OK. So they might be getting older and, at least in some cases, have resorted to picking up a reality TV gig every now and then.
But the guys who make up M�tley Cr�e — singer Vince Neil, bassist Nikki Sixx, guitarist Mick Mars and drummer Tommy Lee — are as rockin' and as debaucherous as ever.
About 10,000 fans packed the CenturyLink Center Sunday night to head-bang, fist-pump and sing along with the band and openers Poison and the New York Dolls.
The Cr�e, perhaps the most infamous of the 1980s metal bands, gave an outrageous performance that included scantily clad backup singers/dancers, a huge video screen, fireworks and a lot of profanity-laced monologues.
"I've been waiting for this night," Neil said. "I (expletive) love this city."
The beer-swilling, cheering crowd — many of whom appeared to be in their 40s and 50s, like the band members themselves — loved every minute. Each band member, except Mars, took at least one opportunity to talk to the fans.
A woman near the front climbed on a friend's shoulders and flashed Lee as he introduced himself. He said he was disappointed only one woman had the nerve to do it.
Neil and the boys played hits from their debut album, "Too Fast for Love," as well as popular classics like "Girls, Girls, Girls" "Kickstart My Heart" and "Dr. Feelgood."
They played only a few selections from their 2008 album, "Saints of Los Angeles."
A highlight about midway through featured Lee at his roller coaster drum set, which allowed him to play a long solo while moving around in a circle, even upside down. He pulled a guy named Scott out of the audience and took him for a spin, too.
"You wanna call your wife or your girlfriend first?" Lee joked with Scott. "This thing does NOT work every single time. But if we go, we go together."
Steve Wilhelm, who traveled from Sioux City, Iowa, to see the band, watched Lee's antics in awe.
"That was worth the price of admission in itself," he said.
Opener Poison, another band that hit it big during the hair band craze of the '80s, got the crowed revved up by playing hits like "Fallen Angel" and "Talk Dirty to Me."
But when lead singer Bret Michaels busted out his acoustic guitar and started singing the band's No. 1 hit from 1988, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," even the men in the crowd seemed to soften, kissing their wives and girlfriends and swaying to the music.
There was no such romance when the Cr�e performed, however.
In fact, a couple of dudes got into a fight — one even grabbed the other's neck — and were kicked out of the show.
That's so rock 'n' roll.
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