Until yesterday, I hadn't been to the MN State Fair in a few years, not since the company I worked for at the time had a booth in the Grandstand. I guess the long days working the booth kind of burned me out on the State Fair for a while, but when I heard the acts that would be at the Carnival of Madness tour this year, I decided to give the fair another try, and now I'm very glad that I did!
I did my homework and bought my fair and concert tickets early. I left home in plenty of time, and endured mild traffic congestion until I found an easily accessible park and ride lot. I got off the park and ride shuttle and got into the fair early yesterday afternoon, just in time to see part of a parade go by. I decided to visit a few buildings I hadn't been to before like the Creative Services building and the Arts building.
After admiring the work of several very talented Minnesota artists and grabbing a quick lunch, I headed down to the Grandstand, becoming part of the voluminous sea of people visiting the fair that day. I took my time viewing some of the many booths on both floors of the grandstand, until it was almost time for the show to start.
Shortly before 5 pm, I made my way to the concert general admission area in front of the large State Fair stage, just before the band Emphatic launched into a quick 20-minute set. The lead singer looked kind of like a young Sebastian Bach (original singer of the band Skid Row) and although I didn't know anything about this band, I liked their music enough to make a mental note to check out their debut CD Damage.
Following a quick set change, the next act, Adelitas Way, took the stage. Their energy was contagious, affecting concertgoers around me. I enjoyed hearing the radio singles "Sick" and "Invincible" and was ready for more music after their set - that is, right after a quick break for supper first!
I headed to the left side of the stage during the set change when I noticed a line forming by that side of the stage. I joined the growing line once I found out that fans were waiting for autographs from the members of the evening's headliners Theory of a Deadman. When my turn came to meet the band, I quickly greeted them, and complimented them on their new album. I told frontman Tyler Connolly that my favorite cut of The Truth Is... is the song "Bitch Came Back (it's the second song on The Truth Is..., which is not the nicest song in public, but one that I can't help rocking out to in the car)," to which he replied, "we'll have to play it for you tonight then!"
After the autograph/supper break, the pop/rock band My Darkest Days started their half-dozen song set. I had seen them open for Sevendust last fall at First Avenue, and their set wasn't much different from that first performance. I wasn't sure if My Darkest Days would be at this show, because I couldn't find their logo on the official Carnival of Madness website or the tour T-shirts. They kept the crowd entertained throughout their set, though closing with their biggest hit, "Porn Star Dancing."
When southern rockers Black Stone Cherry began their set, the crowd was really ready to rock! This was another band I'd heard play live before, when they also opened for Sevendust at the Myth three years ago while supporting their self-titled debut album. I enjoyed getting to hear newer songs like "Blind Man" and "Blame It On The Boom Boom." In fact, I was so enthralled in hearing the current single "White Trash Millionaire" and seeing lead guitarist Ben Wells play the voicebox and his cool white electric guitar with an Elvis portrait etched on it, that I almost missed seeing a couple of inebriated fans getting escorted out of the stadium by security officers. I also have to give frontman/guitarist Chris Robertson props for adhering to the fair's rule of no cursing, something which probably has to do with the fact that several Twin Cities news stations have booths very close to the Grandstand and have live broadcasts from the Fair every day. However, as the concert continued, I knew that the later acts, especially Theory of a Deadman, would quickly break that rule, and it didn't bother me one bit!
As the skies began to darken, Alter Bridge frontman Myles Kennedy took to the stage by himself as he sang and slowly played guitar for the brooding song "Slip To The Void," the first song on their third album AB III. Halfway through the song, the rest of the band joined him (who are also in the band Creed) for an uplifting start to their set. I'd watched Kennedy front Slash's solo band last year, but I had no idea just how great a guitar player he is. I admired his solos, especially the "shred-off" between Kennedy and lead guitarist Mark Tremonti after the single "Isolation," which led up to a rousing version of their hit single "Rise Today" to finish their set.
In case you didn't know, the members of Theory of a Deadman hail from Canada, a fact which was made obvious as the house lights went down and the song "Blame Canada" from the movie South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut piped through the speakers. Immediately afterwards, the band launched into the song "Gentleman" from their new album. Known for their ballads and male chauvinistic rock anthems, Theory played a mix of these songs to great crowd reaction. Connolly kept the crowd involved in the performance beginning with the second song "Got It Made" as he pulled out a FlipCam video camera to catch the audience while guitarists Dave Brenner and Dean Back encouraged fans to make as much noise as possible.
True to his word, Connolly and his bandmates played the guilty pleasure song "Bitch Came Back" during their set, as well as the songs "Easy To Love You," "Out of My Head," and the catchy single "Lowlife" from the new album during their set. Theory closed out the night with the big hits from the album Scars and Souvenirs "Hate My Life" and "Bad Girlfriend" just in time for the State Fair fireworks to begin.
I admired the fireworks as I slowly made my way to the exit. On the drive home last night, I reveled in the fact that I lucked out and had a perfect weather day, and got to hear almost four dozen excellent songs from six great modern rock bands (oh, and I later found out that the Twins also won, breaking their losing streak too) - what more could a guy want from a terrific summer day?
