THE WOODLANDS, Texas —
Two legendary rock bands are giving fans the tour of the summer while introducing a new rock group to America.
KISS and Motley Crue have joined forces for “The Tour,” which puts the two legendary rock acts on the same tour together for the first time since 1982. The concert is Friday, Aug. 3, at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands, and tickets are $26 - $126 at all Ticketmaster outlets and the venue box office.
KISS is touring in support of its forthcoming album, “Monster,” which also features the band’s new single, “Hell or Hallelujah.” Although Motley Crue does not have a new record available, the band just released its newest single, “Sex,” on July 16.
The band picked to headline the coveted opening slot is The Treatment from the United Kingdom. This five-piece outfit, all young adults, is touring in support of its new album, “This Might Hurt.”
According to vocalist Matt Jones, the album and the band’s overall sound is a reflection of the group’s upbringing in and around Cambridge and their collective musical influences.
“We grew up on bands like AC/DC, Judas Priest, (Led) Zeppelin and Aerosmith because our parents listened to that kind of stuff,” Jones said in a telephone interview. “It shows in our music and our live show. Cambridge is a great place to live and its really quiet, for the most part, so we could be as loud as we wanted too.”
The Treatment’s refreshing perspective on life and music hints at the early careers of bands like Def Leppard or Guns ‘’N Roses or even Aerosmith, when music was about the music and the band looked like a rock band.
Even with the tour less than two weeks into its 43-city schedule, which ends Sept. 23 in Hartford, Conn., The Treatment have been making a lot of noise, literally, and fans at the concerts are beginning to take notice.
“A lot of people are coming to the shows early, and the crowds have been great,” Jones explained. “We’ve also made it a point to go hangout by the merch stand each night and meet as many people as we can.”
The hard work and positive attitude appears to be paying off for The Treatment as Jones and bandmates Ben Brookland (guitar), Tagore Grey (guitar), Dhani Mansworth (bass) and Rick “Swoggle” Newman (drums) learned on Wednesday the band’s album had entered the Billboard new artist chart at number 55.
“We were actually asleep on the bus (Wednesday) morning and our tour manager woke us up to tell us the news,” said a very pleased Jones. “We all jumped out of bed and were giving each other high-fives. It was really exciting.”
Jones said he and his band still have a hard time believing they have been fortunate enough to share the stage with such legendary bands like KISS and Motley Crue.
“It’s been an absolute dream come true. I had their posters on my walls when I was a kid, so it’s been very exciting. And they are all so nice. Everyone has been so cool to us. We’ve had several conversations with the guys, including Gene (Simmons),” Jones added as he began laughing. “We’ve talked to Gene so much he’s probably tired of us (laughs).”
One might expect the men from KISS and the ’Crue to offer words of wisdom about being in a band and touring and life, but Jones said that has not been the case at all.
“It’s been regular conversations. It’s been more about real life stuff mostly,” he continued. “It’s been a bit surreal at times, like, the other day when Gene walked in wearing full make-up and his stage costume and sat down by us to eat.”
Although the band is living in the moment by enjoying the tour, The Treatment are making the most of the opportunity and are planning for the future.
“We’ve still got something like eight weeks left on the road with KISS and Motley Crue, but, after that we get to home for a short break,” Jones said. “We’ll do a tour of the UK with Thin Lizzy, who are really great guys, and do some of our own shows until Christmas. Hopefully, we’ll get a shot at another tour with another band here in the U.S. or, maybe, we’ll just come back and do our own thing. Either way will be great.
