FAIR 2017 ~ Day 3

What a pleasant Fair day!

We arrived after church hungry and ready to meander. The crowds were a bit light again but seemed to be picking up ever so slightly. Our favorite parking pasture had a few more cars in it but was still waaaay emptier than it should be.  We're wondering if they've switched the order in which they fill up lots.

I’m not really sure what the deal is with what seems like light attendance this year. I’m not willing to say it’s a down year, though, until the rednecky motorsports and bull riding start-up. This county loves its dirt-based arena sports so hopefully the crowds with come with the bulls on Tuesday.

The highlight of today was the evening concert and my anticipation of it (see below). We basically spent the time prior to the concert stalking the Fair Court (they made it easy by lurking around the Food Court), hanging out in the Llama Greenway with our favorite llama friends and their 4H ribbons, noting the restored electricity, chatting with friends as we bumped into them, eating, relaxing. It was lovely not having much of a plan and just enjoying the conversations and wandering walks that unfolded before it was time to head to the Grandstands at 6:30pm.

We decided a hot tub sounded relaxing.  Too bad there wasn't
any water in it.

It was a great day for music
New to the Fair this year is a two-day state competition for fiddlers. I’m talking about people who play an instrument that looks suspiciously like a violin, not people who kill time doing stuff that looks suspiciously like nothing. If it were the second type, I would have entered.

The competition had the stage booked for four hours this afternoon. Normally there are acts every 30 minutes. So that’s a whole lotta fiddling for Fairgoers used to only needing to pay attention for 30 minutes at a time. Plus, well, attention span.

Predictably, we watched the music competition for about...30 minutes. Not because we didn’t enjoy it; there’s only so much fiddling I was interested in relinquishing to my beloved meandering.

We caught the Junior Junior Division (two competitors under the age of 13) and four Juniors (age 13-17, although the oldest we watched was 15). There was lots more to come but I was ready for a snack. And it had been a half hour.

The chatty but informative emcee gal gave us the lowdown on the hoedown.

Each competitor had to play three pieces – a hoedown (a fast piece), a waltz (a slow piece), and piece of their choice that was neither a hoedown nor a waltz. They got to have guitars accompany them and they played into a fancy microphone that was somehow linked to a room in a building where the judges were.

The three judges were sequestered so that they could not see the competitors. They only knew the division they were judging and could only hear the fiddles. They did not know the age or name of any contestant.

I thought this was a pretty nifty system allowing each fiddler to be judged only on his or her fiddling. It didn’t matter how impressively young they were or how they nervously could not face the audience or how suave and cool cat they looked in sunglasses and a Sinatra-style fedora.

Watching the six kids for 30 minutes, I had a hard time believing the judges were going to be able to rank them. There were two – one in each division – that were absolutely astounding fiddlers. The rest were only amazing. Their fingers flew up and down the handle part, their bows danced all over the strings, they played songs well enough to be immediately recognizable, and they did it all from memory. No music pages blowing around on the stage for this competition.

The final championships are tomorrow afternoon. I suspect we will find our way over that way again to sit a spell (maybe, say, 30 minutes) and tap our feet to the old timey music and Google what the difference is between a violin and a fiddle.

He fiddled his way.

I bet "Private Idaho" was a hoot in Sandpoint
I don’t think I have ever looked more forward to a concert at the Fair than the one tonight.

Our county tends to like country western music. Accordingly the featured bands are often twangy and unfamiliar to someone with more…poppy…tastes. (Who were Old Dominion again??)

But for some reason – I’m guessing because they were passing through on their way from a Seattle-ish gig to a San Francisco-ish one – the B-52s actually played at The Fair tonight. The B-52s!! The cosmic, campy, alternative dance party rock band from Athens, Georgia that made a Rock Lobster and a Love Shack famous (‘tho not at the same time, that would be weird). They hit their stride and the Top 40 back in the ‘80s and ‘90s. That’s when I found them, sang along with them, danced to them.

The band was originally five members. One died in the mid ‘80s and another doesn’t like to tour. So that meant three remaining but original Bs were on the stage tonight: Fred the Talker; Kate the Dancer; and Cindy the Other One aka the Blond One.

I had planned to drag Rob to the Grandstands early so as to secure our favorite bleacher seats with back rests. But then last night my more than a decade of dedicated and enthusiastic Fairgoing paid off. Through people who know people that I actually know too but didn’t know they had powers like these, I was handed two free tickets sort of pretty close to the stage. Tickets that should have bit mightily into my Fair Food Feasting budget. Tickets that I almost slept with last night but instead kept in my Fair Swag Bag so they wouldn’t be forgotten in the excitement.

No zoom needed.  And we had a walkway in front of us so
there was lots of leg and dance room.

I spent most of the day at least latently if not acutely aware of the Time ‘Til B-52s. We grabbed dinner at 6:00 and ate it within sight of our reserved seats. As we were finishing up and getting ready to leave our picnic table, a gal in her late 20s next to me asked if I knew who was playing the concert tonight.

“The B-52s!” I offered with excitement, not realizing I was about to have a dagger of old age stabbed in my heart.

“Who’s that??”

I fumbled an answer about Love Shack and the ‘80s while trying to exhale. And then, for the first time in ages if not ever, I got a beer at the Fair. Because aging.

I was happily about half-way through my shake-it-off beer when the concert got underway. The reserved seats around us were pretty full; the free grandstand bleachers were about half full.

It was a totally different concert experience being down there in the dirt near the front. We were surrounded by fans willing to pay extra to be there. As such, there was much excitement and dancing and song recognition and sing alongs. Oh, and cell phone videos. So many cell phone videos.

The only reason I know and care about cell phone videos is that videoing a song requires at least one, sometimes two arms and a rectangular brick to be held above one’s head like John Cusack in “Say Anything.” This effectively blocks the view and any photos people behind you might want to take. I’m talking to you, guy in the green baseball hat.

Once I repositioned myself to get a better view, the concert was full of fun and flashbacks. They played 15 songs that spanned their heyday and played all but one I was hoping to hear (am I the only fan of “Topaz”??).

Rob snagged this picture from a guy who
snagged this play list from the stage.  He
was in line for a VIP meet-and-greet thing
so I'm guessing he just asked to get this.
Pretty awesome concert souvenir!

The concert ended with the iconic (to people not in their late 20s) “Rock Lobster.” It has a section of lyrics and music (“down, down, down!”) that all fans know requires slow, deep squatting much like that part in “Shout” from the song in Animal House.

I knew the slow squat was coming. But as well as my knee and its reconstructed ACL are doing, I didn’t want to aggravate them rescuing a rock lobster in a giant clam so I remained standing. I felt all awkward about it until I realized that I was surrounded by other middle-aged people with their own aches and pains. Some did indeed attempt the slow squat but a number of us didn’t. Ah, aging. And yes, I finished my beer.

Overall, the songs were fun and the performance was lively, but well, we’ve all aged a bit since I last saw the B-52s in person in the early ‘90s. Some of the high notes weren’t quite as high and there was a quiver in a number of songs that wasn’t supposed to be there.

But given that Fred, Kate, and Cindy are all in their 60s…and one closing in on 70…the fact that they were still rockin’ on stage is pretty impressive and mighty commendable and worthy of a $30 concert tee purchase. I shall be wearing it proudly tomorrow.

See anyone under the age of 40?  Me neither.

STATS

Number of miles walked: My step tracker on my phone says 3.8 miles or 9,176 steps. However, Rob’s step tracker says we only walked 2.9 miles and we typically stick together. Rob theorizes that my dancing at the concert added some steps but I can't imagine I danced a mile’s worth. Especially since I kept my feet on the ground and mostly sort of swayed and bounced back and forth as safely as a middle-aged woman with back and knee issues should. So I’m gonna say 3.4 miles today. ALSO, I figured out why my mileage was so low yesterday. My phone’s battery was running low so I switched it to airplane mode not realizing that also disengaged the step tracker. Rob’s phone said he walked 4.0 miles yesterday which my feet told me feels about right.

Re-entry stamp animal: We left after the gates closed so there were no stamper people. Boo! But I can report that the stamp to re-enter the reserved seating area for the concert was a little blue snowflake. I hope this was not a snarky suggestion that B-52s fans are little snowflakes.

Number of friends we saw: 13. Hi, Beth!

Number of times we saw Dave and Linda: None!? We did see their son Randy who said his parents were over at the Dock Dogs again. We never made it over there. I feel a void not seeing Dave and Linda today, at least from a distance. We’ll do better tomorrow.


FAIR FOOD FEAST PARADE
My gastrointestinal system is being a champ and sticking with me. No major rebellions so far. And still only Tums on Day 1, although I have been carrying them with me ever since.

Today I decided to go off-roading a bit and try some new things at old places. Much to my surprise I found a new favorite corn place and a tasty alternative to my banned soft drinks.

Started off the day with a North Carolina BBQ hot dog.
Basically BBQ sauce and coleslaw.  It was very
tasty and I'm really thinking there's a new hot dog
supplier because this dog and the corn dog from
Lions were both notably better and bigger than usual.

NEW FAVORITE!!  I decided to try some roasted corn instead
of boiled corn and it ROCKED!  It was sweeter and crisper
and more fun to eat with the flappy husk parts still attached.
I got this at the stand next to Monster Burger just outside
the Food Court.  I will be having it again and again.

Another new find!  And yes, it looks disgusting.  It is a
Cherry Lime Italian Cream Soda from the Irish Sundae baked
potato booth (Italian and Irish -- tres international!).  It was
just ice, club soda, the two Italian syrups, and some half-n-half.
It was very refreshing and not too sweet.  But it was also pretty
pricey for the size ($2.50) and looked gross and kale-infused.
I might get a different flavor if I'm wanting some carbonation.

My first Hawaiian Shave Ice!  I was a little disappointed but
I am not giving up hope.  The Ice Jockey was new so he
over-packed the ice and over-poured the syrup.  Yes, I am
rather opinionated about my Shave Ice!  The syrup quickly
drained to the bottom of the cup and at the end I was left
with a large chunk of packed ice.  He'll learn.
Flavors were cherry (always a safe bet) and margarita.
Margarita wasn't on the menu but I spotted the bottle and
asked about it.  The Ice Jockey said it was soooo good so
I tried it.  Verdict: eh.  Pretty boring and not much
limey margarita flavor at all.  Serves me right for
trusting a kid who's probably never had even a
virgin margarita in his life.

John brought some more of Michelle's amazing homemade
banana bread!  I think he was shocked by how quickly I
inhaled it.

Pre-concert Yakisoba noodles from Patrick's Hawaiian Cafe.
Definitely the best noodles at the Fair.  Especially when
smothered with Sriracha sauce and Patrick's sweet chili sauce.
Mmmmm!

A beer!  At the Fair!  I prefer really dark beers.
This amber ale was the darkest they had.
It was very tasty and made me feel much
better about that ridiculous "Who's that?" situation.

NEW FIND!  This is a maple donut from a new donut truck
outside the Food Court on the east side next to the little coffee
truck.  They don't have terribly exotic flavors (when you've
got access to Voodoo, it's hard to compete on "exotic") but
this was a really good basic donut.  It was slightly chewy
with a little hint of salt.  It was a great treat after the sun
when down and things cooled off a bit.  I will be trying their
other flavors.