Steve Miller — the dude abides

The first stop of Steve Miller's 2013 summer tour at the San Diego County Fair was everything one could ever wish to witness at a classic-rock concert — bacon-wrapped foodstuffs, random horses, fair-game carnies, nine-dollar cups of Tecate, and enough drunken moms and dads to embarrass teenagers from San Ysidro to Carlsbad. It was a perfect evening.

According to U.S. law, everyone over the age of 35 must own one of the Steve Miller Band's "greatest hits" collections, so it came as a shock to all in attendance when Mr. Miller chose to bypass those hits and concentrate on deeper cuts from their back catalog...YEAH, RIGHT! The set list was a lockstep march through all the band's radio hits. The crowd was treated to fine renditions of FM staples "Jungle Love," "Rock’n Me," and "Fly Like An Eagle." Miller even strapped on an acoustic for a short solo set that featured b-side "Wild Mountain Honey."

The backing band was made up of seasoned pros, but back-up singer Sonny Charles stood out as the wildcard due to his endlessly entertaining dance moves.

The night ended with an encore performance of one of Miller's best-known songs, "The Joker." So why was it that whenever a fan was featured singing along to the song on the festival's jumbo-screen, said fan only seemed to know about half the lyrics? Come on, people, everyone knows the words to "The Joker." IT'S THE LAW!

• Concert: Steve Miller Band
• Date: June 15
• Venue: Del Mar Fairgrounds
• Seats: Box 34D