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Move over airplane. Elvis soon may grace the stage at Meister’s cornfield in Boardman using a helicopter

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 soon play again 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, as when the show goes on this Sunday, July 23, from 4-8 p.m.
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.
And word has it that the next method of entry to the stage may include at some point during this summer, for the first time, a helicopter, pushing the use of aviation to new heights.
“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 cornfield 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, 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.

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