Congratulations to ’80s metal titans Def Leppard on setting a new record Tuesday night at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand. And that record would be the most expensive ticket to date for a State Fair concert, a whopping $292.
For comparison, here are ticket prices for the band’s previous Grandstand shows: $9-$16 (1993, a year you could also see the double header of Bob Dylan and Santana at the same price), $24 (2000), $54 (2007), $41-$61 (2011 when Heart, who are always great, was also on the bill) and $52-$67 (2015).
The first act to break the $200 barrier was the Jonas Brothers just two years ago. Last summer, Blake Shelton and Motley Crue also hit $207. (Keep in mind that the Grandstand is a nonprofit with the goal of breaking even each year.)
If that’s not enough, the band sold the first 10 rows as VIP packages that included a laminate and $50 online merch credit for a whopping $437. No f-f-f-foolin’!
Was it worth it? Well, some fans let their wallets answer that one. Attendance Tuesday night was 9,418, down from 13,007 back in 2015. To be fair, they do play the metro frequently. Tuesday was their 16th local show of the century.
Guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell and bassist Rick Savage sounded as great as ever and Rick Allen is easily the greatest one-armed drummer in ’80s hairspray metal.
But lead singer Joe Elliott remains Def Leppard’s biggest oof. The guy can’t sing, or at least he can’t sing like he used to. And he pulled out every trick in the book to mask his wrecked voice, including speak/singing some verses, having the other guys sing along and urging the audience handle the choruses. The worst thing, however, is the almost comical level of echo they use on Elliott’s voice, which he often leans into by contorting his vocals into pained bleats. At least he wasn’t lip syncing, so there’s that.
On the plus side, the 90-minute show was well paced and packed with hits, of which Def Leppard has many, including “Rocket,” “Animal,” “Photograph,” “Rock of Ages,” “Foolin’,” “Love Bites” and the strip club anthem “Pour Some Sugar on Me” among them. They also offered a few deep cuts (“Let it Go” and “Switch 625” from 1981) and two new ones (“Just Like ’73” and “This Guitar”).
Ironically enough, Elliott sounded the best when he stripped away all the gimmicks and simply crooned his way through “Two Steps Behind.” Of course that approach won’t work on, say, “Armageddon It,” so Elliot’s echo chamber effects won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. It just looks like he’ll be playing for even smaller crowds in the future.
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