On a Bender at the Fairgrounds

We had a lot of fun at the Yolo County Fair on August 15! Josh had an in-service training day at work, and Pat is a bit under the weather and just doesn't have the energy for a 90-minute gig, so we were playing in "the-show-must-go-on" trio mode with Dave, Jim, and Lee. Folks were dancing, smiling, clapping. I'm told we sounded great, partly to the credit of Josh the Sound Guy, who placed the mics, rode the pots, and ground his teeth when a certain fiddler zoomed in and out of mic range. Sounded good to us on stage, too. A good sound system -- monitors and all -- meant that the tin whistle was right up there with the fiddle, and we could hear everyone up on stage.

So about 1 hour into our 90-minute set, the stage manager comes up between tunes and asks us if we can knock off a little early. Not the kind of request I usually like to hear. But he had a good reason -- and a few minutes later we were in the back of his Cushman cart and on our way to a date with Destiny; or more like a date with Dave Bender, the Channel 13 weather guy. Take a look at the clip at the KOVR 13 website! I figure we used up about 4 of our allotted 15 minutes of fame right there, and it may be the only chance we'll ever have to play backup for a tropical storm smacking into Texas off the Gulf of Mexico.

We'll be playing again on September 22 at Little Prague Bohemian Restaurant in Davis. Hope to see you there!

Fair Enough?

We're putting the last touches on a series of reels, jigs, strathspeys, and songs to keep you feeling cool this Thursday, August 16, at the Yolo County Fair! Look for us between 4:00 and 5:30 at the East Stage. The Fair starts this Wednesday, August 15, and you can download a complete PDF list of entertainers directly from the Fair's Official Website (or click here for the HTML version).

The Fair's free (though parking isn't), the food can't be beat, and the weather forecast for Thursday shows a high of only 91 degrees. Okay, so you won't need a jacket -- but that's still pretty mild. Once 5:30 rolls around and we pack up our cases, you can walk right into the Exhibit Hall next door to watch the taffy puller or a slicer-dicer demo, enter a raffle or two, and pick up all of the latest pencils, stickers, and refrigerator magnets from a variety of county service providers, or go line up for some of those amazing tacos, roast beef sandwiches, or chicken and corn.

It's such a lovely way to spend the evening!