Classic rock revived at the 2012 Illinois State Fair grandstand
Not long ago I looked back at the 2012 Illinois State Fair, but I didn’t cover the unusually strong grandstand line-up they featured this year. From Miranda Lambert and Eric Church to Creed and Train, there seemed to be something for most musical tastes. Still, imagine my surprise when not one, but two, nights were booked for an old-school arena rocker like me in mind.
Perhaps the most interesting booking on paper for the
fair was Friday, Aug. 17 – a four-bill of Georgia Satellites, Blue Oyster Cult,
Night Ranger and Cheap Trick – and admission on the track (closest to the
stage) for just $30. Think about that …
that’s $7.50 per band. And we sometimes
pay a $5 cover in Springfield on weekends to hear crappy cover bands (ok, most
aren’t really crappy, but you get the point).
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| Georgia Satellites |
The Georgia Satellites opened with a clean, concise
45-minute set in which they crammed everything you’d expect to hear from
them. For instance, I was happy to hear
“Battleship Chains” early in the set; it’s a song most people have probably
long forgotten, but I think it’s one of their best.
About half of their set consisted of covers, some of
which they had famously done (“Hippy Hippy Shake” closed their show), and of
course the crowd – albeit still small at 5:45 p.m. – predictably sang along to
“Keep Your Hands To Yourself.” All in
all, it was a fun opener, in part because you could tell the band was genuinely
having fun, too.
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| Blue Oyster Cult |
Second on the ticket was Blue Oyster Cult, who played for
about an hour. I had seen them several
years earlier at a much smaller venue – the Sangamon County Fair in New Berlin,
Ill. – so I will admit to not having a vested interest in this. Again, if you were a fan, you would not have
been disappointed. They sounded very
well and got the crowd involved with “Godzilla” and “Don’t Fear the Reaper” as
you’d expect. I took the opportunity to
chat with friends and contemplate how bad an actual blue oyster would taste.
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| According to the banner, this must be Night Ranger |
For my money, Night Ranger, surprisingly, put on the best
show of the … umm … night. And I say
that without even being swayed by friends who knew the band and got to see the
entire concert stage-side. One advantage
of this – I got a cell phone picture preview of the set list, so maybe it
helped that I knew it was going to be a good show in advance.
One obvious highlight of the show was “Sister Christian,”
a song which everyone who grew up in the 1980s knows calls for a flick of the
lighter …
Other moments I enjoyed included their rendition of
“Coming of Age,” which reminded the audience of lead singer Jack Blades’ days
with the Damn Yankees; and “Crazy Train” in recognition of guitarist Brad
Gillis’ stint playing for Ozzy Osbourne.
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| A swarming crowd loves Cheap Trick |
Cheap Trick headlined and closed the Friday night
show. To be fair, I’ve never been a huge
fan, but they have a very strong following in Central Illinois, partly because
they’re from just up the road in Rockford.
If you were a Cheap Trick fan, you probably had a great
time. While they had a renaissance in
the late 1980s, most of their set list was pulled from their earlier,
less-popified era in the 1970s. And even
I was getting into some of their most familiar songs from that era (e.g.,
“Surrender,” “I Want You To Want Me”). I
do have to question, though, if these guys aren’t getting a little long in the
tooth to be wearing their traditional stage outfits.
I also have to admit that Rick Nielsen’s five-neck guitar
is pretty damn cool.
So, yep, four distinct bands for $30. It was a minor marathon standing on the track
for almost six hours, but you were definitely entertained for the evening.
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