The State Fair of Texas and Post Storm Apocalypse



View of Dallas Skyline through the Ferris wheel. Photo courtesy:  www.semissourian.com

My escapades began on a typical Thursday afternoon this week. I was headed to the fair via DART train on a mission to not only stuff my face, but see the latest string of new local music artists that had made the cut this year. For those that have been already, (and those that haven't) you know that the fair has tons of stuff to do and see. (click schedule to see the daily list of events.) But I had a plan geared toward music...keyword HAD. Four bands that I was looking out for were:

•  Red White and You! a contemporary musical flashback show band that features songs from the icons of American pop music. 
• The Killdares a very cool, edgy alternative Celtic rock band 
• The Night Owls, a 10-piece soul band from Austin, Texas 
• Jolie Holiday, an international country music star born in Dallas. 

I got to the fair around 2 p.m. after a few mishaps on the wrong DART train, excited to spend some time trying out all the new fixin's at the food stands such as the The Texas Fried Chicken In A Waffle Cone and the Fried Chocolate Maple Bacon Amazeballz before the shows later on that afternoon. 

But, about two hours in the clouds turned gray and the wind began to rustle. I rushed to the Chevy main stage to see if the Night Owls were at least setting up. Nothing. No one was there. I bought a corn dog at a nearby stand, were the lady that served me warned of a rough storm coming through. The disappointment set in. It was no longer going to be the great day I had hoped for. I asked the same lady if things were going to shut down and she nodded with a yes with a look of misfortune. 

It wasn't ten minutes after that when the sky turned dark, the winds started screaming and the rain began hammering down. I took cover in a nearby stockyard building where others began swarming in. A guy with a look of terror rushed through the crowd yelling "It's a tornado, it has to be!" I scratched my head. Really? Surely not.

It wasn't a tornado, and it only lasted about 30 minutes, but it was rough. I made my way through the gusty, cold post winds and deep puddles back toward the train station. Except for police cars and emergency vehicles with their lights on, the place looked like a ghost town.

Fast forward hours later...HOURS later, because the power was out literally everywhere and the train was malfunctioning and at a stand still, I finally made it back to my car. It was about 8 p.m. now. Most people would have called it a day at that point, but not me. I am pretty stubborn when it comes to a good time. So, after traversing my way around the dark, mostly powerless city, I headed to Deep Ellum, hoping there was a chance that they one had power and two had music... and three, well I needed a beer too.

I was in luck. Adair's Saloon on Commerce Street was open and had a band playing. Also, just right next door The Free Man, one of my favorite bars, was also open and had some swingin' good times music going on from the sound of it.

Adair's had a band called Callahan Divide. Good band that played a few originals that sounded similar to Weezer, and some random covers that included Johnny Cash. I would say they were ok, about a 6 out of 10, but not very memorable.

The Free Man had a band called The Free Loaders, which I found very refreshing. They play mostly jazz covers, and the singer is the drummer and his voice sounds akin to Louie Armstrong. This guy, John I believe his name is, put on quite a drunken show, complete with potty mouth, sometimes offensive comedy. The place was actually pretty full so I believe like me the folks there were entertained, or just didn't want to sit in their dark homes due of the massive power outages across town. You can get a better feel for this one-of-a-kind band by visiting their homepage.

Well, that's it for this particular adventure. It was quite unfortunate that I wasn't able to speak more about the musical experience at the fair. Have you been to the fair yourself? If so, what are your favorite things to do there?


Here is a slideshow of pictures showing some of the experiences Thursday. If for some reason the music doesn't play, then here is the link to the song: Bad Mountain "Even On A Rainy Day"