AFTER RELEASING THREE HIT ALBUMS SIXX:A.M. GIVE THEIR FANS WHAT THEY’VE REALLY BEEN WAITING FOR….A HEADLINING TOUR

Sixx:A.M. has risen from a 2007 side project for Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx to an all-out American rock band. Nikki Sixx was joined by Beautiful Creatures guitarist DJ Ashba and vocalist/producer James Michael to record music based on Nikki’s book “The Heroin Diaries”. Sixx:A.M. was never meant to be a touring band or anything other than a side project. Both those things changed as the band went on to release two more albums “This Is Gonna Hurt” in 2011 and “Modern Vintage” in 2014.

The one thing the band had not done in their career was a headlining tour, until now. With the release of their latest album Modern Vintage, the band was to embark a North American tour with Apocalyptica and Vamps (from Japan) as their supporting acts.

Opening night for the Sixx:A.M. Modern Vintage Tour was at The Regency Ballroom in San Francisco, Ca. and Mayhem Music Magazine was there for the sold out show. Mayhem had previously had an interview with Guitarist DJ Ashba, to prommote the Sixx:A.M. tour. Today Mayhem was scheduled to interview both opening acts. As always, I arrived a few hours early, prior to our interviews and was able to spend a little time with both Nikki Sixx and James Michael during their downtime. Nikki Sixx was very cordial and in a great mood, as he too was looking forward to the band’s first headlining show. During my talk with James Michael, I let him know that I had been looking forward to seeing the band live since I miss them during their stint as part of the Cruefest Tour in 2008. We discussed touring mishaps and were able to share a few laughs.

When the core of Sixx:A.M. were preparing to go on tour; Sixx, Ashba, & Michael brought in drummer Dustin Steinke and Melissa Harding & Amber VanBuskirk for backing vocals to fill in the rest of the line-up.

One of the best things about attending the opening night of this headlining tour is being part of the audience that gets to hear certain songs premiered live for the first time. Inside the Regency Ballroom, Vamps and Apocalyptica completed their sets and it was time for Sixx:A.M. to take the stage.

With the darkened room and the rumbling of the amplifiers, the show was about to begin. We hear the intro to X-Mas in Hell and the crowd goes wild. As the stage lights light up the venue, the band starts playing “Let’s Go”. They followed that up with “Give Me a Love” & “Relief” which were two of the songs they were premiering tonight.

There was no hiding the fact that Sixx, Ashba and Michael were loving their first ever headlining show. James Michael talked to the crowd as they went into “This Is Gonna Hurt”. I was still waiting to hear songs from the first album, and that is exactly what they played next. The Heroin Diaries album is what made me a Sixx:A.M. fan. When they played “Pray For Me”, “Dead Man’s Ballet” and “Accidents Can Happen”, it let me know that this is the Sixx:A.M. I have been waiting to hear live.

The band continued through their setlist, one great song after another (listed at the end of the article). Then a truly memorable moment happened, James Michael sat at the piano for the song (originally recorded by The Cars) “Drive”. The emotion that Michael’s conveyed turned the Regency Ballroom into a dreamlike state. The rest of the band then joined Michaels and turned it into a powerhouse ballad. Since the original version of the song had no guitar solo, it was perfect that DJ Ashba wrote one that flowed with the song instead of one that played over it.

One of my favorite songs is “Sure Feels Right”. I was hoping to hear the song, but unfortunately, they did not play it. But that was ok as there were so many other great songs of theirs they played like; “Help Is on The Way”, “Lies of The Beautiful People”, that I didn’t mind not hearing it. The last song, prior to the encore, played was “Stars”. As the middle of the song approached, a mass of confetti stars where released into the air. The stage looked magical as the stars where floating and the lights were dancing off of them.

Sixx:A.M. is definitely a band that will not disappoint when seen live. The energy of the show was on 10 the entire time. You know the band has a great song, when fans can sing the lyrics to the entire song and the fans knew the lyrics to most of the songs performed. Sixx:A.M. made the fans feel that “Life Is Beautiful”.

What I witnessed with Sixx:A.M., was a band that forgot about trying to be cool on stage but a group of friends playing because they loved to make music together. Mix that with great songs with memorable lyrics and you have the makings of a great band.

Congratulations to Sixx:A.M. on a successful opening night of their Modern Vintage tour.