BoDeans
2006.09.02 Minnesota State Fair • St. Paul, MN

Sam Llanas, Kurt Neumann, Bukka Allen, Eric Holden, Noah Levy

Saturday September 2, 2006
Minnesota State Fair - St. Paul, MN
Opener: The Nada's, Gear Daddies

I guess it's almost becoming tradition to see the guys play Labor Day Weekend (third year in a row!) So, in true BoDiva fashion, we hit the road bright and early to get to the hotel in time for a few jello shots and to get to the grounds in time for the radio broadcast at 1:00pm. We were successful on all accounts but I think we scared a few of the locals as we waited for the guys to arrive at the radio booth.

They came on right around 1:00 (right after the butter sculpting contest - what do you expect, it is a fair after all! The only problem was that it was cloudy and cool all day, right up until they brought out the butter. Then it was sunny and hot, and of course all the sculptures were melting.)

Kurt and Sam each had their acoustic guitars and were accompanied by Bukka on his accordion. As everyone was getting ready to begin, we could hear the last song the station was playing (Cat Steven's Wild World) and Sam was strumming along.

When they finally started, they spoke briefly about a new album & traveling around the country. Sam mentioned that they were following the heat, and that everywhere they went it was so hot. The DJ piped in that "no wonder the butter melted...you came!" (this comment became even funnier when shortly after the guys left, it clouded over again and got cooler.) While they were talking about traveling, Kurt mentioned in general that some of them [the crowd] travel with them. And the DJ brought up the fact that the BoDivas were there as well. Kurt smiled and said something along the lines that 'yeah, we know some of them'.

It wasn't long before they started playing a few songs which consisted of Looking For Me Somewhere, Angels (which sounded great acoustic!) and then finished up with Naked. We of course got a few strange glances from the crowd when we sang "Hold You" & "Control", but got a sweet smile from Kurt at the same time. :)

The guys took off quickly after the radio show. We meandered around the fair grounds a short while until we walked past the grandstand and heard Good Things. Hung around there while they did soundcheck. Mostly just bits and pieces of songs including Good Things, Fadeaway and Don't Be Lonely. Then we were off again wandering the fairgrounds in the pursuit of deep fried candy bars. (what can I say, we were intrigued and weren't leaving without trying one- highly recommended that if you have the chance, you should do the same. But be sure to have someone just as sweet to share it with!)

There were two openers, the Nada's and the Gear Daddies. Both sounded great, the Nada's got some people square dancing, the Gear Daddies had everyone moving (and quite a few pushing forward) but sounded great nonetheless. They even covered Little Red Corvette (ahh...the memories...)

The guys took the stage just after 9:00pm and went right into:
1. Fadeaway
2. Texas Ride Song - just thought you should know, jumping is contagious. :)
3. 617 - Sam introduced Noah to the crowd by saying...."tonight on the drums....local hero....(turns to Noah, laughing)....what's your name again?.....Noah Levy!"
4. Idaho
5. Say About Love
6. Good Work w/Batman - also included the reprise ending.
7. Don't Be Lonely
8. Still the Night w/Sedated
9. Nobody Loves Me - including a bit of the Sammy Dance. :)
10. Stay On - Before they began, Sam pointed over to one of the big rides on the mid-way and asked if anyone had gone on that, and then went on to dedicate this to anyone that did.
11. Makes U
12. Runaway
13. Naked w/Rickshaw Riding - Kurt jokingly shook his head at us and tried to shush us when we sang the "Hold You" part.
14. Closer To Free
---encore---
15. Paradise - performed by Kurt, Sam and Bukka and of course left many of us weak in the knees.
16. Feed the Fire w/Gimme Shelter, Slow Ride, Midnight Hour & Don't Cha - Sam really surprised us when he threw that Pussycat Dolls' song. Haven't heard that since Sheboygan last December!
17. Good Things - we jumped, they jumped and vice versa. It's just a great way to end it, that's all there is to it!