The Late Blues
August 26, 2025
New York State Fair, Syracuse NY
Let’s go! Lots of photos today, we’ll try not to type too much.
First stop was the lumberjack show. We picked the best seats in the house which turned out to be the worst for photography. We’re so lame. While waiting, Paul took a great “art” shot, whatever that is, of the gondolas.
The lumberjack on the left came up to us before the show. He was also a camera geek. He talked cameras with us and that was fun, even if he is a Canon shooter. (Note, we both used to be Canon, so we’re poking fun at ourselves here.) Then the show started. It wasn’t so much about making sawdust, but more about the comedy. It was really entertaining. And we got covered in sawdust aka man glitter.
We had some time to kill before the next concert so we headed off to the Swine, Goats, Llamas and Alpacas barn. The Llamas and Alpacas had prior engagements and were nowhere to be found. The pigs were boring except when they grunted, but the baby pigs were so darned cute.
You get to decide, did Susan or Paul take a better baby pig photo?
(susan here: I like mine. No. I like Paul’s. I like mine. I like Paul’s. They’re both AWESOME for different reasons. Paul’s you zoom in on that eye. Mine, you zoom in on the litter feeding. Neither is better. It’s just a differentt perspective.)
And goats! Who knew they needed to be groomed.
We went to the Ice Age exhibit which was lamer than lame. But Susan got to tell a robot to sit.
While rushing to get to the Herman’s Hermits concert we stopped and got great gyros. Susan got the grilled chicken and Paul got the falafel version and they were both really good.
We got there 20 minutes early but the place was already packed. Looks like we would be standing.
Peter Noones, the face of the Hermits, has only been performing for SIXTY-TWO YEARS.
What a beginner…
After a few songs he walked out into the crowd!
A really cool Bus pulled in, probably the tour bus for Sister Hazel, who was going on at 6PM. But this stupid British guy was standing in front of the bus and we couldn’t get a good shot. It was a terrific show. If you ever get a chance to see him do it. You won’t be disappointed.
We had some time to kill before the 4pm blues show, so we found a tortoise.
And some really awesome tile work.
And a Veteran’s Memorial.
While waiting/walking towards the 4pm show we walked into a Photography Exhibit. Some was great, some was awesome. We don’t understand how the judges picked what they picked.
We then headed over for a Century of Blues, only to find Tyjhler starting the second half of her set. Now this was a real surprise because in 30 minutes the Bluesmen were scheduled to play. But, although she was repetitive she was really good. Paul downloaded her latest album but he’s not sure he’ll ever play it.
The bluesmen showed up around 10 of 4, and they were supposed to go on at 4. They went on at 4:45 and they were really good. Professor Louie on the keyboard and Flash Johnson on guitar.
Paul was really pleased with these two new acts he had found. Never in his wildest dreams would he have even played a song by them. But he will now. Next year we’r going to seek out the small music venues. There are only so many fair exhibits and demonstrations that you can stand seeing.