Back in the day, when Motley Crue would assemble, the biggest concerns would be who would get arrested, who would almost OD, who would smash up a car and whether or not fathers should lock up their daughters.But the 49-year-old Nikki Sixx sounds absolutely nothing like the infamous 29-year-old Nikki Sixx, a violent, misogynistic half-dead drug addict who managed to make 99 percent of the rock stars before and after him seem mild by comparison.”For me, the hardest part about touring is leaving my family,” the bassist and songwriter said during a pre-tour teleconference. “At my age now, you know, my kids are such an important part of my life. And to leave is difficult. Once I’m on stage I’m good. But, you know, I won’t lie to you, I mope a lot on the road. You know, so, for me, it’s like keeping busy. If I can be working on another book. If I can be writing an album … I think one of the main reasons I try to stay so busy is because I’m not with them. It’s pretty difficult.”

They’re bad boys. They’re glam metal magnificos. They’re no strangers to reality television, plastic surgery and highly publicized pornographic endeavors. Say whatever you want about the members of M

In Tommy Lee’s biography Tommyland, he wrote he wants to find an Amish girl on rumspringa. Living in a society that teaches education in a one-room school until eighth grade, and a culture that omits zippers from its wardrobe, chances are a female wouldn’t know of the M

There is, as almost everybody knows, an old borscht belt joke: Two women are at a resort complaining about the meals. The first woman says, “The food here is terrible.” The second woman responds, “I know. And such small portions!” The musical equivalent played out Friday at the Comcast Center, as M

Last night’s Motley Crue concert at the Comcast Center started off with a backlit backdrop on which was projected shadow play of a scantily clad female angel and a male devil who, um, apparently quite enjoyed his work.I can’t tell you what happened next. But it set the tone for the night. The veteran L.A. metal band occasionally dipped into songs from their early days, but mostly they stayed in their familiar role as happy narrators and celebrators of the depravity of white Los Angeles.And they did it pretty well. Pop-directed stuff such as “Girls Girls Girls,” “Same Old Situation” and “Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)” sat comfortably amidst harder-edged songs such as “Shout at the Devil” and “Looks That Kill.” New songs from this year’s Saints of Los Angeles album, “MF of the Year” and the title track (which last night included cameos from the front men of the other groups on the five-band Crue Fest bill, all from L.A.), sat comfortably with songs from 1983.The band itself was in good form, with singer Vince Neil’s helium squeal in evidence throughout, particularly on “Shout at the Devil” and the end of “Live Wire.”

Crude Fest was more like it. Then again, with Motley Crue in the driver’s seat, what did you expect?The sleazy (and proud of it!) heavy-metal quartet brought its first Crue Fest to Blossom Music Center for a six-hour extravaganza Wednesday evening.This was no Ozzfest, however. It felt like just another Motley Crue gig, albeit with four opening acts rounding out a seemingly random bill.You got the impression these dudes merely called some of their musically inclined pals and said: “Hey, what are you doing this summer?”There was no sign of the sideshow attractions found at other festivals, either. OK, so nobody expected a Greenpeace tent. But would a temporary-tattoo booth have been asking too much?Still, if you were in the mood for a fist-pumping, headbanging, lighter-waving Dionysian ritual, you were in the right place.A small fortune in pyrotechnics heralded the arrival of Motley Crue — or “Motley [expletive] Crue,” as the other bands apparently were under strict orders to refer to our headliners. Adenoidal singer Vince Neil, underrated guitarist Mick Mars, party-hearty bassist Nikki Sixx and bad-boy drummer Tommy Lee quickly set the mood with “Kickstart My Heart,” followed in short order by “Wild Side” and “Shout at the Devil.”