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September 4, 2006
:: A Fairly Good Time!
Well, here it is...the MN State Fair Report for 2006! I officially attended the fair for a grand total of 25.5 hours this year (estimated). The Mesaba Labor Coalition has/had a booth in the AFL-CIO House of Labor and I put in some hours there on the first Friday of the Fair and then spent some time there with my friend Scott. The following Sunday, PrncsIce and I met up with my parents and brother for a half-day. This last Saturday, PrncsIce and I spent a full day there including taking in the evening concert and fireworks. We saw the Nada's, Gear Daddies, and the BoDeans. We really went to see the Gear Daddies...PrncsIce is a big fan. I, however had not really been too familiar with them. I know Martin Zellar, their front man, is pretty popular on the Twin Cities bar/club circuit, but I hadn't really known their repertoire before Saturday night...
Above is my view of Zellar, albeit a bit blurry (it was dark, and I took it from about 100 yds away up in the grandstand...oh and this is a pic of the big screen TV image of him).
Here is a pic of the stage from our vantage point...notice the big black rectangle in the right hand side of the shot...yeah that was the steel pillar of the grandstand blocking our view...thanks for the nice seats, MSF!! (grrr)
But it wasn't the lack of a good view I want to comment on here. The 'Daddies have a good sound...and Zellar has a distinctive and very talented voice. However, I think the reason they might not be as popular as they could have been is their repertoire...the majority of the songs that they played at the Fair had to do with having an alcohol problem and feeling bad about it, or some other depressing social topic. I am not just picking on the wildly popular ballad, "Drank So Much (I Just Feel Stupid)", but also tunes like "Statue of Jesus" (I'm just sittin' downtown, cryin' 'neath a Statue of Jesus/Both of us so lonely and cold hope no one can see us/I know I'm drunk yeah, but I don't think that he cares...etc). Suffice it to say that the Nada's and definiately the BoDeans were much more uplifting.
The fair (as always) was an overall hit...truly enjoyable. I made a major purchase utilizing a MSF-only deal (I ordered a 22' Little Giant Ladder)...I consumed many Pronto Pups and other MSF delicacies, watched a few parades, saw lots of cool machines and gadgets, and spent some high quality time with PrncsIce. And, I did truly enjoy the Gear Daddies...it is not every day we get to see musical talent like that get together (depressing lyrics aside).
Posted by pierre at September 4, 2006 1:07 PM
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