Styx-Foreigner

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.

Lady Antebellum-Billy Currington-Kelsey K

Ugh, what a day!  I was really looking forward to this day because I LOVE Lady Antebellum.  But it also meant we had the demolition derby on the same day.  Sad face.  It rained last night so the track was a muddy mess.  There was literally mud everywhere.  Trampled through the bathrooms, through catering, dressing rooms you name it.  Plus all of the rednecks were weaving between the buses, dressing room areas, and all over the place.  To the point that Hillary jumped off her bus and freaked out because there were so many people around.  They were taking pictures and tweeting all morning that they were so close to Lady A's buses.  Either way 3:00PM rolled around and we were able to shoo them out and move the stage.  Our world became sane again....well as sane as it can be.

Because of the mud and having to run back and forth it made the day pass by quickly.  We had a few minor fires to put out and again resulted in me needing to be in three places at once.  Getting the opening act, the talented Miss Kelsey K on stage to start the show and coordinating the meet and greet for Lady A.  Then the inevitable happened.  I dropped my phone in water...in the toilet to be exact.  I've always been afraid that I'd drop a radio in because they sit on the back of my waistband.  Nope, my phone was in my mophie charger and slipped right out and plink.  Instantly dried it off but we didn't have any water.  So it's been sitting in some drying agent, the kind that's used to clean up puke on a school bus. ;)  I've bought a tracfone that I've spent an hour trying to set up to no avail.  I just need a phone to get me through tomorrow!  I can travel without a phone and get home and to the At&t store on Monday.  EERRGGG!

Anyway, on to what you really want to know.  Yes, Billy Currington kicks butt and Lady A is all that.  I didn't get to watch Billy's show from the front but it sounded great from the back.  Kelsey did an amazing job warming up the 10,000+ crowd and then Billy comes walking out, barefoot and on to the stage.  He even walked through mud and gravel which was kind of weird if you ask me.  I have always been a huge fan of Lady A.  I worked with them when they first started touring at the South Florida Fair.  They weren't anywhere near where they are now but they continue to put on an amazing show.  Everyone in their camp is sooo nice and worked well together.  As our production guy put it, everyone played nice in the sandbox today.  They had this gorgeous HD video screen on the stage that showed IMAG and some of the music videos.  I was able to watch about 20mins of their show because have to go back and cue the fireworks.  Which entailed running through the mud back to the fireworks guys to tell them they were finishing early....because of course...I couldn't text them as usual.  ERRG. ;)

All in all, even with the frustrations of the Demo Derby and the phone it was a really great day.  I can't wait to see what Lady A will be like the next time I work with them!

**And yes, I don't have any pictures because....of the toilet. :)

Chevelle/Halestorm/Saville Row

Easy, easy day today.  I only wish it would have started later.  My phone started ringing at 5:30AM with folks rolling in.  I was on site at 7:30AM and didn't stop.  I hit a wall about 10AM but it turned out to be a busy and good day.  We had rain from the minute of arrival.  It was mainly a drizzle most of the rain with a few minutes of harder rain.  Fortunately, there were no storms, heavy winds and such.  But I did go buy a new pair of cute rain shoes at the fair, just in case. =)

I knew today would be a fairly easy day.  Neither band had an elaborate setup.  We didn't have to rig any tour lighting.  Both acts were amazing to work with!  We had an opening band that wasn't here most of the day and were easy to point in the right direction so they didn't take much babysitting.  The tour managers for both acts were super great to work with.  We knew this was going to be more of a harder rock show than the rest of our lineup.  In turn the crowd would be a little harder as well.  That proved to be true.  The beer was flowing and so were the fists.  That's all expected I suppose.

I spent the majority of the Halestorm show watching from the front of house platform.  They are a freaking amazing band.  If you haven't heard them you need to.  Their live show is even better.  They have a female front woman that has super pipes.  Her brother is the drummer and he kicks butt just as much.  I had several people come up and say it's the best band we've had all week.  I worked with them in 2011 at the South Plains Fair and that's when I became a fan.  They have only gotten bigger and better since then.  This is a band that will be big time soon.  Lzzy, the lead singer has even broken into the country scene performing with Eric Church and others and even touring with him this summer.  I can't WAIT to see where they go.

Chevelle is not necessarily my cup of tea, I just don't like hard rock music, but the crowd loved them.  They had a huge light show that was definitely different but brings the 'rock' feel.  I felt like I was watching the lights not the 'show'.  I couldn't really take pictures because of that either.  One of the best parts was standing backstage and watching everyone's reactions when the fireworks went off.  Some were caught off guard but they loved it.

Only two more days left and we're hoping to get lucky with the weather again.

Jake Owen-Eli Young Band-The Cadillac Three

Well I can tell we're nearing the end because I'm exhausted and completely over everything.  Although, today was a really great day for the most part.  I knew most of who I would be working with and really enjoy working with both Jake Owen and Eli Young Band.

It completely made my morning when Mike Ely, one of the lead singers of EYB came in for breakfast and came over to say hi with a big hug.  I've done several shows with them and our company has done a ton them.  All of the guys are just great!

The day was really almost completely seamless from my prospective.  The stage was a little hectic because the setup was huge.  They had what pretty much looked like a beach setup; tiki bars, a dock, etc.  They were ready for a beach party and that's the party the crowd got.  I had to deal with some issues; pissed off reporter, broken keyboard, settlement, security issues, etc. so about all I caught of the entire show was about 10mins of EYB.  It wouldn't have mattered anyway because they had so many guests on the front of house platform I would even be able to watch anyway.  Now there is a massive probably 50 person party going on in the bus compound, lights, music, fun and they aren't leaving until 2AM.  So I'm a little crabby. :)

Jake Owen and members of Cadillac Three and Eli Young Band at the end of the show

But in funnier news.  The midnight bandits struck Tuesday night.  See the evidence below.  We were even featured on the local CW morning news.  They talked about what happened and what it was and that they know that the people that put on the fair need to have fun too.  'Kudos to the Midnight Bandits' the anchor said.  Funniest thing I've seen or done in a long time.  This one certainly took some extra help but this one goes down in the books!

Florida Georgia Line-Colt Ford

What a freakin' kick butt day!  Huge show with some amazing people so I knew I was in for a great day.  We had already sold the majority of the reserved seats and the fair was planning to open standing room only seats today.  We ended up selling over 600 on top of the 10,000+ seats that had already sold.  Imagine the energy from 11,000+ people!  The day was super easy.  I had worked with these guys last year at the New York State Fair so it's like friends coming back.  I worked with Colt and crew at the Strawberry Festival in March.  I even had a few minutes to hike across the fairgrounds to see my friend Leroy and Gladys Van Dyke and the Country Gold Tour.   Actually Billy Dean was performing with them and has come over to our compound to hang out with the FGL boys tonight.  It's hilarious to see the "new" guys freak out about one of the legends wanting to hang out with them.

One of my favorite parts of this job is having a sold out show and the people flooding in, hearing the roar of the crowd but to top it off is having an incredible show.  Tonight was that perfect combination.  I could have sat and watched the entire show, singing and dancing if I had the opportunity.  I did take advantage of it for a few minutes at least.  Fortunately I was able to get some great pictures.  The guys, while some don't think they're country...it's because they're not.  They're 'new' country.  That's how it is.  A bit of pop, a little of country and a whole lot of rock.  I cannot wait to see them reach the top and hope they stay there for a long time...and that I get to work with them again. :)

Colt Ford getting the crowd warmed up

The fair manager, Gary Slater even enjoyed a few minutes

Grandstand lit up

Duck Dynasty- Willie, Korie and Si

Today was a blast, especially considering I didn't have to be here until close to 4PM.  I went for a run and moseyed on over.  We were going to have some of the stars of Duck Dynasty and let's face it...the best ones.  I was actually excited to meet them.  I don't know why I never get star struck but only with reality stars.  Willie and Korie arrived first.  They had been out filming and Si was due to arrive by private jet about an hour later.  On this show they decided to bring a band along.  An acoustic show with two guitar and one bass.  We had a general idea of how the show would work but I was told that nothing was confirmed until Willie approved it.  Well that didn't happen until he was on the ground and talking with the band.  So about an hour and half before the show we figured out how it was going to work.  The band goes out a little before the show starts and plays some warm up music, then during the song boondocks Willie comes out and starts singing.  Then Willie gives a little speech about family, faith, etc and ends up bringing out Korie and Si while to sing songs as well.  Actually Si and Korie ended up dancing during the first song they were out on.  They talked for a little bit longer as the band left the stage.  Then a local DJ came out and did a Q&A with the group.  Anywhere from 'do you wish there were things that hadn't been aired that were' or 'do you feel like having the show has changed your family' or 'is Si really that weird'.  All questions asked from fans on the radio stations facebook page.  It was fantastic.  I had a great time watching show.

Willie was super nice.  He's extremely smart and knows what he's talking about.  He's very personable as is Korie.  Si, when talking to face to face was very quiet but on stage he was just a 'normal' as he appears on the show.  And he never let go of his tea cup.  From the time he got out of the plane, when he was on stage, sitting in the dressing room, to walking to the car to leave; his tea cup was in hand.  Some of the time he had his jug of tea.  When  he first got on a stage and was telling a story he spilled it down his shirt.  He said "well darn I've spilled my tea....and it's COOLLLDD!".  Too funny.  The show ended up being very funny and put together.

Apparently the midway provider had tweeted that they had 'Willie' Ducks.  Willie saw it and asked that they bring one to him...so they did!

Told you he had his tea cup everywhere

Goo Goo Dolls/Daughtry/Plain White T's

Whew, I'm not used to these long days yet after being in the office for a bit.  I should know better than to stay up until 2AM the night before a big show but too much fun is to be had.  Some may remember our escapades with golf carts over the past couple of years.  We didn't take any time to start.  We took it the first night of the fair to hide it and the driver (whom shall remain nameless to protect his identity) drove it into the muddy track and got it stuck.  As I was going to rescue him, I got stuck.  They had to pull it out with a tractor the next morning.  So last night we had planned to plant smoke bombs under his semi as he was hooking the cab up to move it.  Unfortunately, the bombs were duds.  We waited an hour and half to do that and it failed.  But alas, we couldn't leave without something happening.  So we propped his cart on a small piece of wood.  The perfect size that when the gas was pressed, the wheels just spun.  It took him two hard presses on the gas to realize something was wrong.  After several looks, he found the wood and just laughed.  We hadn't stuck around for that but got to see the video aftermath.  We have now coined ourselves as the 'midnight bandits'.  We even left a sign behind last night to 'mark' the cart.  We'll see if I can actually stay up tonight to do anything.  

This morning I woke straight up at 6:30A before my alarm and realized I had missed three calls from the Daughtry truck driver.  Thankfully, he was just letting me know he was arriving and asking for security to meet him (per my instructions anyway, just wish it was at 5:00AM).  I had the phone on vibrate.  I guess I'll need to be double checking that from now on.  

I made it to the grounds by 7:45A since the tour was supposed to arrive between 8:00AM and 9:00AM.  The majority of them didn't arrive until almost 10AM.  I was already ready for a nap by then.  We had three different bands, which means three different production managers, three different tour managers, a couple of assistants and even a chef.  Try keeping all of those names and faces and duties straight.  Fortunately, it only took me a half hour to figure it out.  I feel like I have not stopped moving since 7:00AM.  They had 6 runners running all the time, laundry, grocery, pharmacy, shoe store, Walmart, liquor store (I think 3 different times) and so much other.  

When it came to be show time, in a normal situation with three bands, I was being pulled in two different directions.  Goo Goo Dolls meet and greet needed to happen but then Daughtry had an issue with a fan that I needed to assist with relocating.  I ran up and back from the grandstand at least 3 times in a 30min period.  We had a really good crowd.  The biggest one so far this year and they loved the show.  I recognized more of Daughtry's songs than Goo Goo Dolls.  

Plain White T's

Think we could add something else to the stage? #stagetoosmall

Goo Goo Dolls

Goo Goo Dolls

Looking forward to a SUPER easy day tomorrow.  We don't start until 3:30PM and I have have to wrangle three ducks....three stars of Duck Dynasty that is.  

Steps today were: 15,096!

Makeshift drying rack (aka frames for sponsor banners for races)

Guest star lighting director- they saw them at the carnival and just had to have