And that's a wrap! Styx will be on stage for 35 more mins as I write this and it will be the end to the 2014 Iowa State Fair for us in the grandstand. It has honestly been one of the best fairs here that I've experienced. Of course there have been a few hiccups but that's expected. The key word is...FEW not many. :)
Today was the perfect day to end on. Super easy day working with Foreigner and Styx. It helps that I've worked with Styx so many times now but everyone was so nice from the stage managers all the way to the band. They were completely flexible and willing to work with the situations. They even ended up with two semis at the side of the stage, Foreigner's and an empty truck. They took Foreigner's equipment from the stage after their set, pulled it into the empty truck, put it in cases and then ramped and packed it into their truck. They made it work.
The most difficult part of the day is when I'm being pulled in multiple directions. I had to try and solve a ticketing issue, while dealing with a separate issue, a meet and greet and oh yeah, making sure the show got started. It ended up I was at the opposite end of the grandstand when it started. Thankfully they are pros and started right on time without a cue. We ended up doing the Styx meet and greet in between sets but I was dealing with multiple things at that time as well. With everything going on backstage, I never once made it in front of the stage. Judging by what I heard and the road of the 9000+ crowd, it was a killer show. Foreigner drove out during the Styx show to deadhead it to Ohio for a show tomorrow and Styx will be driving through the night for Nashville tomorrow. Each band will be doing over 600 miles to make it to the next gear. I know it's hard for me, 20+ hour days, pretty much on my feet and figuring issues left and right for many, many days in a row. These guys however have to pack up and move to a different location every day and do it all over again. I still don't think I could truly do a road gig.
Update on the phone :) Tracphone was a joke. It took over 5 hours for it to activate. By that time I had given up on that. A lovely friend had gotten a phone from a friend. I was hopeful that I could find a retailer for AT&T with a booth here at the fair and transfer everything to that phone. It was a Gen1 Iphone. It's UNBELIEVABLE how much they've changed! Unfortunately there was no such thing here and after a call to a store it appeared that I wasn't getting a phone. So now it's in real rice and we'll see if it's back to normal tomorrow. I will certainly be cautious of my phone in my back pocket from now on.
We all count down to the days of the fair being over. We're tired, physically and mentally drained but it's always sad. These people are friends and like I say I have little families all across the country. But we'll see each other next year, spend a few minutes catching up and the year we were apart flies by. I can't wait to see my Iowa family in 2015! Now back home to be at the Kentucky State Fair for a few days! I haven't been there in six years. I'm ready to go back to where this crazy journey all began. Then I'll head to Lubbock for the South Plains Fair to continue the Mud and Dust Tour 7.0.
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