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Five for Fighting Setlist
Letters to Cleo Setlist
Ostrom Brothers Setlist
Tour Dates Read More
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The 10th annual The Great Midwest Rib Fest, at Mystic Lake Casino, just ended last night, July 27, 2024.
We normally don’t want make the long drive to Shakopee, but when we heard that Five For Fighting and Letters to Cleo were playing, we had to make an exception.
The last Ribfest at Mystic Lake, that we personally attended was in 2015, and it was to see A Flock of Seagulls. Right out of the gate, the band launched into their biggest hit song, “I Ran (So Far Away)”, and we wondered, “We’ve seen various nostalgia acts at W♥M and was expecting them to do their biggest hit so "I Ran (So Far Away)" as the song finale - or at least saving it for the encore... however the band launched into that song! This was followed by their two other biggest hits: “Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)” and “Space Age Love Song.” At this point, we were wondering what they are going to do after this? After an hour playing in the hot weather, the band launched into “Wishing (If I Had a Photograph of You)”, joking that the first time was only practice... Then “Space Age Love Song” and ending it with “I Ran (So Far Away)”, as we originally predicted. This was such an odd choice, to play their three biggest hit songs again in the same set.”
For its 10th Anniversary, Mystic Lake Casino, expanded Ribfest to three days, starting on July 25, with John Michael Montgomery and Hannah Dasher. For Friday, July 26, it was headlined by War with Average White Band.
Saturday, July 27, drew in a large crowd… although the 90° Fahrenheit probably kept a few people away. It was hot, for sure.
Between all the BBQ rib vendors, which included Aussom Aussie, Austin's Texas Lightning, BBQ King Smokehouse, Big Boned BBQ, Chicago BBQ, GIt-R-Smoked, Howling Coyote BBQ, Just North of Memphis BBQ, Porky Chicks BBQ, and Texas Outlaw BBQ, there were free water station, drinks (liquor or lemonade), Ben & Jerry’s, Original Hokcey Mom Brownies, and Kernel’s Sweet Corn.
The Rib Eating Contest, at the smaller stage (there were two stages), took place around 2pm, and had contestants from around the globe… some traveling the country for these competitive eating contests. For Ribfest, these were the contestants: Nick Wehry, James Webb, Ryan Rodacker, Matthew Raible, Andrew Kogutkiewicz, Rene Rovtar, Seth Bower, Donavon Busta, Kylan Lee, and Tanner Gray.
There was one lone woman in the group, Rene Rovtar, who admitted that she was probably in last place. The announcer said he didn’t like to say “last place”… instead he like to say “tenth place” (which is last place).
The winner of the contest was James Webb, who had consumed 8.1 pounds of rib meat. To put that in perspective, I am full when I eat a McDonald’s quarter pounder.
Not previously announced was local group The Ostrom Brothers Band, who did a two-hour double-set at 4:30 and 5:30pm. They were a cover lover band and covered songs like King Harvest (“Dancing in the Moonlight”), The Strokes (“Last Night”), Chuck Berry (“Johnny B. Goode”), Jimi Hendrix (“Red House”), Cage The Elephant (“Back Against the Wall”), and Lenny Kravitz (“Fly Away”).
Since there were no signage for the band (the only indication of the band’s name was on their bass drum). When a woman asked “What are you guys called?” they said “Ostrom Brothers”, but it was hard to hear and she seemed confused at the name. Maybe they could put up a large sign behind them next time?
Boston’s Letters to Cleo took the large stage around 6:30pm. Before going on stage, they interviewed the group backstage, which was broadcasted on the large screen behind the stage.
The band was in very good form, with singer Kay Hanley looking and sounding great. She was amazed that there were some very young fans/cross generational fans in the audience. It might have something to do her involvement with Disney Junior’s hit series Vampirina and Doc McStuffins.
Her band, Letters to Cleo, was basically on hiatus for 16 years. When reflecting on the last time the band was in Minnesota, they said it was 1997, on their tour with Everclear. So, it’s been a very long time since the band was in town.
They played their massive hit song, “Here and Now” near the end of their set. I guess in a typical show, that would end their set… the three songs that followed it would be considered encore songs: “Pizza Cutter”, “I Want You to Want Me” (Cheap Trick cover), and Rim Shak.
Grammy nominated, platinum-selling artist Five for Fighting (aka John Ondrasik) closed out the show. He’s joined by an all-star backing band that included drummer Randy Cooke (Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, Dave Stewart), bassist Sean Hurley (John Mayer, Ringo Starr, Alanis Morissette), and guitarist Peter Thorn (Chris Cornell, Melissa Etheridge, Don Henley).
Before playing “Easy Tonight”, one of Five for Fighting’s first hit single, Ondrasik was very thankful to local Minnesota radio stations for playing his song. Thanks to strong support from the radio, he was able to play the Fine Line, then moved to First Avenue, and at the Zoo. He was really excited about the Zoo.
If you were wondering about the Five for Fighting name, this is just the stagename for Ondrasik. You see, he was previously performed and billed under John Ondrasik, but due to the weird name and questionable pronunciations, his record label asked him to adopt a different name. So, in 1995, he officially became Five for Fighting. The name comes from the hockey team: you get a five minute penalty for fighting.
Under the Five for Fighting name, he achieved some of his biggest hit songs, “Easy Tonight” (with a re-release due to popularity), “100 Years”, “The Riddle”, and his #1 hit song “Superman (It's Not Easy)”. He saved that #1 song as the penultimate song on his set.
We normally don’t want make the long drive to Shakopee, but when we heard that Five For Fighting and Letters to Cleo were playing, we had to make an exception.
A Flock of Seagulls at Ribfest (26 July 2015)
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For its 10th Anniversary, Mystic Lake Casino, expanded Ribfest to three days, starting on July 25, with John Michael Montgomery and Hannah Dasher. For Friday, July 26, it was headlined by War with Average White Band.
Saturday, July 27, drew in a large crowd… although the 90° Fahrenheit probably kept a few people away. It was hot, for sure.
Between all the BBQ rib vendors, which included Aussom Aussie, Austin's Texas Lightning, BBQ King Smokehouse, Big Boned BBQ, Chicago BBQ, GIt-R-Smoked, Howling Coyote BBQ, Just North of Memphis BBQ, Porky Chicks BBQ, and Texas Outlaw BBQ, there were free water station, drinks (liquor or lemonade), Ben & Jerry’s, Original Hokcey Mom Brownies, and Kernel’s Sweet Corn.
The Rib Eating Contest, at the smaller stage (there were two stages), took place around 2pm, and had contestants from around the globe… some traveling the country for these competitive eating contests. For Ribfest, these were the contestants: Nick Wehry, James Webb, Ryan Rodacker, Matthew Raible, Andrew Kogutkiewicz, Rene Rovtar, Seth Bower, Donavon Busta, Kylan Lee, and Tanner Gray.
There was one lone woman in the group, Rene Rovtar, who admitted that she was probably in last place. The announcer said he didn’t like to say “last place”… instead he like to say “tenth place” (which is last place).
The winner of the contest was James Webb, who had consumed 8.1 pounds of rib meat. To put that in perspective, I am full when I eat a McDonald’s quarter pounder.
Not previously announced was local group The Ostrom Brothers Band, who did a two-hour double-set at 4:30 and 5:30pm. They were a cover lover band and covered songs like King Harvest (“Dancing in the Moonlight”), The Strokes (“Last Night”), Chuck Berry (“Johnny B. Goode”), Jimi Hendrix (“Red House”), Cage The Elephant (“Back Against the Wall”), and Lenny Kravitz (“Fly Away”).
Since there were no signage for the band (the only indication of the band’s name was on their bass drum). When a woman asked “What are you guys called?” they said “Ostrom Brothers”, but it was hard to hear and she seemed confused at the name. Maybe they could put up a large sign behind them next time?
Boston’s Letters to Cleo took the large stage around 6:30pm. Before going on stage, they interviewed the group backstage, which was broadcasted on the large screen behind the stage.
The band was in very good form, with singer Kay Hanley looking and sounding great. She was amazed that there were some very young fans/cross generational fans in the audience. It might have something to do her involvement with Disney Junior’s hit series Vampirina and Doc McStuffins.
Her band, Letters to Cleo, was basically on hiatus for 16 years. When reflecting on the last time the band was in Minnesota, they said it was 1997, on their tour with Everclear. So, it’s been a very long time since the band was in town.
They played their massive hit song, “Here and Now” near the end of their set. I guess in a typical show, that would end their set… the three songs that followed it would be considered encore songs: “Pizza Cutter”, “I Want You to Want Me” (Cheap Trick cover), and Rim Shak.
Grammy nominated, platinum-selling artist Five for Fighting (aka John Ondrasik) closed out the show. He’s joined by an all-star backing band that included drummer Randy Cooke (Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, Dave Stewart), bassist Sean Hurley (John Mayer, Ringo Starr, Alanis Morissette), and guitarist Peter Thorn (Chris Cornell, Melissa Etheridge, Don Henley).
Before playing “Easy Tonight”, one of Five for Fighting’s first hit single, Ondrasik was very thankful to local Minnesota radio stations for playing his song. Thanks to strong support from the radio, he was able to play the Fine Line, then moved to First Avenue, and at the Zoo. He was really excited about the Zoo.
If you were wondering about the Five for Fighting name, this is just the stagename for Ondrasik. You see, he was previously performed and billed under John Ondrasik, but due to the weird name and questionable pronunciations, his record label asked him to adopt a different name. So, in 1995, he officially became Five for Fighting. The name comes from the hockey team: you get a five minute penalty for fighting.
Under the Five for Fighting name, he achieved some of his biggest hit songs, “Easy Tonight” (with a re-release due to popularity), “100 Years”, “The Riddle”, and his #1 hit song “Superman (It's Not Easy)”. He saved that #1 song as the penultimate song on his set.
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Five for Fighting at Ribfest (27 July 2024)
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