The weather followed its script perfectly— scattered showers through the day, ending around 4 p.m. Just as predicted.
We drove from our home in northeast Iowa to the state capital under heavy skies, occasionally running the wipers when we’d hit a shower, but we arrived in Des Moines to fluffy white clouds and a pleasant breeze.
The change in weather was a relief, because we were about to perform in two outdoor shows in the final night of the Iowa State Fair.
Bob Dorr, iconic Iowa band leader, harmonica player, and radio host and producer, had included us again in Bob Dorr’s Iowa Music Revue, his “cavalcade of stars” from around the state.
This was our third time performing in the road show at the State Fair. (The 2020 appearance—along with the entire fair—had been cancelled because of the pandemic.)
Bob had given us specific instructions to a back route into the fair. The main route, coming in from Interstate 235, was always backed-up, and we were glad to avoid the mile-long stop-and-go traffic that most of the fair-goers endured.
Instead, we followed a winding residential street almost to the back gate we were authorized to enter, parking near the stage to unload our equipment.
One of the many advantages of playing with Bob Dorr is that Bob takes care of all the arrangements, from scheduling the gigs to transporting and setting up most of the main equipment. All we have to do is show up and perform.
We found Bob sitting in his white cargo van with his wife, Carolyn, waiting for the previous act to finish and load out, so he could back in and have the fair’s student FFA workers help haul his equipment to the stage.
Right on schedule, the early band onstage finished its show, loaded up, and Bob got his gear in. We hauled our own gear—two guitars, a mandolin, an amp, a bass, and drumsticks—as did the other 13 musicians from all around east and central Iowa.
The State Fair sound crew scurried around setting up monitors and mikes. Cables snaked across the floor of the stage and up the concrete walls, clamped together to keep them out of the way as much as possible.
Sound Check
Bob started the sound check as soon as equipment was in place, beginning with him on his drum kit, kicking the bass pedal and getting the sound level right in the monitors, so he and everyone else on stage could hear what was going on.
A State Fair sound crew man walked around the stage with an iPad, adjusting levels as various singers and players came on to be tested. Jeff Petersen, Bob’s long-time music partner (41 years!) tested his Gibson Flying V guitar and vocal mike.
Others went through their checks, individually and playing in groups, to test the balance—Nolan Schroeder (sax and bass), Buddy Franklin (bass and keys), Kathryn Severing Fox (violin), Frank Strong (harmonica and vocals), Bryan Sink (vocals, guitar, percussion), Tom Barry (sax), Maki Dervo (vocals, guitar, pan flute), Barb Farrow (stumpf fiddle), Cindy Grill (vocals), Catherine Rohlf (vocals), John Rohlf (drums), Bob Pace (vocals and guitar), and the Sleepy Bones Allison Band. (When Bob Dorr promises a big show, he delivers a big show.)
The groups performed a number of partial songs as part of the sound check, but nothing long enough that they violated Bob’s rule of Revue performances: No rehearsals! Almost every group that performed last night was playing those songs with that set of musicians for the first time.
The fair crowd had been gathering in the bleachers before and during sound check. It was heartening to see that attendance was up again, after a subdued 2021 fair.
While waiting at the back of the stage for our turn to step forward at the sound check, we scanned the growing crowd in the bleachers and saw a couple we knew from home. Waving at them, we caught their eyes and they smiled and waved back. It’s always special to see people we know in the audience.
Backstage, musicians introduced themselves to each other and chatted. There were numerous introductions for us—Maki, Bob Pace, Bryan’s wife Corrie, Frank (whom we’d seen in previous years but hadn’t talked with). The Rohlfs.
Another of Bob’s criteria for taking part in the Revue has to be general decency. Virtually everyone we’ve met backstage at these shows is kind and generous, in addition to talented.
Pre-Show
After sound check, most of us wandered through the green rooms (backstage waiting rooms). While hunting for water, Cindy found the catering platters in a mini-fridge and set out sandwich supplies and trays of fruits and vegetables, so everyone who wanted to could have a bite before the shows took up the rest of the evening.
But we couldn’t find water in either of the green rooms. Fortunately, Maki, who had wandered off and was chatting with the security crew, had learned about a barrel of water bottles stuck in ice by the loading dock, and he clued in the rest of us.
We gratefully grabbed bottles and prepared for the first show, in half an hour. For some people, that meant more chatting. For others, it required changing into stage clothes. (You can tell it’s almost show time when Cindy Grill, of the band Hot Tamale and the Red Hots, slips on her red fringed dress and matching high heels!)
Show Time
None of the Sleepy Bones band members were scheduled to go on until 24 minutes into the show, so we started out in the bleachers, watching with the audience.
Bob has played the State Fair for 39 years, so he knows his audience, and they know him. His experience as a band leader and radio host and producer are obvious as he ably transitions between numbers and introduces musicians as they join him. He usually makes the introductions personal—how he met the musician, how their professional lives have intersected—honing in on the interesting bits to keep the audience’s attention.
Sleepy Bones slipped out of the audience and around the concrete stage wall to strap on his guitar and join the growing band out front. When Bryan Sink also entered, they made 10 musicians performing—not yet the peak of the night.
Sleepy’s mom and dad were now backstage, watching what they could from behind the black barrier that hid the entrance walkway from the audience. Bob’s long-time stage manager, Dennis MacRunnel, checked his schedule and indicated when it was time to go onstage.
It’s a finely tuned performance machine—new musicians enter the stage while departing ones unplug and leave, with Bob talking all the while, introducing the people coming on, smoothing the transition with no noticeable gaps in the show.
It was clear from early on that it was a good crowd, and that was even clearer to us when our band was right in front of them, feeling their attention and enthusiasm. Sleepy Bones played “Texas Flood” on the guitar, for the first time ever with a horn section. (No rehearsals!)
The audience reaction was good from the start of the song (Bob always sets up Sleepy Bones as some sort of string prodigy, so listeners are primed to be entertained), but then came the part in the solo where Sleepy takes his guitar off over his head and quickly switches to hanging the strap from one shoulder, so he can play behind his back.
That is always a crowd pleaser, and last night was no exception. It’s great fun to see the audience reaction from the stage, as people realize what’s going on. Many audience members looked shocked, with jaws dropping, and more cell phones came out to record the performance.
When he finished the solo and started singing again (while still playing behind his back), the applause and whoops swelled. It’s a sweet moment, the kind that makes the long drives and late nights worth it.
The show continued with other, more seasoned performers, who also had great receptions. At the end of the show, Bob called almost everyone on stage for a joint number, “She’s Got the Mojo and the Say So,” where he brought up audience members who, like him, were wearing a zydeco tie (or, in one case, carrying a washboard).
And the first show was over.
Everyone got a half-hour breather between shows, a chance to drink water and sit down. It’s an opportunity to mix and meet people, and for those of us who returned to the audience side of the stage, to connect with strangers and long-lost friends. (Including a reunion after a 35-year lapse, in our case.)
The second show, now in the dark but with continued great weather, had fewer attendees than the first one, which is typical.
But everything went smoothly, thanks to Bob’s careful planning and Dennis’s strict enforcement of the schedule. The audience still reacted well, and the 10:30 ending approached quickly.
Heading Out
Then it was time to pack up and disperse. Bob, John Rohlf, and Buddy Franklin bore most of load-out burden. Our trio just had to pack up our own equipment and, after some quick farewells, we were off the fairgrounds within 15 minutes of the show’s end.
The drive home was long and sleepy at that hour, but we arrived back around 1:30 and went to bed almost immediately.
State Fair 2022 is in the books, and, once again, Bob Dorr pulled off a successful set of shows.
We were thrilled to be part of them.
