The Crowd

Locals weren’t the only people saying farewell to People’s Bar and Grill, 2428 Lincoln Way, this weekend – fans from all over the country came to see People’s off.

Many were holders of the weekend pass that got them into every show of the “Final Hurrah,” and were fans of People’s more than of any one band.

“People’s is the epitome of growing up at ISU,” said alumna Shannon Olson, who traveled from Minneapolis.

To some, People’s was the most important thing in their time at Iowa State.

“Veishea didn’t bring us back, Homecoming didn’t bring us back, but the closing of People’s brought us back,” said alumna Telicia Bunch, of New York City. Bunch was meeting friends from her old sorority, Delta Zeta.

Inside the venue, boards marked “Leave a Legacy” displayed other patrons’ sentiments, ranging from the standard – “I already miss People’s,” “Thanks for the shows,” – to the more outrageous – “I would give my liver to save this place!!!,” “I’m sure I had many [good times], But!! I can’t recall, and that’s why I love this.”

During both nights’ performances, the near-capacity crowds were focused on enjoying the last days of People’s. The atmosphere was very friendly – fans sang along, danced and met old friends. Like the bands, the audience was there for one last good time.

Saturday night

Saturday night’s show opened with an address from People’s owner Tom Zmolek.

“I’m a little overwhelmed with the number of people coming from across the country to be at People’s,” he said.

Kentucky Fried Mullet

Former house band Kentucky Fried Mullet then jumped right into their set, playing a series of classic rock covers, including “Space Cowboy,” “Play That Funky Music,” and even Young MC’s “Bust a Move.”

Frontman Ross Vander Werf, who also plays with the Nadas, chatted with the crowd between songs, leading them in several “team drinks.”

Vander Werf also played a short set of solo songs, drawing a female fan onstage.

Bassist Wade Thompson and drummer Paul Thompson then rejoined Vander Werf onstage to finish out the set, ending with a Van Halen tune.

KFM’s playing was competent but rough, with an element of kitsch in what they were doing. Throughout Vander Werf’s performance, he made exaggerated facial expressions, no matter how sincere his singing was.

Vander Werf summed up his feelings toward People’s and his weekly gig.

“I bought a lot of groceries because of this place.”

The Geardaddies

The Geardaddies, of Minneapolis, was the third band to ever play People’s and remained a fixture until 1992 when they formally broke up. Although they played a few scattered shows afterward – most notably an outdoor gig in downtown St. Paul that drew a crowd for four blocks – they were mostly a draw for the older crowd at this “old school”-themed night.

Bassist Nick Ciola described the band’s sound as “electric folk,” combining elements of country, rock and bluegrass. Aside from the drum kit, the band’s instrumentation is all electric, including a pedal steel guitar that lead guitarist Randy Broughton switched to for some songs.

Starting at 11:30 p.m., the band played a two-hour, 27-song set with almost no breaks.

Frontman Martin Zellar couldn’t keep himself from smiling as he sang, echoing the feeling from the audience. During the entire set, the crowd was pressed against the barricade, dancing and singing along.

The group did halt briefly to take a group shot, and then left the stage after their 26th song.

They were back less than a minute later, drawn by audience cries for “one more song.” After knocking out one last tune, the house lights came on, the band left the stage, and the crowd went home, to return for one final night at People’s.

Sunday night

For the People’s final night of business, every patron was given a commemorative T-shirt with the phrase “Ladies & Gentlemen. . . People’s Has Left the Building” on the back.

Sunday night’s crowd consisted of many of the same people who were present Saturday, although the overall attendance was higher by the end of the evening.

Brad Seidenfeld

After originally being scheduled to play downstairs at Lumpy’s, singer/songwriter Brad Seidenfeld was asked to open the night’s show at People’s. As a four-year veteran of the venue, he was happy to oblige.

“I’m stoked to play,” he said. “I’d be here anyway.”

In contrast to Saturday’s late start, Seidenfeld jumped right into his set, starting right at 9 p.m.

He played a 45-minute set consisting of a mix of covers, original compositions, and songs from his full band, Jem State.

Seidenfeld employed a number of unusual techniques during his set, rhythmically slapping his guitar, adopting various accents and other vocal affectations, and even beatboxing – using his voice to mimic electronic instrumentation.

He got his biggest crowd response of the evening with a rendition of The Proclaimers’ “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).” He adopted a faux-Scottish accent and added several humorous verses of his own, getting laughs from all corners of the venue.

“We loved him – I would travel anywhere to see him again,” said Carey Calloway, a Kansas City resident.

Finishing his set with a Michael Jackson cover, Seidenfeld thanked Zmolek and the People’s staff, then hustled offstage.

The Nadas

No band was as much a part of People’s as the Nadas. In a three-and-a-half-hour set, the band gave a tour of their history. In addition to playing selections from their records in chronological order, the band switched their lineup to match the time period – every member of the band, past and present, was there.

The set began with the original lineup of twin guitarists Mike Butterworth and Jason Walsmith, both playing acoustic guitars.

After their first song, Walsmith said, “That’s the first time we’ve played that song in like 11 years. You’d think we would have practiced or something, but that’d just be ridiculous.”

After two songs as a duo, the original bassist and drummer went onstage. This incarnation played for several songs, continuing the folky rock flavor that Butterworth and Walsmith started.

The band seemed to enjoy being back at People’s after their long absence.

“That was like sleeping with an old girlfriend – fantastic and good for you,” Butterworth remarked after a song.

After the seventh song, Butterworth switched to an electric guitar. He also played harmonica on several songs.

The band then dipped into a more country-infused vein.

“It might seem a little bit early to bust out a square dance, but it is what it is,” Walsmith said over the band’s country beat.

He then called out a genuine square dance, urging everyone to “pick a partner – I don’t care if you’re wearing a ‘Security’ shirt.”

Bassist Brett Nelson then stepped offstage, replaced by current bassist Jon Locker.

The band then kicked things up a few notches, playing some heavier rock songs, led by Butterworth’s squawking guitar.

For their 18th number, the band was joined by an unidentified “bucket man,” who played an empty beer pitcher with a drumstick. His spastic drumming, using every part of the pitcher, drove a drawn-out instrumental rocker that got the crowd’s arms up throughout the venue.

With Walsmith absent, Butterworth led the band as a three-piece for a single song, then they went through another lineup change. Moving the drummer to keyboards and then bringing in a new drummer and Vander Werf as a second electric guitarist brought the number of people onstage to six.

With this lineup, the band played several high-intensity rockers, despite being onstage for more than two hours.

After another drummer change, the band kept the energy up, occasionally slipping into country territory.

After more than 30 songs and almost three hours, the Nadas started a People’s ritual: the “Jaeger train.” Backed by the opening strains of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train,” Zmolek and other People’s staffers took the stage with bottles of Jaegermeister, liberally distributing it to the band. Once everyone onstage had had a drink, the band started the song, and the staff started pouring drinks for the audience, who made an attempt at crowd-surfing.

Before the last song of their main set, Zmolek addressed the crowd by himself, describing the new People’s location in Des Moines. The Nadas will be the first band to play there on May 31.

He also said there will be a new People’s location in Campustown, and although he declined to say exactly where it would be, “it involves tearing down a building and erecting a new building.”

The Nadas played one more number before leaving the stage at 1:05 a.m.

They were almost immediately summoned back by an enthusiastic audience and Zmolek’s admonition that “they said they were playing for four hours, and it hasn’t been four hours yet.”

So the Nadas played two more songs.

“We always like to leave you worn out, but you should be totally f—in’ worn out by now,” Walsmith said.

After a fairly loud country-rock song, they played a song, “Goodnight Girl,” written specifically for People’s.

Singing to an audience with lighters, bottles, and cell phones hoisted, they summed up the sentiments of the evening with the repeated, fading chorus of “Say goodbye.”

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