Hairball at Essentia Health Plaza at The Lights, West Fargo (September 17, 2026)

Minnesota popular rock and roll tribute band, Hairball, headlined the MIDCO Stage at Essentia Health Plaza at The Lights on Thursday, September 17.

Frantic Anarchy

Openers Frantic Anarchy welcomed incoming fans with a blend of rock and pop hits spanning the ’80s to the early 2000s. The four musicians hail from Bismarck, ND, with the band getting its start in 2018. Since then, they have built an act around energetic live performances and crowd-pleasing hits.

Thursday’s set included “Zombie” (The Cranberries), “If I Could Turn Back Time” (Cher), “Barracuda” (Heart), “Bad Reputation” (Joan Jett), “Raise Your Glass” (P!nk), “What’s Up?” (4 Non Blondes), and “Enter Sandman” (Metallica)—a perfect way to get the crowd dancing and singing before headliner Hairball took the stage.

Hairball

For anyone who has been to a Hairball show, you know what a celebratory and positive experience it is. People of all ages come together to celebrate some of the biggest icons and anthems in rock history. On the stage, a well-oiled machine of musicians who have honed their craft year after year to wow audiences nationwide wide. Prior to the show, I had the privilege of speaking with Dave Moody, one of Hairballs lead singers, and get his perspective on the show, the crew, and the music that drives the band to new levels.

Kris: I personally have already had the opportunity to see Hairball, but for any of our readers that haven’t seen the band live yet, what do you want them to know about Hairball, and what should they expect from a show?

Dave Moody: Well, we’re a celebration of everything from the 70s and 80s with full costumes and makeup. We wear more makeup than your mom, your sister, and your aunt combined, and higher heels too. We have five video walls, more pyro than a ’70s Kiss concert. We’re there to burn your eyes out of your head, make your eardrums bleed. You’re going to walk in, but you’re going to float out. I promise you that. Singing the biggest choruses to the greatest hits in the history of rock and roll, and we preach the gospel of rock and roll better than any Billy Graham convention ever thought about doing it. So we’re there to have a great time. It’s the biggest value and biggest bang for your buck. And I promise you this: you’re going to have the best time you’ve ever had at a rock and roll show. How’s that sound?

That sounds very accurate; you mentioned like a lot of songs from the 70s and 80s. How does the band go about selecting songs for the set? What makes for a good song to present? And have there been any songs that just haven’t worked out?

Well, what we tend to do is we keep the set list from the previous time that we were there and we try not to double up on the same set list that we did. Because we can flip the show on its head at any point in time because we can do over 30 characters at any point in time- So that’s between Patrick, myself, and Kris- we can do 30 different characters, and the band is versed on all of those songs. So we try to keep it fresh for any audience that has seen us in the same town. As far as like a song or something that didn’t work? You know, we tend to serve the greater good- meaning that you’re gonna know every single song that we do. Every now and then we’ll dive a little deeper than what most people know. Like sometimes we’ll bring out Lemmy Kilmister from Motorhead, or we’ll bring out Blackie Lawless from W.A.S.P., or we’ll bring out, you know, Rob Halford from Judas Priest. Or we’ll go into a little bit of the heavier end of the 80s and the 70s, and that brings out the joy in a lot of people who weren’t expecting to see that character. I would say that they all work, but most better than others. So every now and then we’ll sprinkle in those nuggets of characters that you just didn’t expect to see, and it brings great joy to those who were like, man, I cannot believe they just did Motorhead.

That was one I was surprised to see. I see you down as doing Gene Simmons, Brian Johnson, Dee Snider. Do you have any character that you that is your favorite to play?

Oh, they’re all great. I mean, I grew up with these people. I tell people all the time that I wasn’t raised on Sesame Street or Mister Rogers or Captain Kangaroo. Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons raised me. Dee Snider raised me. Lemmy Kilmister raised me. Alice Cooper, all AC/DC, Bon Scott, all of these guys were my childhood heroes. And growing up, and to be able to be them and step in their shoes and don their costumes and their makeup, and their personalities and mannerisms for a few minutes is pretty special for a guy like me because they put me right where I’m at.

You guys tour nationally and have played some pretty significant places over the years. Are there any shows or venues that have stood out for you that were particularly special to play or interesting to play?

Well, I mean, I have that punk rock ethos. Every crowd gets the sweat and the passion of performance from me and the band. You know as far as that goes they’re all special, but there are some that do stand out. We did the halftime show for the Vikings and the Packers game on New Year’s Eve where were dead center in the end zone and 75,000 people watching us which was very cool. We’ve just done so many great things, it’s literally hard to pick anything. We’ve done cruises, we’ve done stadiums, we’ve done arenas, we’ve done- just so many, many, many things. That’s just one example, and we’ve done a lot of that kind of stuff. So it’s just been we’ve just been blessed. I mean, God is good. What can I say? We’ve just we’ve just really been blessed.

That also means flexing the show between larger and smaller stages and different kinds of setups. How quickly does your crew adapt to such a wide variety of venues?

Well, we have a world class crew. I mean, all of these guys are just road dogs to the extreme. They’re so good at what they do. Of course, you know, you have the advancement of the date. You make sure that everything can fit in and squeeze in. Sometimes we got to do Tetris and make things fit. But by and large, most of the stages that we play on are more than sufficient. You know, most of them are 40 feet wide by 40 feet deep, and it’s usually not a problem. So, but when it is a problem, it’s not a problem because our crew is just the best of the best.

The costumes have to be a huge part of the production, as wells as the accuracy of some of the costumes. How does the band work with costumer designer to get the costume to the top of their game?

Well, we tend to take the costuming, like, we tend to go to their highest peak of fame and popularity. So if you’re looking at Gene Simmons, we’re gonna try to throw the destroyer costume on. We’re gonna try to throw the Alive a costume on. The one that is most iconic to the character. If you look at Dee Snyder, his big shoulder pads and the and the pink- the Stay Hungry outfit, the way you remember it. Like when you saw these videos on TV, that’s how we present the costuming. That way, the visual lends to the audio portion of the show. It just ties in together and makes the audible portion of the show and the visual portion of the show married in such a way that your nostalgia kicks in- you’re like, oh my god, I know that’s not Gene Simmons, but I’ll be daggone if that is not as close as you can get.

Gene Simmons just recently posted a video of me blowing fire, and just complimented me and said, “This guy is the real deal, and he gets it.”

Have you met anyone that you’ve portrayed in the past, and what was their reaction?

You know, I have, and all of them have been fantastic. As a matter of fact, Gene Simmons just recently posted a video of me blowing fire, and just complimented me and said, “This guy is the real deal, and he gets it.” That’s as high as you could get. That’s the compliment that- whenever they touch the sword on your shoulder- that’s special. And to meet Alice Cooper and for him to say that we are a great band and we do a great job and to have Twisted Sister repost our videos and say these guys are doing great work- it’s special, and that just means that you are doing the job and paying the respect in the right way, and that’s all we ever wanted to do. And to have them approve it, man, it doesn’t get much better than that.

I noticed that the show never leans into a space that makes fun of theatrical rock, but pays homage to it. What’s your take on theatricality and rock music?

I want to be entertained! I don’t care what you think; I want to be entertained. You know, don’t bore us, get to the chorus. I want to be entertained, and whether that’s musically with your proficiency, or whether that’s visually with your Ramstein flames and bombs, Kiss flying through the air, I don’t care. Entertain me- that could be a banjo solo on Hee Haw. You know what I’m saying? Just make it interesting and entertain me. I think that entertainment, proficiency, and musicality should all be married together. Look no further than Jerry Reed or Glenn Campbell, who were just incredible guitar players, but self-deprecating and humorous at the same time. They just had a way of presenting it where it was entertaining. They didn’t have to have smoke bombs and lasers. They were just entertaining. But smoke bombs and lasers don’t hurt.

Prior to Hairball, you were actually a fairly long time touring bassist with Billy Ray Cyrus, correct?

Correct, about 10 years. Yeah.

The interesting thing there is, you’ve made quite a transition from an instrumentalist to not only a frontman but a very visually enticing frontman. How has that transition been?

I don’t know how I got here. I have no idea. I just woke up one day and here I am. That’s been my life, though. I swear to God, I just I wake up and keep chopping my feet, and when an opportunity presents itself, I’m so ridiculously delusional that I’m overconfident about everything and think that I can do everything. It served me well; why, question it? I don’t know. I’ve just been blessed and I’m thankful for it. To be able to do this, with this group of guys and these people, is just amazing. I hadn’t played a lick of country in my life when I got the gig from Billy Ray. I had never worn makeup or high heels or any kind of costume when I joined Hairball. I just I just believed in myself and that I could do it. And you know, so far I’ve shined everybody on this much. So why not keep going?

Because the band rotates characters, you guys have three leads. Do you get a chance to even watch the other guys backstage, or are you busy putting on your next costume?

I tell you what, I’m so blessed and thankful to be able to be with two of the greatest singers out there right now, in Kris and Patrick. They’re just incredible. Their performances are incredible. Their vocals are incredible. Their delivery and their costumes and the way that they do the show is incredible. It’s amazing to me. It’s just it’s very impressive. Yes. I get to watch them every night do what they do. And there’s sometimes I’m backstage and I’m listening. I’m going, my God, did he just do that? And how did he do that? That that was amazing. And so yeah, I’m as much a fan listening backstage, and I’ve seen it, of course, a million times. But I’m as much a fan as anybody out there 10 feet away in the front row or in the back of the arena, because they’re just amazing performers.

I was looking at your tour page; I went back two years- just steady dates, month after month, 10 to 15 shows sometimes a month. What is it like keeping up with such an intense like touring schedule, and how do you keep the performance tight every night?

Well, when you get when you get what you want, I’m a firm believer- when you get what you want, you don’t bitch about it, and there’s no complaining on the yacht. So just be thankful for what you have. You got to wake up with an attitude of gratitude. There are people that would chew their arms off to have our problems. So, we wake up every day grateful, knowing that we have this job and that we have the ability to take the music to the people, and that they show up, and that they leave entertained. So that’s where the energy comes from. We know these people set aside this night, this particular night in their particular town, to be entertained. So, we do not take that lightly. So, getting up for something and having the energy to do it is very, very easy to do because we understand what’s at stake and what it means to people. And at this point, people have talked about us and you know delivered a review that their friends have to see us. So, we kind of got to live up to that. You know what I’m saying? So we go out there and make sure that we deliver the show.

What part of the show has been, or the experience, has been the most fun for you?

All of it. Like I said, there’s not one thing that I can pick- from the intro where we come out and there’s all kinds of bombs and fire, and just explosions- and then great songs- and blowing fire on stage with Gene, and you know, having people, raise their fist up and sing, “We’re not going to take it.” It’s just all great. Seeing the joy. I will say this: looking out and seeing the generational aspect of our show, which is, you know, grandfathers, fathers, and sons, and grandmothers, and daughters, and granddaughters, and you look out, and it’s everybody just getting their teeth, and everybody just starting to lose them. It’s everybody in between, and it’s a wonderful thing to look out and see that generation after generation, you know, aspect of the show. It’s special. It really, really is. It’s special.

And I know one thing I remember from the last show is the band paid tribute to our veterans and even brought some veterans up on stage. Is that a part of every show? How important is that aspect of Hairball to you?

It’s the most important. It’s my favorite part of the show. People ask me what my favorite song is, and I’ll always say the national anthem. That’s the greatest song ever written, in my opinion. And I to have these heroes get up with us, and we do it every single night. To have these heroes to get up with us, be it a, you know, somebody from any branch of the military, or a firefighter, or police officer, or first responder, whoever it may be, the best of us. When we get them up there, that is the most awesome part of the show. Because I will tell you, our show is escapism. Our show is escapism to the extreme, and we’re there to transport you to a better time and a better place. And more importantly, all of our questions are yes answers. Isn’t this a great time? Aren’t these great songs? Aren’t we having so much fun? All these are yes answers, and the most important yes answer is: Don’t we all support our troops? Aren’t these great people? So for us to get out there and be able to just give back a little bit is just so incredibly special. And these people are just wonderful. And to get the acknowledgement that they deserve, everybody said on that. And that’s the biggest yes answer we have.

That’s one thing I’ve always appreciated about live music: is this sort of liminal space where you can suspend life for a little bit. Have you had any fans come back to you with stories about how Hairball has affected them?

Yeah, every week, you know, you got people that come up, and “this is the greatest show I’ve ever seen,” or this is my 200th show. You know, it’s everything in between. It ranges through the spectrum, and it’s awesome from the little kid that that paints his face like Gene, and didn’t know what to expect, but he gets there and he loses his mind. That happened last night, and he just loved it. To the old fan that has seen us a million times and kind of knows what we’re going to do, and probably could do the show better than us, but it ranges that that spectrum is so great. But man, it’s special. It really, really is.

I like the story of the little kid, because one thing I always think about is, someone out there in the world, this year, is going to hear Kiss for the first time. Kiss is no longer a touring band, so you guys are kind of the opportunity for them to get a little bit of that experience. I think that’s great that like you’re providing access to that for younger generations.

Yeh, no pressure! Thanks for that!

Hey, you already got Gene Simmons stamp of approval!

Yeah, that’s true. That’s true.

Is there anything you would like to add for your fans? What would you like to say to them, fans that might be coming out to see you in Fargo, or any of the upcoming shows?

Well, Fargo and Hairball are chocolate and peanut butter, man. I mean it just goes together. We’re gunna come there and we’re gonna do what we always do. We dance very well together and we cannot wait to see you guys, of course. It’s gonna be over the top. You know what to expect from us and we know what to expect from you. let’s just get together and have a big time like we always do. We cannot wait to see you!