Coco Montoya would be worth seeing.

Then again, the arts theater at the local college campus has also announced its shows for the next season, including Dan Hicks & the Hot Licks, Bill Cosby, Steve Martin (playing serious banjo, sorry), Ellis Marsalis (daddy of the Marsalis boys), Diane Schuur, Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain, Taj Mahal, Jay Johnson (the ventriloquist on "Soap", obviously a reaction to Dunham), David Sedaris, Blind Boys of Alabama, COLIN MOCHRIE, Jack Hanna?!?, Vienna Boys Choir, Russian National Ballet (no Bolshoi) and road companies of "Spamalot" and "Legally Blonde". Quite a mixed bag (any guess who I'm most likely to see?)

Thanks, Ardiril, I appreciate any suggestions of worthy performers I may have shortchanged, but I'm much more likely to hit the college theater later this year than the crazy Fair.

Forget about everything else at the County Fair and go see Blue Öyster Cult.

As far as the college shows are concerned, the Blind Boys of Alabama, they're great. They were awesome as Oedipus in "The Gospel at Colonus."

Fuck yeah Blue Oyster Cult.

I would go see Steve Martin doing a banjo show. That motherfucker can play. I would also see Jack Hanna because he's hilarious AND a smartypants. Additionally - Kenny Loggins, don't know why but I have a somewhat irrational love for a good portion of his catalog. Keith Urban is also someone I would probably see - he can play like a mofo.

I feel like Justin Beiber is this thing, like a villain in Doctor Who, which has suddenly appeared and everyone knows about him as if he's been around forever, except I know he hasn't, and I keep walking around saying, "Something's wrong. Something's very wrong."

Also, there's this Scottish girl that follows me. She's pretty cool, though.

gc, go into NoScript, pull up the settings for YouTube, and adjust your perception filters.

The County Fair is usually so well timed as to be at the peak of summer heat, and the mere 25 miles to the ocean feels like eternity. It'll cool off by the evening, in time for the shows, but I wouldn't pay real money for anyone on the main stage.

I'm tempted to see Chubby Checker, but fear it'll depressing and I'll want to sneak out early, except I'll feel bad for him and decide to stay.

The university theater is fantastic. I saw Jesus Christ Superstar there and I was really impressed by the return of the original film version of Jesus, Ted Neeley. Then I saw the Kronos Quartet for $10, thanks to my old student ID and student rush tickets. At that point, I realized I really need to check the show listing more often. Plus, the temperature is much better than at the County Fair.

I have not gone to the "Mid-State" Fair since moving here almost 5 years ago, and this year will be no exception, in spite of Blue Öyster Cult (maybe if they co-headlined with Björk AND Lore Sjöberg, it might be enough awesome Ö-ness to tempt me).

I have been to the university theater twice, once for Weird Al Yankovic's Third Triumpant Return to Cal Poly (which included a performance of "White and Nerdy" on a Segway, the never-released "I'm in Love With the Skipper", the rewritten "Headline News" with the Lindsay Lohan verse and a ten-minute encore of "Albuquerque"), the other time for George Carlin's last live and breathing tour (which he didn't know at the time). I will always remember George's rambling bit about his embracing the term "old fuck" rather than "old fart" (encouraging me to accept myself as a "fat fuck") and a long, rather un-typical part of the show (that didn't make it into his last HBO special) in which he challenged the audience not to laugh at jokes of increasing tastelessness (most of us, including me, failed he challenge), then analyzed intellectually and absurdly what made them funny and predicted that 90% of the audience members who refused to laugh would be retelling the jokes within 48 hours.

Which makes it obvious why my first choice for the new season is Colin Mochrie's improv show (I missed Ryan Styles' improv show at the same venue last year because he's no Colin Mochrie).