Last night (Feb. 10), Motley Crue and Def Leppard kicked off their highly anticipated 2023 “The World Tour” at Hard Rock Live at Mark G. Etess Arena in Atlantic City, NJ. It was also Motley Crue’s first show with touring guitarist John 5 – who officially replaced Mick Mars back in October 2022 – making it quite exciting and historic for multiple reasons!

As reported by Ultimate Classic Rock, John 5 was “the first musician to hit the stage, gesturing for the crowd to get loud before launching into the riff for ‘Wild Side.’ He prowled the stage throughout the night, adding a handful of cool new twists and solos to otherwise faithful renditions of Mars' guitar parts.”

UCR also notes that bassist Nikki Sixx introduced John 5 halfway into the show; afterward, “the guitarist took a brief solo spot to lead off the group's nightly medley of cover songs. Later in the set drummer Tommy Lee raved about his new bandmate: ‘And this motherfucker right here, 5... dude, it sounds beautiful baby!’”

As for what they played, they definitely favorited 1989’s Dr. Feelgood, with “Kickstart My Heart,” “Same Ol' Situation (S.O.S.),” “Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)" and “Dr. Feelgood” showing up. Expectedly, they favorited their ‘80s material in general, with other early standouts including “Wild Side,” “Girls, Girls, Girls,” “Too Fast for Love,” “Shout at the Devil” and “Live Wire.”

Interestingly, they ignored 1994’s eponymous LP and 1997’s Generation Swine entirely; however, they did throw in the self-titled track from their last studio record (2008’s Saints of Los Angeles), as well as “The Dirt (Est. 1981)” from 2019’s biopic and even “Primal Scream” from 1991’s Decade of Decadence 81-91.

Def Leppard didn’t disappoint, either, as they pulled out “Hysteria,” “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” “Rock of Ages,” "Bringin' On the Heartbreak,” “Foolin',” “Let’s Get Rocked” and “Promises.” Thus, they did a great job of representing their whole catalog and career, too.

Of course, it was only about a week ago when Motley Crue shared their first official band photo with John 5; while fans have understandably had mixed reactions to the new lineup, John 5 has spent the past few months proving his merits in multiple ways (such as by performing nearly a dozen Motley Crue songs on guitar).

In other Motley Crue news, Tommy Lee recently posted another nude photo on social media (with plenty of entertaining reactions from Twitter). Plus, Mick Mars revealed that he’s not retiring from music altogether. In fact, he’s working on a “huge” and “loud” new project.

So, did you catch this awesome double bill last night? Are you planning to see Motley Crue and Def Leppard – with occasional support from Alice Cooper – at a later date? Let us know!

In the meantime, you can check out photos, videos and the full setlists from last night’s performances! You can also see the remaining dates for “The World Tour” and grab tickets here.

Motley Crue Setlist - Hard Rock Live at Mark G. Etess Arena in Atlantic City, NJ (Feb. 10, 2023) [via Setlist.fm]

01. "Wild Side"
02. "Shout at the Devil"
03. "Too Fast for Love"
04. "Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away”
05. "Saints of Los Angeles”
06. "Live Wire”
07. "Looks That Kill”
08. "The Dirt (Est. 1981)"
09. "Rock and Roll, Part 2 / Smokin' in the Boys Room / Helter Skelter / Anarchy in the U.K. / Blitzkrieg Bop”
10. "Home Sweet Home"
11. "Dr. Feelgood”
12. "Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S.)"
13. "Girls, Girls, Girls"
14. "Primal Scream”
15. “Kickstart My Heart”

Def Leppard Setlist - Hard Rock Live at Mark G. Etess Arena in Atlantic City, NJ (Feb. 10, 2023) [via Setlist.fm]

01. "Take What You Want"
02. "Let’s Get Rocked"
03. "Animal"
04. "Foolin’”
05. "Armageddon It”
06. "Kick”
07. "Love Bites”
08. "Promises"
09. "This Guitar” (Acoustic into full electric)
10. "When Love and Hate Collide" (Acoustic; partial)
11. "Rocket”
12. "Bringin’ On the Heartbreak"
13. "Switch 625"
14. "Drum Solo”
15. “Hysteria
16. “Pour Some Sugar on Me”
17. “Rock of Ages”
18. “Photograph”

Motley Crue Live Videos - Feb. 10, 2023

“Live Wire” / “Looks That Kill” “The Dirt (Est. 1981)”

“Girls, Girls, Girls” / “Primal Scream” / “Kickstart My Heart”

“Wild Side” / “Shout at the Devil” / “Too Fast for Love” / “Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)”

“John 5 Guitar Solo” / “Smokin' in the Boys Room” / “Helter Skelter” / “Anarchy in the U.K.” / “Blitzkrieg Bop”

“Home Sweet Home” / “Dr. Feelgood”

 

Def Leppard Live Videos - Feb. 10, 2023

“Hysteria”

“Take What You Want”

 

Motley Crue / Def Leppard "World Tour" Dates

Feb. 18 - Mexico City, Mexico @ Foro Sol
Feb. 21 - Monterrey, Mexico @ Estadio Banorte
Feb. 25 - Bogota, Colombia @ Parque Simon Bolivar
Feb. 28 - Lima, Peru @ Estadio Nacional
March 3 - Santiago, Chile @ Estadio Bicentenario de La Florida
March 7 - Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Allianz Parque
March 9 - Buenos Aries, Argentina @ Parque Sarmiento
March 12 – Davie, Fla. @ Hard Rock Live (in Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood)
May 22 - Sheffield, U.K. @ Bramall Lane
May 25 - Mönchengladbach, Germany @ SparkassenPark
May 27 - Munich, Germany @ Koenigsplatz
May 29 - Budapest, Hungary @ MVM Dome
May 31 - Krakow, Poland @ TAURON Arena Kraków
June 2 - Prague, Czech Republic @ Prague Rocks *
June 3 - Hannover, Germany @ Expo Plaza
June 7 - Solvesborg, Sweden @ Sweden Rock Festival *
June 9 - Hyvinkää, Finland @ RockFest *
June 11 - Trondheim, Norway @ Trondheim Rocks *
June 14 - Copenhagen, Denmark @ COPENHELL *
June 18 - Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop Metal Meeting *
June 20 - Milan, Italy @ Ippodromo SNAI San Siro
June 23 - Lisbon, Portugal @ Passeio Maritimo de Alges
June 24 - Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Spain @ Auditorio Miguel Ríos
June 27 - Thun, Switzerland @ Stockhorn Arena
July 1 - London, U.K. @ Wembley Stadium
July 2 - Lytham, U.K. @ Lytham Festival *
July 4 - Dublin, Ireland @ Marlay Park
July 6 - Glasgow, U.K. @ Hampden Park
Aug. 5 - Syracuse, N.Y. @ JMA Wireless Dome ^
Aug. 8 - Columbus, Ohio @ Ohio Stadium ^
Aug. 11 - Fargo, N.D. @ Fargodome ^
Aug. 13 - Omaha, Neb. @ Charles Schwab Field Omaha ^
Aug. 16 - Tulsa, Okla. @ H.A. Chapman Stadium ^
Aug. 18 - El Paso, Texas @ Sun Bowl Stadium ^

^ with Alice Cooper
* Festival Date

Motley Crue + Def Leppard Play First 2023 Show (with Debut of John 5)

See photos from Motley Crue + Def Leppard's first show of 2023 (as part of their "World Tour" co-headlining tour), including Motley Crue's first performance with touring guitarist John 5.