Boyz II Men @ The Alameda County Fair

Oh, its real. And it was spectacular! Some rather large gentlemen in a Raiders jersey who sat in front of me remarked, "more like Men to Grandparents", but classics are classics folks. They're ageless.

Before I get into the main event, I'd like to talk about the opener, Too Crazy (2 Crazy? Too Crazee?). He was introduced as a Disney tween sensation but all my google searches were in vain and yielded results concerning Miley Cyrus only. He had a midget hypeman and the song he performed was called "Stay in School" (I assume from the chorus). It was a postive message for all the children in the crowd at the 6 pm show, and I was excited to find out more about him but now I'm wondering if it was all a funnel-cake induced dream. I'd love to know more about this mysterious Too Crazy character if anyone is highly-skilled at internet stalking and wants to look him up.

And then Boyz II Men came on, taking the stage to "Motownphilly". Their mikes went out and there was some very loud feedback, but they didn't let that slow them down and they belted and bootied to the best of their ability as the crowd went wild. And by went wild, I mean people stood up. I was dissapointed to see the tall, skinny member of Boyz II Men who does the deep-voiced talking interludes and carries a cane in the music video for "End of the Road" was no longer with the group. It did leave a bit of a hole in their slow numbers, ie almost every song. But there was a contagious sense of magic in the air that peaked during their classic number, "I'll Make Love to You". At this point in the show, the floodgates of emotion burst wide open as women ran down the aisles flapping their arms in a manner reminiscent of the prize-winning pigeons on display at the Small Animal Exhibit.* They were flapping not to fly, but for a rose. Boyz II Men handed out dozens of red roses to their adoring fans during this song, it was really a beautiful moment. However, I thought the song was bit of a racy choice for a 6 PM set. There were a lot of children and also a lot of babies in the crowd.** I mean there was a parking lot for strollers right next to the theatre. They ended their set with "End of the Road", inviting the crowd to sing along. My pleasure.

One of the best parts about seeing Boyz II Men at the county fair is that you're also at the county fair. And nothing says county fair like eating food on a stick, or even better is still on the bone.

*I was really dissapointed by this. Tricked by the wording, I was expecting a miniature animal exhibit so you can imagine my dissapointment when it was just a bunch of bunnies and pigeons in cages. Animals that are small by nature, not by deformity. Totally misleading.
**My theory about all the babies in the crowd: Boyz II Men is some baby making music. Some of those babies were definitely conceived to BIIM.