Our state fair is coming up in August. The electronic marquee showed Foreigner as one of the acts who will be playing. I remember a time when Foreigner was a big enough band to fill 50,000-seat arenas, and back when my city wasn’t nearly as big as it is now, there was hardly a chance in hell that such a band in its prime would have come to Boise for a tour stop. Today they’d be lucky to garner an audience of 500. They’re certainly not cranking out the hits that become classic rock staples like they once did.
I like some of Foreigner’s music, but I’m not a rabid lifelong fan who’s been dying to see them. I’m just using them as an example of bands that you’re surprised to see are still around in some form or another and are still making appearances (at least in name) at fairs and other similar such venues. I know that such bands, perhaps still being held together like a worn-out and weathered strip of duct tape supporting a weak fixture, rarely have the same lineup as they had in their prime and may not even have any of the original members.
I’ve never seen any of these long has-beens perform at a state fair, but I am curious to see one of them, sort of in the same way one is curious to see a movie that is reputedly bad, but you just want to experience the awfulness for yourself, perhaps to have the badge of honor of enduring such an ordeal.
So my questions are: who else is still out there touring (at least in name)? What have been your experiences seeing a band long past its prime perform at a state or county fair? Was it as bad as (or even worse than) what was portrayed in Spinal Tap when they couldn’t even get top billing over a puppet show? What made it into such a depressing and excruciating suckfest? Did you ever get to see the same band in its prime, and if so, what were the differences? Has any has-been band who hasn’t had a hit in over 20 years blown you away by its performance?
Also, what is the smallest, most out-of-the-way venue you have known a once-big performer to play in? I recall from a few years ago the band Dokken played at a fair in the town of Payette, which s about 50 miles or so from Boise and has a population of about 5,000.
And finally, what compels these bands to keep going and not just hang it up and just proudly look back on their past accomplishments? Are they deluded into thinking that they’re still a well-recognized and popular act that people will come to see and appreciate as much as they did back in the day?
Does Arlo Guthrie count? Saw him playing a craft shwo about 10 or so years ago. Maybe 25 people sitting int he rain listening to him.
As to what drives them…even a small place, like 1000 people or so, could bring the band 15-20K. Cut down on roadies and such and you’re golden. You won’t make that sort of money doing anything else, I’ll tell you that!
2009 Ohio State Fair:
Kelly Clarkson
Jeff Dunham (speaking of puppet shows)
Keith Sweat
Kenny Rogers/Glen Campbell
Demi Lovato
Eric Bent
Rascal Flatts with Darius Rucker
I never heard of Eric Bent, and Kenny Rogers and Glen Campbell are yesterday’s news, but the rest are fairly hot.
The Cuyahoga County (Cleveland) Fair is all tribute acts, and the Summit County fair seems to have even less. But Cleveland draws major acts all the time. Nothing against Boise, but almost everybody comes to Cleveland or, in the summer, Cuyahoga Falls (Blossom Music Center). We may be jaded a little bit.
Funny you should ask. Just yesterday I noticed that Loretta Lynn will be here in about 3 weeks, at a decidedly 4th-rate venue, 30 miles away from the big city.
My guess is that Loretta Lynn, who was arguably THE biggest name in country music 35 years ago, doesn’t really need the money, plus she’s 74 years old. But she’s still putting out new music (her 2004 album was produced by Jack White). My guess is, she still wants to perform live; and small, out of the way venues allow her to do a more intimate, low-key show more suited to her age/health. Checking her website, she’s playing 15 dates from August through the end of the year. Almost all of them are within about 200 miles of Nashville, and the largest is a 1,300-seat hall.
As for who’s playing our state fair this year: Kansas, Heart, and Brooks and Dunn.
Heart is probably either a “schedule filler” band or a headliner. When they come to Orlando they can pack a ~ 2000 person venue on the weekend, and those aren’t $20 Punk Rock tickets either, they’re $50 tickets. So I suspect that sometimes they play fairs because they have a hole in their touring schedule (I suspect it’s always a heavy schedule since they come to Orlando around once every year, sometimes more,) or they are headliners in a big arena the fair happens to have, where they get paid much less per listener than their usual, but still decently overall.
A friend of mine got tickets to see The Smothers Brothers. The show was fantastic. I honestly assumed they were no longer alive, yet alone performing. They did the exact same songs/jokes that they did on their TV show.
The OC Fair in Costa Mesa (So Cal) is going on right now. Here are the “headliners” at the adjacent Pacific Amphitheatre: (separate paid admission)
Heart
Duran Duran
Rick Springfield
Smokey Robinson
Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
Tears for Fears
Anita Baker
The B-52s
The Moody Blues
Kelly Clarkson
X w/Maria McKee
Maldita Vecinidad
Blondie w/Pat Benatar
Huey Lewis and the News
KC and the Sunshine Band
Steve Miller Band
Mariachi Sol de Mexico
Whitesnake
Alan Jackson
Black Eyed Peas
Melissa Etheridge
Three Dog Night
There are a few here that I can’t identify, but the majority sound like great shows. Too bad I’m not going to make any of them.
Demi Lovato
Sandi Patty’s Broadway
MercyMe
Jon McLaughlin, The Elms & The Why Store
Kelly Clarkson
Keith Urban
Journey with Heart
Jason Mraz with G. Love & Special Sauce with K’naan hosted by Bushwalla
Oak Ridge Boys with Larry Gatlin
Hmmm, I may have to hop down to Costa Mesa to see X.
I’m going to the Midstate Fair (California) to see Judas Priest and Whitesnake. I’m not much of a fan, but my friends are. I’ve really kind of got to see JP after having seen Heavy Metal Parking Lot even before it became famous.
I’ve seen Cheap Trick twice at state fairs and both times they gave really good performances. As far as I know, they’ve still got the original line-up from when they were on top of the charts.
Juice Newton. I can remember back when I was in college and she had a couple of hits. Skip ahead fifteen or twenty years and I hear a radio ad saying that she’s going to be doing a local concert: not at a college or nightclub - she’s playing at a local high school.
My guess is they need the work. Most bands didn’t make millions from their hits - they can’t retire off their royalties. So they’ve got to go out and make a living. Might as well perform old hits at state fairs rather than work at WalMart.
