Singing Bye, Bye Miss American Pie with Don McLean

Sunday evening, last night of the Iowa State Fair, Linda and I went back to the fairgrounds to see Don McLean. We arrived a little before show time but every seat around the stage was filled; we'd be standing. We grabbed a couple of sandwiches at a nearby stand and waited for the show.

It soon became apparent that the crowd was about half familiar with Don's work; the other half just recognized American Pie. Over all, the music was good and the crowd appreciative of the opportunity. Roy Orbison's Crying was immediately recognized and well received. A woman near us asked the name of the performer.

"Don McLean." No name recognition. "Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie..." Lights come on.

"OH! I knew the voice sounded familiar. I just couldn't place it." She turned to the man beside her. "Honey, that's the Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie guy!"

He played a couple lesser known pieces and then came Vincent (Starry Starry Night) in a very stripped down form. It was just Don's vocals and a gently, sparingly plucked Dobro guitar. This song has always been beautiful and this delicate arrangement was almost overpowered by the ambient fair sounds. Even so, it was quite a treat to get to hear it live.

Another older song or two and it was time to pay off the crowd. "A long, long time ago, I can still remember..." The crowd rose to their feet. A group of college age kids danced down the aisles toward the stage. It was clearly a sing-along but somewhat tentatively so; while it's quite recognizable, it's an interesting and large collection of lyrics so there was a certain amount of feeling around for the right phrases. This difference between familiarity and knowledge was quite clear as the song changed pace near the end: the crowd erupted in applause... but the song went on. It happened again a little later. Finally, when the true finish came, people were kind of cautious about finally unleashing their applause. The Song played, the crowd thinned out... but Don played on. Finally satisfied, he closed the show with the crowd wanting more. It was an excellent evening.