Life is Beautiful with Sixx AM!

My Cruefest Experience..
Yes, it was an experience! Mind you I went to Cruefest not only as a pro photographer but, as a fan. A fan of Motley Crue since the tender age of **cough, cough** oh, never mind...I was young! However, Crue was not the only band I was there to see. I was even more excited to see for the first time Sixx AM. Yes, I know they share the common factor of Nikki Sixx but, honestly, that is the only thing the two bands have in common. And so I begin my series on Cruefest. Along with my photographs I hope to get you to go to the next Cruefest...yes, according to Nikki, this is not the last!
So, to kick things off my favorite band of the night: Sixx AM. If you haven't heard of them yet, you should. RUN, don't walk out and buy their CD, the Heroin Diaries soundtrack. The music is based off the book by Nikki Sixx: The Heroin Diaries, A year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star. I won't get to in depth about the book because this is a concert review after all but, it is a great read whether you are a fan of Nikki's or not and a portion of the sales does go to charity.
When you are press at a concert it can go many ways. Many times they have a "photo pit" which is right in front of the stage. In Cruefest's case the photographers were set up in the sound board. Which is fine when you have the correct equipment. I did come prepared because I was NOT missing my favorite bands up close. I also purchased a pit ticket. Photographers also have a 3 song limit to shoot and they throw us out. So, after my three songs away went my camera ( so said big security people) and down to the pit I ran!
My heart was pounding in my ears when X-mas in hell, Sixx AM's first song comes on! It is just Nikki's voice reciting words "with a needle in their arm like an insane person..." and then...they appear. I photograph like a mad woman as I sing every word to "Pray for me" which happens to be one of my favorites from them.
James Michael is an incredible singer. His voice is pure and his tone and pitch are perfect. There is no distinction between the CD and his voice live. It is obvious he is enjoying himself and feeding off the energy of the crowd and the crowd feeding off of his!
Now, most photographers hate when their 3 songs are over but, I left after 2 1/2! I just needed to be down there! So, I packed up and bolted down to the pit and wiggled myself into DJ Ashba's side of the stage. WHOA! Was I in for a treat there! Now, I had seen while I was photographing DJ Ashba was him playing his guitar with drum sticks but, he can shred that guitar as well!
I can't forget Nikki Sixx. However, he seemed to be more comfortable out of the spotlight in Sixx AM. Why? Maybe because he is choosing to let his friends; DJ and James have some time in it. But, maybe it is just a different Nikki Sixx in this music. He does state in the song " Life After Death:" Its not my job to blame anyone anymore, I just need to accept the path I was given, this is without a doubt my life after death."
Life is Beautiful is Sixx AM's best known song to date. Now, before Life is beautiful James made an announcement that there was a little boy there from The Make a Wish Foundation. His wish was to hear Life is Beautiful sung to him live and have everyone in the crowd sing along. Now, that was a tear jerker. The whole crowd sang all the lyrics the whole song through and James put the mike out for the chorus at the end and had everyone sing Life is Beautiful like 5 times, just the crowd. It was incredible. .
My biggest complaint about the set was it ended to soon. Sixx AM has a large enough fan base to support their own tour and I personally believe they should! They have stated while on this tour they are working on new material and that in itself is music to many a fans ears! So, Nikki, James and DJ, can we count on a tour with Sixx AM as the headliner? A girl can dream can't she!?
As a side note. James and DJ have been out and about at each concert meeting and greeting their fans. Always happy to stop and get a photo taken or sign and autograph. I was lucky enough to meet both of them and have them sign my shirt as well. Not many rockers do that any more! So, more kudos to them for doing so! I hope they keep that up! I heard them say at my show in Denver and have read on their blogs that they never thought they would be on stage performing for us. They never thought the CD would take off the way it has. Life is Beautiful has hit number one!
Every day we hear people say "life sucks" we see war on TV, violence on our streets, fighting and divorce in our homes, cancer, death, you name it, its out there. But, when the darkness seems to overwhelm us we must remember the beautiful things in life. Our soldiers who fight for our freedom and the fact that we have it, our children's hugs and kisses, our friends who love us, the fact that we open our eyes each morning and have one more day to be with those we love...yah, Life is Beautiful and the song hits home for everyone. I am glad Nikki Sixx lived to tell his story and he was willing to share it with the world. You don't have to be an ex drug addict to appreciate Sixx AM's lyrics, you have only to face the challenges life brings to all of us.

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