Review: Mötley Crüe beats the rain (and lots more!) in its State Fair grandstand return

The odds were stacked as high as Tommy Lee’s oversized drum kit against Mötley Crüe on Thursday night at the Minnesota State Fair grandstand. Singer Vince Neil’s vocal range has notoriously been as flimsy and gelatinous as a slab of fair bacon for most of this century. Also, original guitarist Mick Mars — one of the best reasons to see the ‘80s Sunset Strip vets in recent years — was sidelined by his bandmates in favor of a younger, more able-bodied axeman.

Then came the rain come showtime. Stronger storms earlier in the night gave way to light rain through most of the concert. It was looking like a lot of makeup would wash up on the stage Thursday.

The scene: Rain ponchos, soaked pairs of jeans and two-generation pairs of fans lined the three-quarters-full grandstand. The crowd of 8,769 attendees was half of what the band drew for its last local headlining dates on their mid-’00s “farewell” tour (their second such tour). However, this was one of this year’s top sellers at the fair; and among the priciest at $77-$207 per ticket.

The music: Crüe set lists have changed very little since the last time the quartet headlined the grandstand in 2005 (they also opened for Kiss there in 2012). After opening with one of the night’s only post-1989 tunes, “Primal Scream,” the band launched into the title track of its 1981 debut, “Too Fast for Love,” and from there bounced around the ‘80s with “Wild Side,” “Shout at the Devil” and “Live Wire.” Fans didn’t have to wait till the end to hear many of their favorites.

Biggest takeaways: The show really hinged on new guitarist John 5 and Neil’s old vocal problems. A former Rob Zombie sideman, Mr. 5 proved totally proficient from the get-go as he wickedly slid and grinded through “Primal Scream” and helped make “Live Wire” sound a little extra rhythmic and punchy. He wowed the crowd with his Led Zeppelin-channeling, let-the-old-guys-rest mid-show solo segment, too, which coolly bled into “Looks That Kill.” If anything, he sounded a little too clean and precise while mimicking Mars’ sometimes beautifully grimy parts, especially in hard-throttling late-’80s songs such as “Girls Girls Girls” and “Dr. Feelgood.”

As for Neil, at least the 63-year-old, nine-lives-living singer surpassed the incredibly low bar he set at the band’s abysmal 2022 set with Def Leppard at U.S. Bank Stadium. He sounded especially close to OK early in the set (which may be why they stacked many favorites near the start). He had a few minutes’ rest before leading a decent rendering of the power ballad “Home Sweet Home,” but he sounded more shrill and winded going into the show’s final run, especially in “Same Old Situation (S.O.S.)” By the closer “Kickstart My Heart,” he resorted to singing syllables more than words. But the syllables were in key some of the time.

Coolest moment: A common Crüe trick of late, the band threw in a medley of punk and classic-rock cover-song snippets in the middle of its set. Thursday’s mash-up with the Sex Pistols. Gary Glitter, Beastie Boys and Beatles tunes really had the crowd shaking off the rain and excitedly singing along. Having the Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop” in there seemed especially cool considering Marky Ramone was concurrently performing his old band’s songs up the hill at the Leinie Lodge Bandshell.

Low point: See below.

Best banter: Let’s say “most definitive” instead of “best.” As he’s been doing for years, Lee came out from behind the drum kit and threw political correctness and grammar books to the wind to rouse the crowd.

“Mother Nature sure put on a wet T-shirt contest for us tonight,” the drummer guffawed. “Let me see your [breasts]! I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.”

(One woman who happened to have the video screens’ camera pointed right at her at that moment — and happened to be beautiful, too — complied; a cynic might suggest she was a plant.)

Opening band: Kentucky quintet White Reaper featured dudes casually dressed in regular street wear who excitedly played punky, melodic, no-nonsense riff-rock with an impressive, all-roar frontman, Tony Esposito. Take care of that voice, Tony.