Who's out playing on the "corn dog" circuit?

[Magiver]

The Doobie Brothers will be at Okskosh this year.

[astorian]

@Sternvogel

The Speedwagon stops not only at fairs, but at conventions. I occasionally attend the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando as a guest of Long Time First Time, and Kevin Cronin was with REO the year the band performed there. (We didn’t see the show, but heard afterwards that Keep On Loving You, Take It on the Run, and the other hits sounded as good as they did when originally recorded.)

I saw a brief soundbite from Kevin Cronin on VH1 a few years back- he said, essentially, “I love performing, and I’m not too proud to play any paying gig. You want me to play in Mexico with a ventriloquist as opening act? I’m there. And I’ll wave to Styx and Cheap Trick as I pass them by.”

[Zsofia]

@tumbleddown

Blake Shelton also sang that song about Austin, the lovelorn answering machine messages song.

Urgh. I hate that song. I like the one about the dog, though.

[Ian_D.Bergkamp]

@astorian

It varies from band to band. Some of these guys know they’re washed up has-beens, and are just trying to make a buck. Others believe they’re still just as good as ever, and hope that, with a few lucky breaks and a new hit single, they could eventually be back on top.

Let’s face it, just ten years ago, many of us would have told Carlos Santana “Time to pack it in, dude! You haven’t had a hit in years! You don’t have a future!”

Well, it turns out he DID have a future!

Similarly, I saw Aerosmith in Memphis (performing at either the Memphis In May Festival or the State Fair, I can’t recall which) in the early '80s. Tons of people wandering around, but only a few dozen or so stopped to watch the show. It was embarrassing for the band (it didn’t help matters that they sounded terrible, too).

But a few years later, Run DMC covered “Walk This Way” with them, and Aerosmith were on their way back to relevancy and sold-out stadiums. (I still don’t care for them, though.) I’ve long thought that they should be sending 10% of all their income to Run DMC, just as John Travolta should be making a tithe to Tarantino for resurrecting his career.

[FalconFinder]

I’ve seen Styx, Foreigner, and Cheap Trick in the past few years and all put on great shows.

They were all playing at one point or another at the Marcus Amphitheater in Milwaukee. Usually as part of a package deal with other bands, but the place was packed and everyone was having fun.

I’ve seen Loverboy at a tiny little festival in a small town near me. They are really good live and they just love to tour, so they don’t really care where they play. If people will come to see them, they’ll be there.

[Sigmagirl]

@Lamar_Mundane

Kelly Clarkson is still at the top of her career, producing top selling songs. Why is she on the State Fair circuit?

Don’t know. Guess:

1. They pay great, and to big audiences.
2. They were booked a long time ago, before it was clear she was going to be a huge draw.