Photos and Review by Javier Vicencio
Thursday, September 10, 2026
MÖTLEY CRÜE rolled into Dallas with TESLA and EXTREME for a three-band assault on the senses. And from the moment the first guitar riff ripped through the speakers, it was obvious this wasn’t going to be some polite stroll down memory lane. This was three generations of hard-rock attitude packed into one ridiculously loud night. And Dallas was ready for it.
EXTREME: Nuno Steals the Damn Show
EXTREME had the unenviable job of going on first, but nobody told Nuno Bettencourt that. The man absolutely owned the stage. From the opening notes of “Decadence Dance,” Bettencourt played with the kind of swagger and precision that makes other guitar players reconsider their career choices. EXTREME’s set bounced between hard-rock muscle and the band’s more melodic side, with “Hole Hearted” and “More Than Words” giving the crowd the expected acoustic sing-along moments. But here’s the thing: if you came for “More Than Words,” you got it. If you came to see one of the most underrated guitarists on the planet, you got something even better. EXTREME finished with a vicious run through Ozzy Osbourne classics including “I Don’t Know,” “Bark at the Moon” and “Crazy Train.” That was the moment the temperature in the pavilion changed. EXTREME may have been the opening band, but they sure as hell didn’t perform like one.
Setlist
1. Decadence Dance 2. #REBEL 3. BANSHEE 4. Play With Me 5. Hole Hearted
6. Midnight Express 7. More Than Words 8. Flight of the Wounded Bumblebee
9. Get the Funk Out 10. RISE 11. I Don’t Know / Bark at the Moon / Crazy Train
TESLA: No Smoke. No Mirrors. Just Rock.
No elaborate circus. No need for distractions. TESLA took the stage and delivered exactly what TESLA should deliver: straight-up, no-BS rock ’n’ roll. Just Jeff Keith, a wall of guitars and a catalog filled with songs that still sound great decades later. “Modern Day Cowboy” got things moving, while “The Way It Is,” “Heaven’s Trail,” “Love Song,” “Little Suzi” and “Signs” reminded everyone why TESLA earned its place alongside the biggest names of the era. And Jeff Keith still has that unmistakable voice. There was something refreshing about watching TESLA in the middle of a production-heavy MÖTLEY CRÜE show. They didn’t need explosions or props. They just plugged in and played.
That’s what rock ’n’ roll is all about.
Setlist
1. Modern Day Cowboy 2. Hang Tough 3. The Way It Is 4. Heaven’s Trail
5. Mama’s Fool 6. Call It What You Want 7. Love Song 8. Little Suzi 9. Signs
Then Came the CRÜE…
By the time the clock approached 9:00, nobody in Dos Equis Pavilion was wondering who the headliner was. The lights dropped. The anticipation exploded. And suddenly the Carnival of Sins was back in Dallas. The band considered among the “Big Four” bands of ’80s rock along with VAN HALEN, DEF LEPPARD and GUNS N’ ROSES, created a sound that has been emulated by countless bands that followed them. “It’s impossible to envision the ’80s without teased hair and tight pants — and even harder to imagine the decade without “MÖTLEY CRÜE,” said the American online media magazine Loudwire. Showing their knack for melding pop hooks to heavy metal theatrics, the CRÜE opened with “Red Hot” and “Louder Than Hell,” and from there the band went straight for the jugular: “Wild Side”, “Shout at the Devil”, “Too Fast for Love”, “Looks That Kill”, “Too Young to Fall in Love.”
This was the soundtrack to an entire generation getting played at full volume. The genius of the set was that MÖTLEY CRÜE didn’t spend the night trying to prove they’re still the hair-metal band they were in 1985. They didn’t have to. They simply reminded everyone why they mattered in the first place. Nostalgia Hits Hard “Home Sweet Home” was one of those moments where the entire Pavilion seemed to take a collective breath. Thousands of voices joined in, turning a MÖTLEY CRÜE power ballad into something much bigger than the band onstage. It wasn’t just nostalgia, it was memories. For some people, these songs were the soundtrack to high school. For others, college, first cars, first loves, late nights, bad decisions and even worse hair. Then the CRÜE snapped everyone back into party mode with “Girls, Girls, Girls” and “Dr. Feelgood.”
And finally came the song everybody was waiting for: “Kickstart My Heart.” The place absolutely detonated. There was no better way to end a MÖTLEY CRÜE concert.
Three Bands. One Hell of a Night.
What made this show work so well was the contrast. EXTREME brought the musicianship and Nuno’s jaw-dropping guitar work. TESLA brought the stripped-down, blue-collar soul of classic hard rock. MÖTLEY CRÜE brought the spectacle, attitude and unapologetic excess. Could you pick apart individual performances? Sure. These aren’t bands in the first chapter of their careers anymore. But that misses the entire point. Rock concerts aren’t supposed to be laboratory experiments; they’re supposed to make you feel alive. And on September 10, 2026, MÖTLEY CRÜE, TESLA and EXTREME did exactly that. Walking out of Dos Equis Pavilion afterward, ears ringing and voice shot, there was one thought that kept coming back: they don’t make nights like this anymore. Maybe that’s why this one mattered so much. The Return of the Carnival of Sins isn’t just a tour. It’s a reminder of what made this music so damn powerful in the first place — guitars turned up too loud, songs everybody knows, a crowd willing to lose its voice, and three bands refusing to quietly fade away.
Dallas didn’t get a history lesson Thursday night. Dallas got rocked.
Setlist
1.Red Hot 2. Louder Than Hell 3. Are You Ready to Take a Ride
4. Wild Side 5. In the Beginning 6. Shout at the Devil 7. Too Fast for Love
8. Looks That Kill 9. Too Young to Fall in Love 10. Take Me to the Top
11. Primal Scream 12. Afraid 13. Home Sweet Home 14. Guitar Solo
15. Smokin’ in the Boys Room 16. Live Wire
17. Introducing The Nasty Habits 18. Girls, Girls, Girls
19. Dr. Feelgood 20. Kickstart My Heart
