Thursday, August 7, 2014

Orange County Fair

A friend of mine and I have a routine... you might even call it a tradition. Every year we go to the Orange County Fair to see a concert. This is a friend who was, many years ago, my boss. I was just getting started in my career and I'll always be grateful to him for helping me along when I was just getting started.

The challenge is that we have very different tastes in music. For a few years this frustrated me, and I wanted to dig in my heels and insist we see bands that we both like. Well, bands that we both like are few and far between and it's taken me a couple of years to figure out that our tradition has nothing to do with seeing great bands. It's all about friendship. I've changed my perspective, and if the bands are half-way decent, well, that's just icing on the cake!

Which brings me to last night's band at the Fair. Really makes me feel old when I'm seeing a band whose biggest hit was in 1972!! Yes, you read that right, 1972. I have a great video clip I captured last night on my iPhone, but unable to upload it on blogger. If you are from my generation, it would have brought a big smile to your face... Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple! Every kid who has ever picked up a guitar knows how to play this song. I would never go see Deep Purple on my own, but I must say, the band was great. We had a blast!

No cameras allowed, but I couldn't resist snapping a couple cell phone shots as we were walking through the fair on our way to see Deep Purple (opening band was Blue Oyster Cult).




Rock On!  Linking with Skywatch Friday
Click on the link to check out great skies from around the world!!

31 comments:

  1. I always love the state and county fairs!! Your pics are the next best thing to being there myself!! Thanks for sharing!! Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice shots. And Deep Purple brings backs good memories of my brother playing their records over and over again.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice shots from the fair. Well framed.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very nice photos you have in this post. I am glad you have decided to be a little mischievous.

    Have a great weekend!

    Alexander
    Alex's World! - http://www.kakinan.com/alex

    ReplyDelete
  5. What !! is Blue Oyster Cult still around, mind you I did not go much on them prefering Deep Purple or Uriah Heap

    ReplyDelete
  6. Great shots from the fair.. Our state fair should be happening soon. Sometimes they have some big name musicians.. Have a happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Those are wonderful photos!



    ALOHA from Honolulu
    ComfortSpiral
    =^..^= . <3


    ReplyDelete
  8. You always have such great shots. Wish I was at the fair!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I do the very same....try and sneak in a photo or two...even if it's not permitted.

    Golly, the last fair I went to was in Tucson, a decade ago.
    Loved your sky shots.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wonderful photos! Glad you took them :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. I can't resist clicking photos too, even when it isn't permitted. Wonderful shots.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Old feeling to these photos, with the less intense colours!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Great shots for SWF ~ unique time with your friend ~ what it is all about ~ people ~

    artmusedog and carol (A Creative Harbor)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yes, you are right, it's all about the people. Neat photos of the fair.

    ReplyDelete
  15. No cameras allowed? AT ALL? at the OC Fair?? are you serious?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No cameras allowed in the concert venue. I would have had to go all the way back to the main gate, get my hand stamped, find the car and store the camera during the concert and hope it didn't get stolen... so I chose not to take my DSLR. Kind of a silly rule, I think, with the high quality images you can take on your phone now.

      Delete
  16. great fair shots! and i was going to say that all 3 of my boys practiced that song on the guitar too haha

    ReplyDelete
  17. This sure is a joyous occasion.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Though it was a bit before I was old enough to appreciate rock (I was 10 in '72), I certainly remember "Smoke on the Water" - in fact, I can't get the chorus out of my head now, so thanks a lot for the brain worm there, bud! ;-) I loved Blue Oyster Cult in high school, so it sounds like a great concert to me! Glad you and your friend had such a good time!

    Your midway photos are a lot of fun, especially the Ferris wheel (I learned a lot about the history of that particular amusement park fixture earlier this summer when I read "The Devil in the White City" about the World's Fair in Chicago in1893, for which the Ferris Wheel was invented). That tram ride looks like a nifty way to get around the fairgrounds, far above the madding crowds (though people watching at one of these things is half the fun!) Your photos of it have a wonderful, surreal quality to them ~ especially the second one. Fun post!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh what fun. I am familiar with those bands.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Your images are priceless. I love fairs such as these.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Deep Purple eh! and no cameras allowed,what a pity.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Great captures! I love such photos!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Nice shots ... fun to shoot when it's not allowed :) Deep Purple and Blue Oyster Cult, wish I was there!

    ReplyDelete
  24. it's a long time ago we visited the Orange County Fair!

    ReplyDelete
  25. I sure remember Deep Purple, they were great :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Ahhh...Deep Purple and BOC. Two of my favorites from back in the day. Sounds like a great time! You got some terrific shots from the fair. Love the treatment you gave to them.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Wow, Deep Purple and Blue Oyster Cult; how iconic!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Fun pictures and fun memories even if you didn't get pictures ...., and you have the right idea about friendship.

    ReplyDelete
  29. I've been going to the OC Fair for a long long time. I'm not sure why, but we didn't make it this year.
    You took some really nice photos.

    ReplyDelete