Girl at the Rock Shows

Saturday was one of those roasty and toasty days where leaving my house’s air conditioning seemed like such a task. Sure, I went out early in the morning to run some errands and co-host the radio show I have been helping out with here and there, but beyond that, I just wanted to sit in my house and do absolutely nothing. Unfortunately, the concert Gods had other plans for me, and just when the temperature had hit the highest point of the day, I had to peel myself off the couch, get in the car, and drive about forty minutes south to Mystic Lake Casino & Hotel. I’ll be honest, I was crabby as I started my adventure but, after I parked the car and started walking up to The Great Midwest Ribfest, I got lost in the excitement in the air, and all of the crabiness melted away (along with the make-up I had attempted to put on my face).

That’s right, everyone; Saturday was my second attended Ribfest for the year, even as a vegetarian. I always joke that nothing will stop me from going to a show that I want to see, and this is proof of that. My first Ribfest of the year was out in Fargo, North Dakota, because I wanted to see Eve 6. That one was fine and dandy, but something about this Ribfest in Prior Lake, Minnesota, just felt a bit cleaner, a bit more well organized. Don’t get me wrong, the smell of decadent ribs was tempting, but I stayed true to my vegetarianism that has lasted for over twenty years and bee-lined it for the massive stage that had been built in the parking lot of the casino.

It was only a short time after I got to the festival that the opening act, Letters to Cleo, was taking the stage. Letters to Cleo is a 90s band through and through. They may have been a bit of a one-hit wonder, with that hit being a cover of “I Want You To Want Me” from Cheap Trick, which was part of the film 10 Things I Hate About You, but this band proved on Saturday that they are so much more than that. Although the band has been playing since 1990 (with a couple of breaks here and there), they hit the stage with a sense of fury and passion that left me completely floored and in love. Every song was wrapped in a bow of perfection but also in a bow of fun that told the audience that, although they are well-rehearsed, this band genuinely still loves being on a stage and entertaining people. There was no point during their hour-long set where I felt that the members of this group were just going through the motions.

Letters to Cleo may not have been “my 90’s band,” but they were clearly that for other people in the audience. Vocalist Kay Hanley stopped multiple times to interact with people in the modest audience who had braved the heat and sun for their set, and every interaction was followed by Kay’s sincere thank you. She seemed surprised to see so many gen-xers singing along to these songs from a different time and was quick to call out some of the youngest fans in the audience who screamed their thanks for her work on various Disney shows, including Doc McStuffins. It was such a cute interaction, and it just added to the sense of fun and whimsy that Letters to Cleo brought to the stage.

Let’s go ahead and call out the elephant in the blog. There were a lot of great and amazing local shows happening in the Twin Cities on Saturday night (such as Palmfest, which I will be at for most of the day on Sunday), so why did I, as a vegetarian, choose to drive out of town to go to a Ribfest? Three words- Five For Fighting. I know this doesn’t seem like my typical act, but there’s just something about the musical genius of John Ondrasik (the man behind the Five For Fighting stage name), and I was not going to miss a chance to see that live.

Ondrasik has had a lot of hits over the years, from “Superman (It’s Not Easy)” in 2001 to, my personal favorite, “100 Years” in 2003, but it’s not all about his music. One of the things that has always sold me on this performer is his endless philanthropy. From raising money for causes that range from Autism to human trafficking, this man is constantly doing something to make the world a better place, and I feel like that’s a quality that rock stars can sometimes lose in the throws of fame. Not John. Even during his set on Saturday, he spent a long time talking about the causes he believes in, most notably, the military and supporting the families of fallen soldiers. Although I am not a huge pro-military kind of person, the way he chose his words and the points that he made throughout these talks were elegant, poignant, and full of an undeniable sense of passion and heart that was impossible to ignore.

Join on stage by a magnificent backing band, Five For Fighting’s time on stage only lasted about thirteen songs, but, due to the almost constant banter between band and audience throughout the show, it felt much longer than that. More importantly, by the time it was over, I felt a connection to this band that I never thought I would. Again, I have always had a soft spot for this group. I used to always sneak little licks and lines from John’s prominent piano parts into my original compositions that I wrote in college for my composing classes in college which made me feel connected to this group in an odd way, but that doesn’t even come close, to the connection that I felt on Saturday night.

By the end of the night, the sweat that had been dripping down my back had turned chilly by the soft breeze that had taken over a long with the night sky. I was tired and a little bit sunburnt, but I was happy, content, calm, and oh so full of a feeling of love and passion. I know there were a million places and a billion shows I could have been at on Saturday night, but I knew, by the end of the night, that I had made the right decision.

Line Up:

Letters to Cleo

Five For Fighting

Venue: Mystic Lake Casino & Hotel

Smell-O-Meter: Rotting flesh (AKA ribs)

Average Age of the Crowd: 47

Crowd Surfers- None

Stage Divers- 0

Mosh-ability- 0 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing Spotted

Fights- None Witnessed

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

Idiots Taken Out By Security – 0

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Letters To Cleo – 0

Five For Fighting – 0

Celebrity Sightings – None

Overall Score – 8 out of 10

Show on Deck — Palmfest! (Featuring: Cornbread Harris & Friends/ Cole Diamond / Martin Devaney and Friends / The Unnamed / Lifestyle Shakes / The Silent Treatment / Cindy Lawson / Monica LaPlante / Vacant / Murf / Daikiaju / The Black Widows / Goo Goo Mucks)

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