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When the Illinois State Fair comes to town, the local
nightlife business changes. With the extra entertainment booked at the
fair, the influx of thousands of strangers with money in their pockets and
time on their hands, and the generally increased excitement level of the
entire community, Springfield morphs into a raucous party town for 10 days,
like some teenage kid getting goofy at his first party. Local bars’ being allowed to stay open until 3
a.m. during the fair if their proprietors so desire certainly adds to the
festive mood. It used to be that proprietors had to let the city officials
know of their plans in advance, but these days the laws are relaxed and
each bar decides on a nightly basis whether to remain open for the extra
hours. I think it’s a good experience for any bar considering a 3
a.m. license — similar to sending high-school students home with
those fake babies to experience in some small way the consequences of
producing real ones. As a performing musician, I’ve found that
playing the bars during fair time is a mixed bag: Sometimes the joint is
jumping with excited strangers, and other nights you can nap during set
four, ’cause everyone else is. It depends on who’s playing the
grandstand or the beer tents; what political party is celebrating what;
whether it’s officially Illinois wine, swine, or equine day at the
fair; and other variables to numerous too mention and too complicated to
explain. All you need to know is that bars can and do stay open later
during fair time, and often bands play longer as a result.
And what about those ubiquitous beer tents that seem
to be more numerous each year or at least change location every few years
so that it appears that there are more of them? I believe it was
merrymaking guv Big Jim Thompson who brought back those portable party
palaces and, with them, live music consisting mostly of area bands.
I’m unable to find out much about the history of beer at the fair,
except that it was first sold in 1933. I believe that entertainment in the
outdoor tents was out of fashion for years, until Big Jim taught
Illinoisans how to party with dignity again. Little Jim — Jim Edgar
— kept them but limited their numbers and use, leaving beer tents as
a peripheral but essential part of the fair experience. The entertainment lineups for the 2007 beer tents are
more diverse than I’ve ever seen, I think, featuring big bands, rock
bands, bluegrass bands, tribute bands, country bands, dance bands, blues
bands, and many other bands (but I’m not mentioning any specific
names, lest I get in trouble). With perhaps no venue in town that has a
large stage, good PA, nice lights, and decent listening room, a beer-tent
gig is a big deal for local groups. It’s a great way to get your name
in front of thousands of strangers while playing in a near-concert setting
where your local fans can see you as they’ve never seen you before.
Just remember as that Fillmore feeling arises to watch out for the
occasional pop-up thunderstorm, drummers with heatstroke, flying bugs
headed for singers’ opened mouths, and too much room-temperature
beer. I think we’ve covered enough to be eligible as
official sponsors of the fair. This year’s theme is “Educate
and Celebrate” . . . oops, I mean “Celebrate and
Educate.” Let’s get — and keep — our priorities
straight.
Contact Tom Irwin at tirwin@illinoistimes.com.
This article appears in Aug 2-8, 2007.
