This has got to be the most interesting thing that’s happened next to a corn field since Mrs. O’Leary’s cow started the famed Chicago fire — even though what’s become a Sunday western Wisconsin tradition of each summer also brings some heat to the mix.
Jeff Loven, who has a virtual lock on being this area’s top one man band, will again perform this Sunday, June 25, starting at 4 p.m. at Meister’s Place in Boardman for the first of several such gigs through August, with a stage set up not in the spacious back room, but near the corn field out back. And he has a little help from his friends.
Adding to Jeff’s renowned show, the proprietor, Dave Meister, usually makes an appearance to change it up a little bit — as if the show needed any more firepower. Dave typically is in an Elvis suit, and he brings even more flair then the usual Elvis impersonator. Dave has been known to make his entrance via an airplane (there’s no word yet if roadies help him exit the plane when it swings over the nearby farm field). In any case, he comes bolting in from the corn field to take his place on the stage and go to it.
“The shows are the same as nightclub gigs except outside in the open air. We have had extremely good luck with weather. Dave calls it, ‘the Boardman Bubble,’ because rain will just go around Boardman sometimes and we’re still dry on the patio even though surrounding areas get wet,” Jeff said.
In what ways does Dave’s presence add to things? “We love Elvis! Everyone gets a kick when Elvis mysteriously appears out of the corn field directly behind the performance area. They can see him approach the stage during my set,” Jeff said. “It’s like the movie Field Of Dreams!”
And, of course, it can get outrageous. “Elvis arrived in a small airplane right behind the stage last year when they grew soybeans instead of corn. It was something to behold,” Jeff said, making this show sound not unlike the spectacle of those old mega-concerts. “The plane buzzed the stage a couple times before landing.”
Dave does three songs on his own, plus one with Jeff. “It’s Neil Diamond,” Dave said — an act that has a loyal following as far as being covered. It’s all part of a full show of music by Jeff, and one where Dave is a star in his own right and doesn’t just need to ride on Jeff’s coattails.
A favorite Meister’s moment was when the drummer from Obsession, the speed metal band in which Jeff cut his teeth in the 80, came out for Jeff’s show. Old pal — and Jeff has a lot of them around the Midwest — Todd McNurlin showed up with his family. “He sat in a bit on cowbell,” Jeff said, referring to the part of the show when an audience member is brought on stage to emulate Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live. No word on how skilled Todd was with this style of percussion.
And Jeff does all his other audience participation things, which include a bit of comedy, such as when he rolls out his Heavy Metal Polka (see more below), or brings someone up to be “loosy goosy” and helps them refine their tambourine-playing routine. And he regularly revs up the guitar and vocals, sometimes with a partner, for new songs on the set list, such as the recently-added, guitar heavy version of Bus Stop, and the even newer Paradise By The Dashboard Light.
“I knew Meister’s was going to be a great venue for my one-man show (plus Dave) from the very first gig there almost 10 years ago,” Jeff said. “People love the atmosphere and large dancing area in front of the stage, and they are constantly asking me if Elvis will be there!”
“I engage my audience at every performance. Whether there’s 500 or 15 people I put on the same show and I go the extra mile to make sure that every single performance is as good as it can be, whether I’m doing a wedding, corporate event or a nightclub,” Jeff said. Or a farm field. “I am very grateful to be working doing what I love!” That includes an opportunity to do his virtuoso guitar work without having to go through the rigors of touring, as it was back in the ’80s, and without having to be in a different end of the country as his wife and children.
BACK IN THE DAY …
You can see some of the following famed Loven performances when checking out Meister’s this summer, or if they are not part of his set at that moment, by tuning in to them online.
— After viewing Jeff’s Youtube sensation Heavy Metal Polka, which is a staple part of his routine and even includes an accordian, the casting producer for NBC hit series America’s Got Talent has called Jeff several times in hopes of bringing the spectacle to network television and has left an open invitation for upcoming season 10. The video, which featured Jeff and full band wearing of all things elf costumes, (a part of the role that’s not often reprised), was filmed at Uncle Mike’s in the town of Hudson, before a large crowd of regular patrons, some of whom even got into the act as they say, by being in the front row. Jeff was so absorbed by laying down the riffs that he almost stepped on top of a flame pot as it shot up a 10-foot spire of fire. He barely avoided getting burned.
— Thirty years ago Steve Vai, Steve Morse and Mark St. John selected Jeff’s entry from thousands as winner of the Kahler International Bridge to Stardom guitar contest. This solo displays Jeff’s fast and amazing command of multiple textures and techniques and even includes a bit of play acting and guitar generated sound effects during the intro (think a Maiden-esque air raid siren) that definitely prompted the judges to give it a closer listen.
— Jeff even got his published photo taken with fellow guitar great Eddie Van Halen back in the day, when Jeff was with his like-minded group Obsession, and he and Van Halen were both having gigs in New Orleans.
— It was around that time that Jeff drew the jealousy of Motley Crue, as he relayed the story recently when celebrating his 15th anniversary of playing in the Hudson and Boardman area. Obsession was laying it down to School’s Out For The Summer — prior to the Crue’s version that was soon to come out — and members of the famed metal band were in the audience on the Sunset Strip when they heard it and were running scared that Obsession might beat them to the punch and release a single. Motley Crue then put a rush on their release of Schools Out — taking just another three weeks — and the rest, as they say, is history.
The next performance at Meister’s is this Sunday, June 25, from 4-8 p.m. — as these are the usual hours — then at various dates throughout the summer. Get the latest scheduling information by checking out Jeff Loven’s web site. (And you then might consider taking in his Sunday evening show at Dick’s Bar and Grill, as some people have done as a nightcap, just in case you “need more cowbell.”)