FORT McCOY, Wis. -- A sellout crowd of 11,000 fans packed into Fort McCoy’s Constitution Park Aug. 5 to witness the latest edition of the Army Concert Tour. It marked the 15th consecutive year McCoy has hosted a concert, with annual performances dating back to 1997.
MÖTLEY CRÜE shared the 2011 headliner status with the hard-rock group Poison. The New York Dolls opened the show.
MÖTLEY CRÜE reached back into its extensive musical archives that celebrate 30 years as a band and used fan input to develop its concert playlist. Another highlight of the group’s performance was an interactive 360 degree vertical drum roller coaster, which featured drummer Tommy Lee being launched into multiple vertical loops while continuing to perform on the drums. A lucky fan, Pfc. Shawn Martino, a Soldier with the 417th Engineer Company who was training at Fort McCoy, was chosen to sit in a passenger seat of the roller coaster to accompany Lee on the journey.
Poison, which is celebrating 25 years since it released its first CD, put on an equally energetic performance, said Jobi Spolum, Fort McCoy Marketing director. Both groups’ performances featured strobe lights and pyrotechnics effects illuminating the stage and night skies at Fort McCoy.
The event included a shuttle to the concert venue from Sparta, sponsored by the Sparta Area Chamber of Commerce. Three buses were filled with concert-goers, and Spolum said Fort McCoy Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) hopes the shuttle service will be offered for next year’s concert.
The sponsors for this year’s concert were: Army G-1’s Sexual Harassment and Assault Response and Prevention Program, premier sponsor; GM Military Discount and VFW, supporting sponsors; and Miller Lite, Harley-Davidson Museum, Pepsi of La Crosse, Smirnoff, Reinhart Food Service and A-1 Glass, local sponsors. No federal endorsement is implied.
Those who attended the concert can provide feedback about the event at the website http://www.mccoymwr.com.
Profits from the Army Concert Tour performances are used to fund MWR quality-of-life services and programs.
For more information about Fort McCoy MWR events, visit the website http://www.mccoymwr.com or call the MWR Event Line at 877-864-4969.
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