Whatever my actual age, when the calendar flips to September, part of me will always be an anxious kid, sweating about new teachers, new clothes, change in general, and most especially the summer shrinking in the speeding distance, with unstoppable winter on the way.
The Big E, aka The Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, always felt like a final party, a junk-food feast with wild rides and memorable live-music performances, a last hurrah before homework really kicked in.
It’s where I saw my first-ever concerts in the ’70s, when I was a preteen with chipmunk cheeks, in awe of crooning Kenny Rogers and spoon-playin’ Mac Davis.
The fair still fills its schedule with performers on multiple stages. Here are a few of this year’s concert highlights.
The Sugarhill Gang with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Grandmaster Melle Mel (of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five) at the Court of Honor Stage on Saturday at 8 p.m. Free with Big E admission.
You’re a shy third grader and fussy eater, and you hear a stripped-down funky new song in which a guy, in rhyme, tells you a story that starts, “Ever went over a friend’s house to eat / and the food just ain’t no good? / I mean the macaroni’s soggy, the peas are mushed / and the chicken tastes like wood.” It changes your life. That was The Sugarhill Gang’s 1979 smash “Rapper’s Delight,” the first Top 40 rap hit in history, and the trio — original members Wonder Mike and Master Gee, plus newer addition Hendogg — team up with rap legend Grandmaster Melle Mel for a big show at the front of the fairgrounds.
Sheila E. at the Court of Honor Stage on Sunday at 8 p.m. Free with Big E admission.
The singer/songwriter and powerhouse percussionist ruled the airwaves in the mid-’80s with hits like “The Glamorous Life” and “A Love Bizarre,” working with Prince and many more stars over the years (including Ringo Starr, Beyoncé, Marvin Gaye, Herbie Hancock and Diana Ross). Her recent live shows have been high-energy and hit-filled, with a generous helping of Prince jams and more.
Night Ranger at the Xfinity Arena on Friday, September 29 at 7:30 p.m. Premium tickets are available, but some seating sections are free with Big E admission.
And speaking of mid-’80s, Night Ranger were MTV stars with their huge rock ballad and singalong “Sister Christian,” plus catchy driving tracks like “Don’t Tell Me You Love Me” and “(You Can Still) Rock in America.” The band, currently on its 35th Anniversary Tour, is still built around the core of original members Jack Blades (bass, vocals), Brad Gillis (lead and rhythm guitars) and Kelly Keagy (drums, vocals).
Over the years at The Big E, I’ve seen master guitarist Charo, Cheap Trick, Destiny’s Child, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Anita Ward, Yvonne Elliman, Maxine Nightingale and The Jack D’ Johns. Many a local musician has braved the crowds and the beckoning fried dough and French-fry stands to see their favorite artists in the flesh. Here are some of their stories.
Eric Poulin, the songwriting force behind Easthampton band The National Convention, remembers the “fabled day” when he and friends sat in the front row for two Christopher Cross sets in one afternoon in 2014.
“His first set was AMAZING. As the opening notes of ‘Sailing’ cascaded over us, I actually did feel mesmerized, like I was in a faraway place. After the set, I was able to snap a quick selfie with him.”
Poulin got the gang to stick around for Cross’ second set, too, and they grabbed the same front-row seats. “Following the second set, as we are chatting, who comes walking us to up but Christopher Cross himself. He thanks us for going to both shows and offers us some fresh hot mini donuts that he had just gotten from the stand across from the stage! At first I tried to play it cool and I said ‘no thanks’…then all at once I realized, wait — Christopher Cross has just offered me a hot mini donut. You’re going to say no to Christopher Cross? So, I had a donut. And it was delicious.”
Span of Sunshine frontman Steve Koziol saw the Everly Brothers in the mid-’90s.
“It took a while for people to notice their guitarist was [famed UK guitarist] Albert Lee. Beautiful harmonies, and the sound of the band dynamics was fantastic and loud in a good way. I realized I was at The Big E seeing these guys who had some influence on the Beatles, yet their band was more like The Who.”
Ray Mason was at the show, too. “Watching the Everly Brothers — with Buddy Emmons on pedal steel and Albert Lee on guitar — at The Big E with my wife Karen and my mom and dad (when they were still around) was and still is one of the highlights of my life.”
Drummer Gail Shapiro saw Little Richard at the fair in the late-’90s. “He was having so much fun that he didn’t want to end the show, but I could see that his band was definitely ready to quit!”
David Sokol (host of 93.9 The River’s “Sokol Heroes”) saw The Kinks’ Dave Davies in 2015. “It was quite rainy for the first show, which was in the afternoon, and I couldn’t help but think people must’ve casually strolled by the venue thinking there was a Kinks cover band on stage. Little did they know it was the legendary and groundbreaking Kinks guitarist and his crack band. And they sounded fantastic!”
When vocalist Brandee Simone was a teen circa 1998, she and a friend went to The Big E to see Lynyrd Skynyrd. “A few hours before the show, we thought we saw lead singer Johnny Van Zant walking through the crowded fairgrounds. We were so excited that we followed him all around the park for over an hour, tailing his every move, trying to work up the courage to talk to him. When we finally got close enough to ask, ‘Are you in Lynyrd Skynyrd?’ he just laughed and said ‘No, I wish.’ It wasn’t him after all — just a random dude in a black cowboy hat and pleather pants. He was flattered, though. My friend and I still laugh about it to this day.”