The latest version of ’80s rockers Motley Crue headlined the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand on Thursday night and, judging by the empty seats, their appeal has become more … selective.
Some 8,769 fans did show up and paid as much as $207 a ticket for the utterly underwhelming 85-minute show. Just two years ago, the Crue played for 42,212 folks at U.S. Bank Stadium, although they were joined by Def Leppard, Poison and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.
Maybe, just maybe, word has gotten out that lead singer Vince Neil can’t sing. They opened Thursday’s show with “Primal Scream,” which was really more of a Primal Squeal given Neil’s pinched, nasal vocals. This problem is not new for the band and their current approach seems to be to slather his voice in electronic effects and bury it in the mix. As for Neil himself, he skipped a lot of lyrics and often pointed his microphone to the crowd in an attempt to make them do his work for him.
Another possible stumbling block for longtime followers is the absence of guitarist and founding member Mick Mars. He has long struggled with the chronic form of arthritis ankylosing spondylitis and departed the group in October 2022 under mysterious circumstances. The rest of the band immediately announced former Marilyn Manson guitarist John 5 was taking his place. Mars has since sued his former bandmates, alleging they were trying to force him out.
His unique presence — Mars wore heavy makeup, dressed in black and rarely moved — was certainly missed Thursday night. John 5, who is nearly 20 years younger than Mars, darted back and forth across the stage, showing as much energy as bassist Nikki Sixx, the guy who seems most invested in keeping the Crue going.
Where Mars had a noisy, chaotic quality to his guitar sound, John 5 plays much cleaner, giving songs like “Too Fast for Love,” “Shout at the Devil” and “Looks That Kill” a different and less distinct vibe. His lengthy solo midway through the show proved to be less than thrilling. Still, John 5 did appear to have some actual chemistry with Sixx, something that was largely absent with Mars.
The set list focused on a dozen of the hits, a ridiculous medley of covers and a new one, “Dogs of War.” Given that the latter was just released, one might think the band would have written a song that the 2024 Neil could handle, but that was not the case.
Oh, and that medley — Gary Glitter’s “Rock and Roll, Part 2,” Brownsville Station’s “Smokin’ in the Boys Room” (Motley Crue’s 1985 cover gave them their breakthrough hit), the Beatles’ “Helter Skelter,” the Sex Pistols’ “Anarchy in the U.K.,” the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop” and the Beastie Boys’ “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party)” — proved that not only can Neil not sing his own band’s songs, he’s even worse attempting other people’s hits. (Paul McCartney should sue Neil for what he did to “Helter Skelter.”)
Storms threatened the show and the Grandstand’s doors opened late due to lightning on site. But beyond a light sprinkle before Motley Crue, the weather held up, with a bit of a breeze that killed off any lingering humidity. Drummer Tommy Lee referenced it when he announced to the crowd that “Mother Nature brought on a wet T-shirt contest.” He then, as he does, asked the women in the crowd to show him their breasts, which some of them did, as well as enough men for Lee to joke about it.
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