Published: July 24, 2008 10:16 am         

Fairgoers applaud ‘Hootie’

Fairgoers swarmed the grandstands Wednesday night for a performance from Grammy-winning recording artists Hootie and the Blowfish. The show was part of their Homegrown Tour.

Band members played more than 20 songs in their set, from fan favorites like “Let Her Cry,” “Time” and “Hold My Hand” to a track titled “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” from singer Darius Rucker’s upcoming solo country album. The band also played versions of REM’s “Losing My Religion” and Led Zeppelin’s “Hey Hey (What Can I Do).”

In the time leading up to the beginning of the show, bumper-to-bumper traffic on C.R. 34 was visible from the grandstands. Fairgoers poured up the stairs and into seats for almost two hours, and over three quarters of the track seats were filled before the show began.

The band used an impressive stage setup, consisting of nine flat-screen TVs, eight motorized lights and eight giant strobes. During most songs, multicolored textures floated across the televisions, although one song was accompanied by street shots.

While performing “State Your Peace,” a track off their 2005 album “Looking for Lucky,” images of freethinkers George Carlin, Bob Dylan, Albert Einstein and comedian/philosopher Bill Hicks, among many others, scrolled through.

Before Hootie and the Blowfish took the stage, the Drew Davis Band performed. The group’s rock-meets-country a la Big and Rich sound won over the crowd, who was happy to clap and stomp along, although not with the fervor reserved for the main act.

The Drew Davis Band consists of singer Drew Davis, seven-time Grammy nominee Roger Malinowski on keyboard, former USC music professor Mo Levone on bass and Malibu-born Loren Ellis on guitar.

The group played nine songs, one of which was a brief cover version of “Gimme Three Steps” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

As part of their Homegrown Tour, Hootie and the Blowfish members ask attendees to fill a school bus with school supplies at every stop to be delivered to a local school in need. At the first concert of the tour in Charleston, S.C., attendees filled a 55-passenger school bus for the Charleston County School District.

“I think things are going pretty will, but they’ll go better during the concert,” Middlebury Boys & Girls Club Director Bill Greene said.

Greene took a turn manning the bus at the fair, co-sponsored by the Goshen, Nappanee and Middlebury Boys & Girls Clubs, as well as the Tolson Center in Elkhart.

“We’re expecting a good turnout tonight,” Greene said.

Donations were accepted from 10 a.m. until partway through the concert. When Greene was working, three to four seats were filled. During the show, it was announced that the bus had been almost completely filled.