MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist John 5 recently opened up about the band’s Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM, praising frontman Vince Neil as the heart and “real magic” of the run.
In a new interview with Meltdown of Detroit’s WRIF, John 5 reflected on the three-week residency, which took place from September 12 through October 3 after being postponed earlier in the year. The shows were originally slated for spring but were delayed after Neil revealed he had suffered a stroke last Christmas — a health scare that left his future uncertain.
“So, here’s the thing: I was so excited for it, ’cause I’ve never done a residency,” John 5 said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “And I’ve always wanted to do a residency. I love Vegas. I love the desert. And I was so excited. I was so excited. And we get there. And I had my hotel room. And the guys were just — after a show, they’d fly home. And I just stayed and I enjoyed — ’cause I love being on the road. I like the hotel, I like the room service, I like the whole thing. I mean, I came back a couple of times here and there.
“The real magic was Vince Neil,” he continued. “What he went through and his struggles and how he performed and how he sang, I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life. He did such a great job, and I was so proud of him because I knew what hell he went through, and I was so happy for the guy. What he said — he even said it — he was in a wheelchair and then he had to learn how to walk again. And I was, like, ‘Oh my God.’ The struggle and how terrifying that must have been. So that was the real magic of that residency. And I’m telling you right now — every single show was amazing. There wasn’t a bad show. And I listen and I read those comments and I listen and I’m so focused in on every show. And every show was awesome. I was so proud of him.”
When asked if there was a moment he feared Vince might never be able to perform with MÖTLEY CRÜE again, John 5 replied: “Well, I wasn’t sure. Nobody really knew anything. And I would text with Vince, and he would say, ‘Oh, I’m doing good, I’m doing good,’ and things like that. But no one really knew what was going on. You heard rumblings. So it was wild.”
Meanwhile, Vince Neil has spoken candidly about his stroke and recovery journey. In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal last month, the singer revealed: “I had a stroke. My whole left side went out… I had to learn to walk again, and that was tough. The doctors said they didn’t think I’d be able to go back on stage again. I go, ‘No, no, I’m gonna do it. Watch and see.’”
Neil detailed his difficult road to recovery, explaining how he went from needing help for basic movements to gradually regaining his independence.
“I went from people carrying me to the bathroom, because I couldn’t walk myself, finally to a wheelchair,” he revealed. “I graduated to a walker, and then I had a cane. Now I don’t need anything. But it’s like a full-time job getting back to where you feel good again.”
The 64-year-old singer added that retraining his body was a grueling process: “It takes a while to get your brain to start moving your legs, for them to do what your brain wants to do. You try to walk but it doesn’t come out right.”
To aid his recovery, Neil worked with a football coach in Nashville, where he resides. Through intense training and running, he says he’s regained nearly all of his strength.
“It’s been tough, but I’m back, I’m 90, 95 percent to where I was before, and it’s going to be great.”
Neil made his first post-recovery live appearance on August 1, 2025, performing with his solo band at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway in Boston — his first show since MÖTLEY CRÜE’s set at the Aftershock Festival in October 2024.
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