After a nice afternoon nap, we finally rolled in through the Green Gate at about 5:00pm. Just in time to miss all of the Fiddle Championships. We got to see some awards being given and waved at that nice older lady we met on the bench on Day 1. If I see her again, I’m going to introduce myself. With any luck, she will be there on Wednesday – Senior Day. I’m quite looking forward to experiencing Senior Day with my silver hair this year. I hope to blend in a little better.
I can’t imagine I’m the only one who has done this
With our late arrival, we had very limited opportunities for Benevolent Fair Court Stalking. We knew we would minimally see them onstage for introductions before the concert, but that…like a schedule from the Queen Mum…takes some of the sport out of it.
After wandering around a bit without a strand of fluffy hair in sight, we beelined for the horse barns. The Fair Court has their own purpled area and we thought maybe we would see them tending to their horses or greeting their public in their more natural environment.
Aaaaaand….SCORE!
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| Believe it or not, these are not the creepy versions. |
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| Do I blend in? It's my hat, huh? That's what's throwing it off. |
All in all, the best concert of the series
I’m not really much of a Melissa Etheridge fan. I knew she had one song about a window; that’s it. But I wanted to see the Real Life Fair Court through my zoom lens, so I dragged Rob to our favorite Grandstand seats to watch the introductions and settle in until I recognized a song.
Despite the Window Song being played about mid-way through the pre-encore set, we ended up staying through the first song post-encore. Color me surprised!
Music-wise, it was toe tapping and catchy with just enough rock to not feel too country. Melissa’s voice is deep and rich and…unlike last night’s concert…it seemed to hit all the notes she wanted. As I listened to her, I concluded that if an album was ever put together of famous artists singing songs from Schoolhouse Rock, I would insist Melissa Etheridge sing the one about women’s suffrage. Her voice and her attitude has that powerful bluesy quality that would lend itself perfectly to history of the 19th Amendment. Tell me I'm wrong (click here for a blast from the past.)
I also appreciated that Melissa seemed more present than the other artists this year. She talked to the audience with an intimacy that the others didn’t.
Melissa laughed at the confusion of not being sure what location to say hi to. Are we Portland? Vancouver? Ridgefield? Washington? Oregon? She finally settled on “HELLO, CLARK COUNTY!!” which could not have been more perfect. That’s how we refer to ourselves and that’s the community that largely attends the Fair. It was as if she actually asked someone on the Fair staff how she should refer to the crowd. A simple thing that speaks volumes about really caring about making people feel valued. And trust me, nobody here wants to be referred to as Portland. Something about an inferiority complex.
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| I have no idea why, but she changed guitars almost every song. And a couple songs she changed guitars twice saying something about them falling out of tune. Sounded fine to me but then again, I haven't won any Grammys. |
She was also endearing when she shared how cool it was to actually play at a fair. She looked around the dusty crowd toting carnival prizes and eyed the nauseating rides nearby and said with sincerity not snark, “I used to wonder if I was ever going to be famous enough to play at a fair.” (I Googled it – she’s won two Grammys and has been nominated for 15 others. I kinda wonder if she was too famous to play a fair? Kudos to her for coming to Clark County!)
Melissa took a selfie video with the crowd. She also posed for a few fan selfies as she was singing and spotted fans near the front trying to get just the right shot. It was like she understood what it was like to be a fan and was sincerely appreciative of having some.
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| She even had a selfie stick! When it was handed to her by a stage crew, I thought it was yet another guitar. |
All in all, in addition to having a great voice and two…TWO…songs that I recognized, Melissa seemed to truly enjoy being on stage tonight in Clark County. It didn’t feel like we were just another stop on a tour that was all just a blur. She knew where she was and why she was there. And her fans seemed to love her for it. Turns out I kinda liked her, too.
I *think* the woman was the lead
The crowd at the concert was largely women. Some in groups, some in couples, a few with kids in tow. When Melissa signaled for a crowd sing-along and stepped back from the microphone, the choir was noticeably higher pitched than your average concert.
I quite enjoyed watching a few couples dance. One couple was doing the Electric Slide in the dirt. Another was doing some version of swing.
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| Yee haw these ladies were fun to watch! |
Another just held tightly to each other and swayed. Judging from texts and Instagram posts from other friends who were at the concert, this last couple caught the eyes and giggles of quite a few of us.
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| The dog's vest says "Support Animal." Ummm... Seems to me the woman's the one doing all the lifting. |
STATS
Number of miles walked: Including some errand walking before we Faired today, 2.9 miles or 7,037 steps for me. Rob walked 3.1 miles because he couldn’t find me in WalMart. I got two texts from him that said, “MARCO”
Re-entry stamp animal: A horse with no tail. But I've named it Frank, so at least it has that.
Number of friends we saw: 11. Not bad for only being on the Fairgrounds for about four hours.
Best entertainment not on the schedule: The guy who was with a gaggle of pre-teen girls and kept tossing their inflatable carnival prize in the Dock Dogs pool. He would grab the floaty, run down to the pool, toss it in, and let the girls figure out how to retrieve it without going in the water. The pool was closed, the dogs were asleep, and a small crowd of us were laughing pretty hard as the girls shrieked with delight around the pool’s edge trying to get the inflatable hammer out of the water. I caught the eye of one of the women who seemed to be with the group. “Is he an uncle?” I asked, sizing him up as too much fun to be actually responsible for any of them. “No, soccer coach. And they LOVE him!”
Number of degrees of separation from the B-52s: 1! That guy standing next to Fred is Matt, Queen Maddie's dad. He got to go backstage with the Fair Court and meet the band. O.M.G !!! Next time I see Matt, I plan to pepper him with questions about all things FredKateAndCindy. O.M.G!!!!!
FAIR FOOD FEAST PARADE
I only had four hours to eat at the Fair today. Nevertheless, I think I did pretty well. I also had my phone along for a non-Fair lunch.
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| Oh how I've missed my lightly flavored water bubbles! I finished this favorite in about 15 minutes. Not pictured: Cran Raspberry consumed on the way to the Fair several hours later. |
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| So we go to Wendy's for lunch so I can get my favorite fast food salad and they are playing the Food Network in the dining room. It's a show about Fair Food. It follows me everywhere! |
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| Taco Salad without the sour cream because I forgot it was Fair Week and I'm allowed to have sour cream. Doh! |
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| I did however remember I could eat the tortilla chips. In real life these accumulate in our pantry and I eventually give the to Youth Group kids. In other news, like my new B-52s shirt?? Bummer that there aren't any concert dates on the back. :-( |
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| We're at the Fair! And my friend John gave me a delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, this year with gluten! I like gluten. And melty chocolate. And John. Thank you for feeding me, John! |
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| Dinner at a growing favorite -- Big E's Barbeque. It's where I got the roasted corn and now this pretty tasty smoked macaroni and cheese. Waaay better than the mac and cheese at the school bus that I tried last year. This could have been a little better if the bacon on top had been the fresh stuff that the curly fries brick people used. All in all though, I would recommend this! Outside the Food Court next to Monster Burger. |
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| I do love the Smasher drinks!! This was a new flavor that wasn't on the menu last year. It was peach, pear, and apricot. It was so refreshing and fruity without being too sweet. And if you show your receipt (or if Stan recognizes you), this is only $3 after you buy one any day of the Fair. A bargain for Fair Food! |
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| Rob let me sample his Big E's Fries -- french fries topped with pulled pork, BBQ sauce, nacho cheese sauce, and bacon. It, too, was very good! The pork was very tasty and I wasn't sure the fries were necessary. However Rob said eating it without the fries would be like eating a burger without a bun. His only criticism was that there could have been more nacho cheese sauce. Easily asked for next time. Big E's, you are becoming this year's find! |
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| Mmmm, candy! Red Rope is a great walking around snack. It was gone before we got to the Grandstands. |
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| Deep Fried Twix! I had these last year and liked them. The cookie stayed crunchy which was a surprise; I was expecting it to get soft like the Oreos do. The chocolate and caramel were melty. It was almost too rich to finish both...but I did because FAIR! Not pictured: one cherry Tums on the way home. |
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| A hearty bite of Rob's deep fried cinnamon roll. I typically don't like cinnamon rolls because they are too sweet. Much to my surprise, this was really good. It was like warm cinnamon bread without much of the frosting. I would actually get one of these for myself. And Rob wasn't so interested in sharing more of his. |
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