Saints of Los Angeles."

Midset, the guys weaved from early songs such as "Too Fast for Love" and "Live Wire" to sturdy if contrived new tracks. The new ones, including "Mother [Expletive] of the Year" and the "Saints" title track, chronicle the band's hedonistic heyday.

Besides that rare sign of humility, the only surprise of the night was the band's 1987-dated cover of "Jailhouse Rock." The show ended with the usual carnival of hits, including "Girls x 3," "Looks That Kill," "Dr. Feelgood" and a one-song encore with "Home Sweet Home" featuring Lee on grand piano. Here's hoping he didn't spill the Jager on it.

The third of three openers (also including Theory of a Deadman and the Last Vegas), Hinder might have helped draw a good portion of the audience thanks to the recent hit power ballads "Without You" and "Lips of an Angel," which were greeted with screams and lighters. The young Oklahoma quintet spent the rest of its 45-minute set trying to prove it's no wuss of a band, though, with heavy-grinding, GNR-influenced songs, such as "How Long" and the all-too-obvious rocker "Get Stoned."