You know Iowa has a bad reputation for entertainment when both comedians at Saturday’s Dew the Rec called cow tipping the only thing to do here.

Gregg Rogell opened his monologue describing his tour of Des Moines. “It took 14 minutes,” he quipped.

Dave Chappelle mentioned the scenery: “In a half-hour drive from the airport I saw one 7-11. That was it.”

Maybe they’re right. Maybe we are pretty lame here.

But you would’ve never guessed it Wednesday at my usual mug night hangout — People’s Bar and Grill.

What is usually a typical college bar equipped with the latest frat band playing Barenaked Ladies covers was magically transformed into the closest thing to Studio 54 most Iowa Staters will ever see.

People’s had hosted celebrities before, according to owner Tom Zmolek. Blues Traveler frontman John Popper and Hootie singer Darius Rucker are among past guests who have tapped into the famous piano bar selection of fine brew.

But Zmolek said their visits were low-key compared to Wednesday night.

Tone Loc, who impressed an energetic crowd of 3,300 earlier that evening at the Rec Center, was in the mood to hit the town, so the other Veishea Music Coordinator and myself persuaded him People’s was the place to be.

We escorted Tone and his crew into the bar, and within seconds, it was as if the bartenders had announced free beer at the side door.

The packed bar turned to Tone in unison and mobbed him for autographs, which landed on everything from mugs to shirts to skin.

He was causing such a commotion that even people who had no idea who Tone Loc was were still crowding around, asking which guy was famous.

I couldn’t help but pick out a random black guy and tell a few people he was Tone Loc. Sadly, they believed me.

As if that wasn’t enough, things got even crazier when Shock G, also known as Humpty Hump, popped up from out of nowhere to greet his fellow late ’80s rap mate.

It seemed Digital Underground, who was playing the second of a two-night jaunt at the M-Shop, had grown accustomed to a post-show celebration at People’s.

I glanced at the sight and thought, “Not in a million years would I have guessed Tone Loc and Shock G would meet up at a bar in Ames, Iowa.”

It was a Kodak moment, and for the first time in my life, I actually had my camera in a Kodak moment.

Even Tone and Shock knew their junction was something special as they struck a pose for me.

The evening continued with the back corner of People’s looking like a Celebrity Death Match on pool tables. At one point, I think Tone was taking on local football hero Todd Bandhauer in a game of eight-ball.

Things seemed to be winding down around 1:30 a.m. when the night really got crazy. The guys from Dazy Head Mazy gave a personal invitation to Tone to do some rapping on stage.

The capacity crowd chanted “Tone Loc,” and much to his manager’s surprise, Tone approached the stage.

I’ve seen a lot of cool things at that bar in my day, but Tone Loc doing “Wild Thing” to full-band accompaniment was by far the coolest.

Actually, just hearing Tone in his signature hoarse voice tell the drummer to “give me a funky beat” was enough to make me ecstatic.

It was a Veishea memory I’ll always cherish … much more than the time I tipped that cow.

---

Corey Moss is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale.