My mom told me that if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.  Well, we all know I have a bigger mouth that that!  BUT what if all you have is nice things to say?  Does that mean you should keep talking?  I will certainly be talking for quite some time about the Survivor concert at the Iowa State Fair last Sunday night!

 

I had never seen Survivor before.  I've always been a fan of the music.  I thought for a while there might be a chance that they would come to Iowa with Jimi Jamison on lead vocals, but he walked away and in my humble opinion, Survivor got an upgrade!  Robin McAuley is an awesome singer that has recorded some great projects.  I was first turned on to McAuley's voice through MSH.  (Check out www.robinmcauley.com for his discography!)  Hearing that Robin was now fronting Survivor made me even more anxious to see them.

 

With Survivor, it's all about the songs.  There are dynamics that many bands refuse to get into unless they can play one way for an entire song.  Survivor knows how to punctuate the lyrics with breaks, softer passages, and cranking things up to 11 when the song calls for it.  The musicianship has to be at a much higher level for this type of music.

 

I was fortunate enough to be by the Anderson-Erickson stage at the Iowa State Fair when a yellow moving van backed in.  I saw laminates dangling around the necks of the guys.  From a distance, I could see the Survivor logo.  I walked away for a while knowing I'd have to come back and talk to them after they got settled.

 

When we did come back to the stage area, I struck up conversation with one of the guys with the Survivor laminates.  He was totally cool and gave me a Billy O. guitar pick and made sure I got a Frankie Sullivan pick, too.  He told me that Survivor would be doing a meet and greet at 7:15pm with the show starting at 8pm.  I gave him one of my cards and told him I do concert reviews and would love to get some good pictures to post.

 

My girls and I left the fair for a couple of hours to cool off and then returned in time to get them in line for their Corbin Bleu concert and me to the Survivor meet and greet.

 

When I got to the stage, I saw the guy I had talked to before and he pointed out the band milling around back stage.  I got to meet Robin McAuley, Billy O., Chris Grove, and Marc Droubay.  I even thought to get a quick picture with Marc before the show and had him sign my Vital Signs CD cover.  He and Robin asked me to stop back again after the show.  I wanted to make sure they got my card and that I knew where to send pictures.

 

I was introduced to Fred, the tour manager, and explained to him what I do and what I wanted to get pictures of.  He was courteous and explained what would work best and how to approach the stage.  He even had me come back during the show to make sure I got a good vantage point to get pictures of the crowd as the band played.

 

I wasn't quite prepared for what I was about to experience.  The stage was set.  The seats were filled.  The hill area on both sides of the stage and behind the seating area was filled.  It was packed!  There were people of all ages ready to rock out with Survivor.  Led Zeppelin's Rock N Roll filled the air and set the mood.

 

At the last strains of Led Zep, Survivor roared on stage to Burning Heart!  Everyone left their seat and screamed in approval as Survivor kicked off this night in rocking fashion.  What a way to open a show with everyone singing along.  Next they reached into their past for Take You On A Saturday and followed it with Poor Man's Son before jumping into Summer Nights, all from the Premonition CD.

 

The crowd was on their feet throughout most of this show singing along to High On You, The Search Is Over, and I Can't Hold Back as well as the rest.  There was rain that fell, but it certainly didn't dampen anyone's spirits.  Robin commented that "A little rain never hurt anyone.  You know what I think?  I think we oughta huddle together!  It's an idea!  Maybe it would create an umbrella effect."

 

The band finished their set with I Can't Hold Back and the crowd would not sit down!  The band left the stage and the people were yelling for more.  This was a noisy bunch!  It didn't take much for the band to realize that they needed to get back on stage and give the fans their best known hit.  You could see everyone start to feel even more energy as Eye Of The Tiger began.  You could tell that just about everyone there was having their "Rocky moment" hearing this song.  The fans were not only on their feet, but up on the benches singing along and when the chorus came, they were louder than the band!  Survivor was not only appreciated, but cheered and applauded as the rock stars they rightly are.

 

The band got to show off their instrumental prowess with solos and instrumental passages.  Chris Grove got the first solo that lead into The Search Is Over.  Very talented!  As a band known for using keyboard prominently in their songs, this guy more than makes the grade in Survivor.  Frankie Sullivan, guitarist extraordinaire, took a solo turn after that song while Marc rocked along with him.  The two longest standing members of Survivor displayed a bit of a heavier side during this instrumental break.

 

Frankie Sullivan has got to be one of the most underrated guitar players I've ever seen!  This guy is fantastic!  He plays with skilled precision, but it's done with wild abandon.  He bounds across the stage while playing intricate rhythms and leads.  His sense of melody is uncanny!  He walked off the stage front to mingle while playing.  He talked to the crowd a couple of times between songs and really has a lot of personality that truly makes Survivor a band of musical brothers.  I can't say enough great things about Frankie Sullivan, a true original.  This guy is just awesome!  Now I gotta dig out my old CD's and take a few more listens!

 

Chris and Frankie got to share some harmonies in a couple of passages through the set and it was great to hear how tight this band is musically.

 

Marc Droubay and Barry O. held down the rhythm section and gave the music an edge in this live setting.  Marc has played these songs for years and still gives them everything he has.  That man was working harder than anyone else on the stage in the Iowa heat.  Swinging those hammers in the Iowa humidity could make the average man pass out.  Marc did so with professionalism and just plain fun!

 

Billy O. was a prowler on stage.  He worked every bit of the stage while playing and singing.  When he wasn't behind the mic, he'd be seen singing at the front with the fans.  It was hard to get pictures of this guy standing still!  Heat be damned, he was having his 75 minutes of solid rock n roll fun!

 

The band is so tight musically and yet they run loose all over the stage!  This is not a shoe-gazing band!

 

Led now by the incomparable Robin McAuley, Survivor is a well-oiled, but still unpredictable machine.  Robin's voice soars to hit all the high notes and he infuses the lyrics with the same passion that the men who wrote the lyrics must've felt.  Robin serenaded the ladies and even shared the mic and stage with a few.  The women love this guy!  Robin worked the crowd and the stage and made sure that everyone knew this show was about the fans and the music.  Robin even sang to the little girls who came down front to see Survivor.

 

This show was incredible!  The songs are timeless.  The music is spot on.  The band played with swagger and confidence.  This is not your mother's band of balladeers!

 

I was fortunate enough to meet the band again after the show and get pictures and autographs.  I mentioned to Robin that I'm hopeful that Survivor puts out new music with his voice.  I'm anxious to see what he and Frankie come up with!  He mentioned that they might throw in some of the work they did together on Robin's Business As Usual and even an MSG tune or two.  I'm hoping that Survivor makes their way to Iowa again so I can check that out!

 

All of the guys were very kind.  It was great to meet them all for the first time and get to tell them how much I enjoyed the show.

 

Survivor is a great rock band!  You have to check out this show when they are in your area.  My hope is that they are looking to the future and planning on creating more great music.  Of course, the last I saw Frankie, he was wandering off looking for pizza...

It really helps if you know people! Before I tell you what happened at Summer Jam, I have to issue a series of thank yous.

 

First, a HUGE thank you goes out to Dancin' Dan!  He gave me a free VIP ticket, a ride to the show, and even a cut of the money I got him for selling his two extra tickets!  Dancin' Dan is a local fixture on the music scene in Des Moines and he knows just about everybody in every band from Des Moines.  This guy rocks and is one of the nicest, most fun music fans you will ever have the pleasure of meeting.  I met him through the M!SS CRAZY shows that he attended and he's got one of the best attitudes about music and the live scene.  Dan, if you read this, THANK YOU!  You are THE MAN!

 

Second, thank you to the guys at KGGO and on this particular day, thank you to Doug!  Dancin' Dan introduced me to Doug on the way into the show.  Doug found me later on and mentioned that he couldn't find his keys to get his camera out of the car.  I told Doug I'd be glad to be his camera man as long as he needed me.  Doug got me pretty much everywhere in the side stage and backstage areas to get pictures as needed and wanted.  While Doug had some limited access to the back stage area, he used it to full effect for both of us and it resulted in getting a picture with Bret Michaels to close the night.  Thank you, Doug, and contact me soon to get your pictures!  Hope we can do more in the future!

 

Third, thank you to Dave, the guy that runs the unofficial Waterstock Rock website.  He let me hang out with him for a good part of the afternoon.  It's always fun running into Dave at shows because he is such a fan of the music.  We probably analyze the shows way too much for most music fans, but it's fun seeing the perspective of a guy like Dave who retains everything and has very specific opinions of the shows he sees.  It's sure a lot better than hearing the typical "they rocked" type of review in a conversation.  Dave knows the details and loves to share them.  Thanks, Dave, for being a friend and fan and supporter of my favorite bands!  I'm so grateful to know I'm not the only one who has such a great love for rock n roll.

 

I really do appreciate everyone who remembers who I am and stops to say hello.  I don't remember all the names, but I do remember the faces and am thankful to you all.  Some of the people I run into are readers of these reviews and many are just people who recognize my face as one they see at a lot of concerts.  You guys rock and I appreciate the support you give the bands I listen to.  Thank you for being so kind and having such great fun and including me in that when you do.  Tony, J-Dub, Dave, Dave, Mike, Mike, Mike, Cindy, Rob, Shawn, Michelle, Sally, Pat, Lewis, Dan, Kelsie, and everyone whose name I can't remember, you are helping keep a very important music scene alive and flourishing.  Thank you so much for helping carry that load!  The music is the important thing and you understand that.

 

Now on to the events of Summer Jam 2007!

 

When we pulled in to the parking lot of the Iowa Speedway, I saw a group of people standing between our vehicle and the one to my right.  I had taken with me a few M!SS CRAZY CD's as I was hoping to get one to Bobby Blotzer and see if I could sell a few.  I held up the CD casually in the window as I rested my arm on the door.  Immediately, one of the guys asked who the band was on the CD I was holding.  Dancin' Dan put M!SS CRAZY in the car stereo and we played it for this small group.  They immediately asked how much for the CD and got the money together to purchase it.  It was cool to sell a CD without even having gotten out of the truck.  Of course, I did get out and have them put it in their stereo to hear, too.  I ran into one of them later during the day and they seemed pretty excited about the CD and were glad to be at Summer Jam having a blast.

 

Dancin' Dan had 8 tickets for the day.  He found two friends and offered them two and still had two remaining.  He asked me to help unload them, if possible.  He'd gotten stuck with many unused tickets in the past and I assured him that it shouldn't be a problem.  As we walked toward the gate, two guys were standing at a corner of the parking lot asking if anyone had any extra tickets.  I mentioned that we had two, but needed to see which two were available and I'd be back to let them know.  We verified our tickets and I took two for the lower grandstand area back to these guys to sell.  I told the guys that these were $50 tickets and said that $40 each sounded fair.  They said they only wanted to pay $10 each.  I almost busted out laughing, but just looked at them and said that $10 for a $50 ticket was just nuts.  They upped their price and I came down on mine to two for the price of one.  They could have them both for a total of $50.  They tried to get me to come down to $45 so I knew I had them at $50.  I told them to just round it off at $50, but they refused.  I turned around and walked away.  I started counting, though, as I knew they'd call me back over to them.  Sure enough, they whipped out $50 and bought the tickets.  When I got back to Dancin' Dan, we had quite the laugh about the sales technique I used and got a fair price for the tickets.  Dancin' Dan was amazed that he got that money back out of them.

 

We got inside and I met a guy named Michael from Omaha.  He knows Ricky Valentine, a guy who has worked with Poison for years.  I mentioned that I knew Pete Evick who worked security for this tour for Poison, too.  Michael was awaiting passes and tickets for him and his family.  We shared a few stories and he said he'd see if I was on the guest list, too, if there was going to be one.

 

I went on in to the track to check things out.  I'd never been to the Iowa Speedway before and was pleasantly surprised by how great it looked.  Iowa needs a place like this for racing fans and concert goers.

 

I got in and found Dave and we watched Vains Of Jenna open the show.  These guys did the same set list, I believe, as the one at Shooters Hideaway a couple weeks ago, but it sounded so much bigger on this large outdoor stage.  This is where their music belongs.  The guys made full use of the stage and really captured some new fans.  I heard a lot of compliments directed their way by a lot of people who had never heard Vains Of Jenna before.  It seems that everyone is hoping these guys break huge and help bring back this style of rock n roll.  This came from young and older listeners!

 

Great White really brought more people into the venue.  It still seemed pretty sparse in parts of the stands and track, but it was a noticeable difference when they hit the stage.  Great White did a similar set to the one I saw at Rocklahoma, but started off with Desert Moon this time before segueing into Face The Day.  I was glad to hear their new song Standin' On The Edge.  It certainly fits in with all the classic Great White hits, but has more vocal things going on that any of the songs they did this day.  The band did reorder a couple of songs in the set and the set list is below.

 

 

Desert Moon

Face The Day

Standin' On The Edge

Mista Bone

On Your Knees

House Of Broken Love

Rollin' Stoned

Save Your Love

Rock Me

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

 

Great White jammed out On Your Knees with Sean McNabb providing a bass solo that really got everyone excited when he got funky.  There were some sound issues that Jack and Michael took care of for the monitor guy, but this show was really about the energy of the band and fans.  The band had little sleep, but it didn't show.  Sean even commented after the show that he felt better about this one than Rocklahoma.  All of the guys were excited about the day and came out to meet fans after they cleaned up a bit.  I was fortunate enough to meet them all and thank them for still doing this.  I mentioned to Audie Desbrow that the first time I saw Great White was with this lineup and when they hit the stage it was like the pros just came out as compared with the other bands that had preceded them.  There is just an energy with this lineup that the 2004 version I saw once couldn't muster.  I hope this reunion is long lasting for Great White.  They all seem more fit and ready to roll into the future.

 

Dokken went on after Great White due to some difficulties getting to the show on time.  Don, Jon, and Barry were all there, but Wild Mick Brown was nowhere to be seen!  I kept watching the drummer and it only took a moment to realize that Vikki Fox was playing drums!  Granted, I think I'm the only fan there that noticed, but this is the same Vikki Fox that started out in Enuff Z'Nuff and even played with Warrant a few years ago at the Iowa State Fair.  Vikki puts on more of a show than Wild Mick Brown and still plays very hard.  It seemed like he was a kick in the seat for Dokken at this show.  While Dokken didn't have the size of stage and lighting they had at Rocklahoma, it does seem that they are putting a lot of energy into their shows this year.  Don stays away from the high notes, but still holds his own.  He invited Jack Russell out for Alone Again and they sounded great together.  There wasn't a single fan there that saw this pairing coming, but I sure hope they do it again soon.  Jack Russell and Don Dokken have voices that mesh well.  This set the fans into a frenzy and they gave the energy right back to the band as they played.  The set list is below.

 

 

Unchain The Night

Into The Fire

Dream Warriors

Kiss Of Death

Just Got Lucky

Alone Again (with Jack Russell)

Breaking The Chains

It's Not Love

In My Dreams

 

While Dokken was on, I got to talk to one of my favorite guys in the music business, Pete Evick.  I'd run into him briefly earlier in the day and we caught up for a few minutes and chatted about Rocklahoma and his work on the Poison tour, but this particular time we talked about the bands on the Poison tour.  I told him that I'm one of the guys that wish Jizzy Pearl was still in Ratt because Stephen Pearcy just can't pull off the Ratt tunes vocally anymore.  I'm hopeful that Stephen starts getting some voice lessons and strengthens his pipes, but it seems doubtful that he will ever be able to sing again like he used to.  Pete talked about the first part of the tour when Stephen was really laying the vocals down and he thought they'd really give Poison a run for their money on this tour.  I was hopeful that Summer Jam would help redeem for Stephen what I thought was an awful performance at Summer Jam.  The Ratt band sounds phenomenal, but I just with they had a great singer to front them.  I'd heard other fans talk about how they were glad Stephen was back, but I had my doubts.  After hearing Pete talk about some of the shows he'd seen Stephen really put on a great show, I was hopeful this would be one of them.

 

Ratt hit the stage to I'm Insane and then You Think You're Tough and I have to admit that it didn't sound too bad to start out.  It was again obvious that Stephen wasn't going to hit any high notes, but he seemed to at least do most things well within his range and did better at stylizing the things out of his range.  I'm still not quite convinced that this reunion is a good thing for the music, but hopeful that it encourages Stephen to get help with his voice.

 

The Ratt band sounded very tight as Bobby Blotzer kept the pace for the night.  His rhythms were accented by Robbie Crane's bass and John Corabi's rhythm work.  This allowed Warren DeMartini to solo on top of the band with ease and provide the melodic aspect we all know and love about his playing.  I love Ratt songs and it was great to hear the band in fine form throughout.  It was really cool to hear the thousands in attendance singing Round And Round to close out their set.

 

 

I'm Insane

You Think You're Tough

Wanted Man

Slip Of The Lip

Way Cool Jr.

Nobody Rides For Free

Back For More

Lovin' You's A Dirty Job

Lack Of Communication

Lay It Down

You're In Love

Body Talk

Round And Round

 

There is something very cool about Poison.  You can see the exact same show twice and still love it, smiling and singing along.  Poison did the same set as Rocklahoma.  They opened with Look What The Cat Dragged In, I Want Action, and Ride The Wind, and kept the right pace throughout the show mixing their hits with fan favorites and songs from the Poison'd CD.  While the songs are the same, the fresh attitude the band has every night and their pure joy come through in each performance.  I was telling friends what the next songs were going to be and sure enough, they came, but it was like it was a brand new show.  Even the things said between songs were basically the same, but it's the delivery that Poison uses to keep it fresh and fun each night.  While they didn't have the huge video screen they used at Rocklahoma, they certainly had all the fire and fireworks and explosions and confetti of the largest Poison shows.  The crowd went nuts for each and every song.  They were singing along with Marshal Tucker, Tom Petty, and the Romantics songs and loving the way Poison played them with almost a teenage excitement.

 

Bret is certainly the ringleader of Poison, but CC Deville gets a ton of love, too.  He performed his solo including some Ray Charles before doing I Hate Every Bone In Your Body But Mine.  Bobby and Rikki put the same high energy into CC's song as they do into everything else.  CC seems more humble this year and last year than in the past.  He just looks completely grateful for the love and support he's gotten and it's really affected the attitude he has on stage as he seems to be having the time of his life as part of the Poison team.

 

Bobby is the hard rocker of the bunch and he was running around that stage using the bass as a dance partner, a tool, a loved one, and an appendage as he stalked the stage, strutted, sat on a stool to play the soft parts of a song, or was raised up behind the drum riser to start thumping Unskinny Bop.  This guy earns the love of the crowd every second he's on stage as he works all parts of it and interacts with the fans.

 

Rikki wowed the crowd once again with his playing throughout, but especially his drum solo.  His kit wheeled to the front of the stage and lifted in the air as he played.  It's so cool to see a band that's been around for over 20 years still giving the fans something more than just standing on stage and playing the songs.  These guys really put on a show and host a party and Rikki keeps giving the fans quite the spectacle.

 

Poison was really on fire.  They played every hit and then some and once again seemed as if there was no place they'd rather be than on that stage playing those songs for everyone that supported them by coming out.

 

I'm a huge Poison fan and it's been a fresh show every time I've seen them.  I love these guys and will continue to buy every CD and see every possible show I can.  These guys are worth my hard earned money every single time and as long as I live and they still play, they will have my support.

 

After Poison was done, I was fortunate enough to get a quick picture with Bret Michaels before he headed onto the bus.  As always, Bret was very gracious to everyone he met even though I'm sure he'd have loved to be able to jump in a shower first.  The Iowa Bikini Team followed him to the bus for pictures and several of us fans did, too.  We didn't see Rikki, Bobby, or CC after the show as we'd hoped, but I hope to be able to meet them in the future.

 

Summer Jam 2007 was a huge success!  It was bigger than last year's and was bigger than Waterstock 2007.  KGGO is really doing things right and I hope they continue to bring this type of music to the fans every year.  I'll be there supporting my favorite bands and KGGO!

I'd been hearing about this band through Metal Sludge for quite some time, so it was about time that I actually got to see Vains Of Jenna live in Des Moines at Shooters Hideaway.  Paul had told me about the gig the day he heard from their management to set it up and he was quite excited to have this up n coming national band on his stage.

 

I've heard the Vains Of Jenna CD and they remind me a bit of Guns N Roses crossed with Pretty Boy Floyd vocally.  They are aggressive, sleazy, LA style hard rock with catchy melodies.  Funny enough, they are from Sweden.  They aren't my favorite Swedish band, as that goes to Hardcore Superstar, but they are good and they are opening for Poison and Ratt this summer, so I had to see what the hype was about.

 

These guys live up to their hype.  Their show is energetic and catchy!  The singer is the only non-blond, naturally or unnaturally.  He sings and plays with abandon and was even literally running up the walls.  When he didn't need to be in front of the mic, he wasn't.  He was all over the place.  The band was great about keeping an eye on their staging as they each switched sides of the stage and played every inch of it.

 

I recognized a couple of the tunes from their CD, especially their closer.  These guys were unprepared for an encore, but the fans demanded it and they played it.  There were several there especially to see these guys and they dressed the part.

 

The guys were kind and took a picture with me after the show.  I asked them how they like the U.S. so far and they flat out said that if they can make it here, they can make it anywhere in the world.  They mentioned something about having visas for another year or so and they are anxious to stay in the U.S.A..

 

Vains Of Jenna will return to Iowa on a larger stage for Summer Jam on August 4th.  I'm hopeful to catch this show and see how they compare on the same stage as Dokken, Great White, Ratt, and Poison.

My daughters are awesome!  I told my girls that M!SS CRAZY was going to be playing at The Reverb in Cedar Falls and it would be a very late show.  I told them that we would likely stay home and enjoy a nice quiet evening goofing off at the house.  My youngest, especially, was adamant that they be allowed to go to see M!SS CRAZY.  It might be the only time they would be able to and she said they would be just fine staying up that late.  I warned the girls that they might be up until 2am or later and that we might not be home until 4-5am.  They were both good with that.  I deliberated for a chunk of the day and finally told them it would be ok to go to the show.  We drove up with my roommate in the car and caravanned with the band to Cedar Falls.

 

The plan for the night was that Skitzo Effect would open, M!SS CRAZY would go on second, Dirty Little Rabbit (Clown's band - the guy from Slipknot) would headline, and LyinHeart would close the show.  When we arrived, we heard that Dirty Little Rabbit had van trouble and was unable to make the show.  Of course, we heard and made up other excuses for them, too.  Once you see M!SS CRAZY is on the bill...  Anyway, we assumed that with Dirty Little Rabbit not going on and that since M!SS CRAZY was the only other national band, that M!SS CRAZY would go on third and headline this show for the club owners.  For some reason, the sound guy seemed a bit peeved, but polite, and said that the order of the bands would remain the same and that they were just anxious to get things rolling.  I questioned the wisdom of this decision, but it wasn't my choice to make.  I had a feeling it might be a little difficult for LyinHeart to go on after M!SS CRAZY.  Nothing against that band, but any time a local act shares the stage with a national act, it can be a bit daunting and going on after can lessen the enthusiasm of the audience.

 

Skitzo Effect went on first and they have a small but loyal following.  They put on a similar show to what I'd seen previously when they were at The Reverb.  I spent part of my time helping M!SS CRAZY load in so my daughters probably heard more than me.  They came outside at their earliest convenience not liking Skitzo Effect at all.  It was funny hearing my 12 and 9 year old daughters, but they were in full agreement and glad to be outside where they couldn't hear it anymore.  The Skitzo guys are great and a fun group, though, and they have fans that love what they do.

 

M!SS CRAZY went on second and Markus got to tweak the soundboard a bit to get things dialed in just right.  The band sounded as tight as I've seen them and they had every single person in the place down front to rock along.  The crowd was quite a bit larger than their previous appearance and a lot of new faces were there.

 

I took my daughters down in front of Kim for a couple of songs as they preferred to be back at the merch table for most of the night.  They really enjoyed the show, though, and made sure I took pictures of them with the band.

 

M!SS CRAZY had the fists pumping and heads banging throughout.  It was fun seeing all the young faces really getting into the music of M!SS CRAZY.  The energy level in the room was quite high throughout the set.  Kim did more background vocals this particular night.  Markus was in a rare aggressive mood, which really came through in his guitar playing.  Even Tom was in an aggressive mood and shone throughout the night on guitar.  The band really seemed to let out any pent up aggression and put it to great use throughout the set.  I haven't seen the energy level this high on stage before and it looked like an explosion was about to be set off.  Everything climaxed in the last song of the night and then Markus invited everyone to hang out and support LyinHeart as they closed out the night.

 

LyinHeart put on a spirited show.  It seemed that the audience did spread out a bit, but there were still many faithful down front rocking out with the band.  I missed a part of the show while I was helping M!SS CRAZY load out for the night, but was able to rock out to a couple of tunes I was familiar with.  These guys are really quite fun.

 

Throughout the night, my daughters actually ran the merch table!  My 9 year old was holding the cash and both were selling T-shirts, posters, and CD's.  It was hilarious to watch them work, not because they were doing anything funny, but because they are so young and were doing a job you'd see grown-ups doing.  They did it very well, too, and made sure everyone knew they could get their things autographed and that the band was available for taking pictures.

 

We loaded everyone up at the end of the night and headed back to Des Moines.  I passed everyone in our convoy of three vehicles and made it back to put my girls to bed.  They slept until about noon the next day, but were all smiles and full of small stories from the previous night as we spent the afternoon together.  I have to admit that it was fun sharing this experience with my kids.  They knew I'd talked a lot about M!SS CRAZY for the last year and they had been able to meet the band just a few weeks prior.  My youngest got to rock out with Kim sidestage during LyinHeart, both got to be down front on Kim's side of the stage for a couple songs, and they were both in awe that Markus just came up out of the blue and gave them a hug for being there and supporting them that night.  It was a great experience for the girls to see what their dad was really enjoying recently.

I contacted Paul about having M!SS CRAZY back for one more show before they leave Des Moines and head east for the remaining dates on their tour.  Paul was unsure if it would work very well with only one week's notice.  The other drawback was the fact that the only night free was July 5th.  How many people would turn out for a concert the night after celebrating Independence Day?  One week of notice and the day after a holiday; that seemed to be two strikes against M!SS CRAZY.

 

I proposed a show with Standing Damaged opening, as they are mostly a cover band at this time, LyinHeart taking the mid-slot, and M!SS CRAZY headlining this show.  Both opening bands had shared the stage with M!SS CRAZY before and both were fans and ready to do it again.  Both have a good following in Iowa and would be a real boost to a show that seemingly had everything going against it.

 

I reminded Paul that Waterstock was coming up in a few days and that M!SS CRAZY would be arriving in full make-up to make an appearance and they could use the opportunity to advertise the show.  I also got from Paul that if we confirmed the show fast enough, he could get his radio and print spots changed to reflect this show, too.  He also had an upcoming radio show with Brion James of KGGO that could be used to advertise the show.  Maybe the deck wasn't so stacked against M!SS CRAZY after all!

 

At Waterstock we handed out over 1200 flyers advertising the M!SS CRAZY shows at Shooters Hideaway and The Reverb in Cedar Falls, IA.  Markus and Kim took tons of pictures with fans and people that just wanted to know who they were as well as signed a ton of autographs.  Major Tom hung out in the VIP area and did the same.  Jimmy Z even came backstage with me and met a lot of fans along the front row of the Party Pit section taking pictures and signing autographs.  It was a huge day of simply marketing the band while just being in the right place at the right time.

 

Kim and Markus joined Paul at KGGO to record an upcoming Hairball show with Brion James on Monday night.  It was to air the next evening and they used every opportunity to advertise M!SS CRAZY's upcoming appearance at Shooters Hideaway.  Paul was very gracious with his air time and really made sure that the show and M!SS CRAZY took priority.  It went very well.

 

Show night was, in the words of Chris from Standing Damaged, "the largest show I've seen at Shooters Hideaway".  I've seen Naked Beggars at Shooters Hideaway and they didn't draw anywhere near the amount of people that M!SS CRAZY did this particular night.

 

The show started an hour late due to some technical difficulties, but it was ok since it was still early and an all ages show.  Each of the bands worked together to make sure that equipment was on and off stage quickly and efficiently to work for the benefit of the show and the fans.

 

Standing Damaged came out with a new guitar player and stuck to familiar cover tunes.  Chris mentioned to me that they were going to do one original song, but I have to admit that I missed it due to making sure other things were going as planned.  They got people ready for the headliner by doing some AC/DC at the end of their set, too.

 

LyinHeart is an original band from Iowa.  They have a fun CD out and hope to have a new one by the end of the year.  These guys are always energetic and involve the audience.  They even do a rousing cover of I Wanna Be Sedated to close the set.  It's obvious these guys have been around a while and work well together.  They are a really good segue into M!SS CRAZY.

 

M!SS CRAZY took the stage and most every single person was jammed to the front to see this show.  The crowd noise was loud and you could hear people singing along with the band as they rocked through their set list.  Everything they did got a roar of approval, from Markus' stage rap about relationships making you scream "I wish I could die", to Kim doing the splits, to Tom stepping to the front to deliver an emotional and aggressive solo, to Jimmy Z's rhythmic intros and fills.  The band was on fire and the fans were giving the energy right back to them.

 

I freaked out once during the night.  I had been down front taking pictures and heard that they were going to play a song for the first time since they had started this leg of the tour.  Kim stepped to the mic and said, "Brett, this one's for you".  My jaw dropped as they roared into Scream!  I was freaking out and headbanging like a teenager while singing along.  I'd been asking to hear that song and I finally got to hear it live for the first time.  There was a minor musical accident toward the end, but the energy was high and they played it with abandon.  I can't wait to hear this in the set more often.

 

The bands hung out a bit after the show, at least those members that were able to stay.  It was a great night of great music and a lot of people providing energy to make this a wonderful success.  There were many that came simply due to meeting the band at Waterstock.  I saw a ton of new faces that night.

 

I have to admit that I was getting a little sentimental this particular night as it may have been the last time I'd see the band live for a while.  Who knew how things would take a wonderful turn just days later?