Not everyone loves the state fair. (In fact, Northampton duo Simple Friend has a catchy minor-key ditty called “Gotta Get Away from the Fair,” with the memorable closing couplet, “And we’ve gotten awfully sick / from all that fried food on a stick.”)
But for me, The Big E in West Springfield is a yearly must-see thanks to the concerts at the front-and-center Court of Honor Stage, which are always free (though there’s a cost to enter the fair).
Destiny’s Child? “Weird Al” Yankovic? Yes, they performed on that stage for crowds so vast that the happy mob of onlookers stretched all the way back to the fried dough and popcorn stands on both sides of the main thoroughfare.
But the list of fun and free Big E shows of years past goes way beyond Beyonce and Al: Charo, Yvonne Elliman, Maxine Nightingale, Anita Ward, Joey Molland of Badfinger, Cuba Gooding Sr. & the Main Ingredient … names of yesteryear in terms of chart success, but their vocal, musical and performing skills shone brightly in the here and now. I’m glad I was in the audience for them all.
This year the Court of Honor Stage has a promising lineup, and the first highlight on the schedule is vocalist Gloria Gaynor, appearing Saturday and Sunday at both 3 and 8 p.m. Her song “I Will Survive” was a 1979 worldwide disco anthem and will forever be a part of pop culture (and it continues to rule at weddings, ’70s cover band shows and roller rink retro nights everywhere). Her chugging version of the oft-recorded Motown classic “Never Can Say Goodbye” also reached the top 10, and her catalog has plenty of should’ve-been hits, like the spunky “(If You Want It) Do It Yourself” and the swirling “Casanova Brown.”
The Cowsills — the real-life family band from Newport, Rhode Island, who inspired the TV show “The Partridge Family” — brings its harmony-filled sunshine pop to the stage Wednesday and Thursday at 3 and 8 p.m.
I first heard The Cowsills thanks to their chipper and brassy theme to ABC’s “Love, American Style,” though their biggest songs were a cover of the title track from the 1968 Broadway hit “Hair” and the AM radio staple “The Rain, The Park & Other Things” (aka the “flower girl” song).
Their albums were full of other worthy tracks, upbeat yet wistful, like “What Is Happy,” “We Can Fly” and my personal favorite, “Painting the Day,” its vaudevillian swing fitting right in with that era’s hits by Spanky & Our Gang, The 5th Dimension and The Monkees.
These days on tour, The Cowsills are Paul, Susan and Bob, and YouTube clips of recent gigs show they’ve still got their harmonizing skills, and put on shows that have power-pop energy (and lots of hyper sibling banter).
Stephen “Bish” Bishop was a welcome presence on the ’70s and ’80s airwaves, his clear voice sparkling on radio faves like “On and On,” “Save It For a Rainy Day” and “It Might Be You” (the theme from the classic Dustin Hoffman film “Tootsie”). He’s also a focal point of one of the most famous scenes in “National Lampoon’s Animal House” (playing the folk singer on the stairs, aka “Charming Guy with Guitar”). Bishop performs Sept. 26 through Sept. 29 at 3 and 8 p.m.
Mark Farner was the lead singer and lead guitarist of Grand Funk Railroad and penned two of their best-loved original songs, the epic 10-minute FM favorite “I’m Your Captain (Closer To Home)” and the timelessly poppy “Bad Time,” a song you definitely know from the radio even if the title doesn’t ring a bell. Farner still plays his band’s biggest hit, a heavy bubblegum version of “The Loco-Motion.” See him Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 at 3 and 8 p.m.
Ken Maiuri can be reached at clublandcolumn@gmail.com.
Visit TheBigE.com for details about these shows and the full 2016 concert schedule.