Arts & Entertainment
Freak shows continue to amaze
By Mark Hain and
William Rudolph
Staff Reviewers _
"/ am not an animal!' ’
-John Merrick, the "Elephant
Man."
The famous 19ih century “freak
of nature” may not have been at the
1989 Nebraska State Fair, but his
20th century equivalents arc making
appearances this week at the state
fairgrounds.
It used to be that freak shows
meant the Gorilla Woman, who
metamorphosed from a lovely young
thing to a fierce ape-ette in front of
your very eyes. Or the Alligator Man.
Or the 90-year-old tattooed woman.
Or the infamous B.J. Reed (“Don’t
be shocked by what you see!”), vic
tim of UH> much reefer.
But this year the focus has shifted.
Instead of exploiting humans, the
current freak show fall collection
emphasized our four- (and some
times five-) legged friends.
It’s an animal rights activist’s
worst nightmare.
The shows started off tamely
enough, with the World’s Smallest
Horse. For only one coupon (55
cents), you too had the chance to
mingle with Little Diamond -- “not a
pony, but a horse!” Despite the fact
that Little Diamond undoubtedly was
as cute as a wee small button, no one
actually seemed to know his actual
size. The sign proclaimed he was just
10 inches tall at birth. According to
the tape running through the loud
speaker, our equine buddy was a
mere eight inches.
Around the next bend, the exhibi
tions took a darker turn. Instead <)
friendly little farm critters, scuttling
through the sawdust was the world’s
largest rat. “The Rat ~ Alive and
Real! A sight you’ll never forget!
Most Unbelievable! Different'
Strange! And BIG! Scare the entire
family!” For two coupons, luck)
fair-goers could have the opportunity
to pal around with a four-foot long,
100-pound rodent who drank nearly
four gallons of water a day. If the
enormous airbrushed backdrop was
to be believed, this rat was not only
huge, but green, with bulging rco
eyes, yellow fangs dripping bltxx;
and a scabby, diseased tail the length
of Burnett Hall. Interestingly
enough, a small child collected the
coupons at the entrance to the rat’s
lair, even though “The Rat, the Giant
Rat” was kept in a steel cage for our
See FREAK on 141
Food highlights
fair experience
By Debra Witt
Staff Reporter
The Slate Fair. For many, the
words conjure up memories of
showing livestock, riding the Fer
ris wheel and eating.
Foods like cotton candy, com
dogs and caramel apples arc the
highlight of the lair for many.
For two fair vendors, hearty
fair-goer appetites are what keep
them coming back each year.
Darold and Norma Lee Hahn of
Tecumsch said they take their food
stand to four state fairs each year
because it “brings in money.”
Daily profits for the Hahns
range from $50 to $1,000, he said.
According to the Hahns, the
money food vendors make is what
gets them through 10 15-hour
days.
Michelle Wissingcr, who is
with The Mighty Blue Grass
Shows of Tampa, Fla., bases her
stand’s profits on luck, saying the
stand makes ‘‘a lot, if we’re
lucky.”
Although Wissingcr’s partner,
Mike Shurtliff of Clarksburg,
W.Va., said he is in the fair-con
cessions business to make money,
they both agreed that ‘‘meeting all
the people is nice, loo; every
body’s friendly.”
Ruth and Bill Berglund of Al
bion, owners of Ru-Bi’s Road
Runner Food Stand, also said their
profits keep them returning to
county and stale fairs each year.
Ruth added that their profits are
> more pleasant because he and her
husband ‘ meet a lot of nice
people.”
1 , I
Meiiasa McRaynolds/Daily Hebraiika.i
Christopher Peavy, employee of Kim Laine Concessions
for 11 years, adorns apples with caramel to make a fair
time favorite. The company, based in Springfield, Mo.,
covers 18 state fairs a year, from Florida to Nebraska.
■ - - - -- - - - - ---
mixture of local, national
bands to play in Lincoln
By Mick Dyer
Staff Reviewer
A variety of local and national
bands will be playing in Lincoln this
week. Make sure your homework is
done early, so you don’t have to miss
some of these great performers.
Tonight through Saturday, Magic
Slim and the Teardrops will play at
the Zoo Bar, 136 N. 14th St. Magic
Slim has made fairly regular appear
ances at the Zoo Bar over the years.
And those who have had the opportu
nity to listen to him play the guitar
probably will tell you he’s one of the
best. At any rate, the Zoo is nearly
always filled when Magic Slim and
the Teardrops arc in town. That
should say something.
But this week there is one more
reason to see Magic Slim, besides
hearing good Chicago blues. The
band is recording tracks (or a live
album from the Zoo Bar this week.
Don’t miss the chance to be part of
this piece of Lincoln music history.
Who knows what will happen?
Tonight Brain Hammer and Leafy
Green Things will play at Duffy’s
Tavern, 1412 O St. Brain Hammer
has a long history of entertaining
Lincoln audiences with its raw and
irreverent rock ‘n’ roll with a humor
ous twist. But they’re calling it quits
after this show.
Leafy Green Things simply defies
musical description, except it can
be a lot of fun if you're not uptight
about innovative music played by
guys covered with hair. Definitely
not going straight to the top playing
three-chord rock.
Thursday, Interstate 5, southeast
Nebraska’s premiere lip-sync band,
will bring its show to Bash Riprocks,
upper level of 238 N. 11th St.
Thursday afternoon, the Jail
Breakers and Little Charlie and the
Nightcats will play at Blucsfcst ’89
outside of the Nebraska Union. The
event is sponsored by IBM and the
University Program Council and is
free to students.
The Jail Breakers, a hard-driving
blues band from Omaha, with a keen
interest in having fun, will open the
festival at 3:30 p.m.
Little Charlie and the Nightcats
will perform a houserockin’ brand of
“jump blues” beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Take it from blues guitarist Robert
Cray: “The explosive guitar of Little
Charlie and the cool harmonica and
soulful singing of Rick Esurin is a
hard combination to beat.”
According to Charles “Little
Charlie” Baty, lead guitarist for the
Nightcats, the band’s sound is a
unique blend of blues, jazz, rock
abilly and swing, “made for danc
ing.” Baty said the band combines a
sense of humor with serious musi
cianship, which enriches its musical
style.
Baty said students could expect an
exciting and dynamic show.
“We’ve got a good fan base in
' Lincoln and we’re glad to be playing
to a new audience with a new rec
See LIVE on 13
r^^>AndyManhart/Pally Nebraskan
