Minnesota’s arena rock tribute juggernaut Hairball rolls into the Finger Lakes on Saturday, May 2, bringing its full-scale pyrotechnic assault to The Vine at del Lago Resort & Casino in Waterloo. Showtime is 8:30 PM. This is a 21+ event.
There is something genuinely paradoxical about Hairball’s existence: a tribute act that, by most credible accounts, outproduces many of the original bands it honors. The Minnesota-based ensemble has spent roughly a quarter-century building a touring machine that synthesizes the live spectacles of Van Halen, KISS, Mötley Crüe, Queen, Journey, Aerosmith, and a dozen others into a single two-plus-hour show — complete with pyrotechnics, smoke, fire, and costume transformations that the original bands’ road budgets might actually envy. The band logs approximately 150 performances a year, primarily across state fairs and arenas in the Midwest; that kind of volume tends to either sharpen a live act or sand it down into autopilot. By all available evidence, Hairball has taken the former path.
That assessment is not without supporting data. Hairball has performed alongside Gene Simmons, Vince Neil, Alice Cooper, Rob Halford, Dee Snider, Rob Zombie, and Joan Jett — a resume that says something about how the rock world itself regards the band’s credibility. Key member Bobby Jensen spent a decade in a KISS tribute before helping build Hairball into what it has become; his stated philosophy, \”It’s about respect. We respect them and their music. We’re not making fun of them,\” has translated into a production operation serious enough that Jensen’s KISS costume was made by Gene Simmons’ own costume designer. The band constructs and maintains its own pyrotechnic rigs. These are not casual commitments.
For the upstate New York audience, The Vine at del Lago is the right room for this kind of show. The 1,400-capacity venue inside the Finger Lakes casino complex has established itself as a reliable stop for touring acts that want the energy of a close-in crowd without giving up production scale. There is no lawn, no upper deck — just a tight floor where the flame walls and light rigs that define a Hairball performance will have nowhere to hide, and neither will any slack in the execution.
Tickets & Pricing
Tickets are available via Ticketmaster. Note the 21+ age restriction — this is a casino floor event, so bring valid ID. The show starts at 8:30 PM on Saturday, May 2, 2026, at The Vine at del Lago Resort & Casino, 1133 State Route 414, Waterloo, NY.