The Crawler knows it seems like we just swapped the windows for screens, but here’s The Big E’s John Juliano, trying to amp us up for autumn by steadily trickling out the names of confirmed acts for the 2014 installment of New England’s Great State Fair (thebige.com). In addition to the return of New Odyssey—an act that dubs itself “3 guys, 30 instruments” that will perform daily at The Big E at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., ’80s icon Christopher Cross (performing 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. sets Sept. 13-15) and Cuba Gooding Sr & The Main Ingredient (3 p.m. and 8 p.m., Sept. 21-24) have signed on to grace the fair’s Court of Honor mainstage this year.

As previously reported in this very column, Juliano has also secured History Channel star Danny “The Count” Koker and his Count’s 77 band to kick things off Friday, Sept. 12.

And how did that come about it? Fuggedaboutit… seriously.

“[Eastern States Expo President] Gene Cassidy and I were fortunate enough to spend some time with Danny when we were introduced by a mutual friend—and a great Robert DeNiro impersonator—Robert Nash,” Juliano explains. “Count’s 77 performed at Danny’s club, Vamp’d, and it did not take long for me to see the tremendous talent on the stage. Offstage, I can also tell you the Danny you see on Counting Cars is the same Danny—very humble and gracious.”

As luck would have it, it turns out Nash got a little something for effort—and intro—himself. Juliano has also booked him to do his DeNiro schtick daily throughout the fair. For a sneak peak at some stellar “You talkin’ to me?” and more, check out Deniroguy.com.

 

Meanwhile, as our boys of summer, the Boston Red Sox, struggle to get out of the cellar, some of the industry’s top acts have signed on to play friendly Fenway Park when they are away.

Already announced for June plays at the Boston ballpark are “piano man” Billy Joel June 26 and country/folk faves the Zac Brown Band June 27 and June 28. Now, on the heels of his lucky number 13th studio full-length with the Heartbreakers available July 29, Tom Petty has secured an Aug. 10 Fenway play as well.

Tix for all shows are available at livenation.com and a free copy of Petty’s new Hypnotic Eye is included in the price of all his tickets (same goes for his subsequent stop at Hartford’s XL Center Sept. 13).

 

Last but not least… many is the music act that has had brushes with Johnny Law. But to have the boys in blue show up because one of your billmates called them is as anti-rock as earplugs.

And that’s precisely what Sublime with Rome is claiming occurred when it comes to the curious case of Arizona police coming to confiscate their weed stash during a May 24 festival with Linkin Park.

“[They] called the cops on us and said that they were allergic to pot, so they came and took all our weed while we were on stage,” Sublime with Rome guitarist Rome Ramirez later tweeted, adding hashtags “bitchmove” and snitches for emphasis.

While Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda was quick to rebuff the allegation, a sheriff’s report from Pima County suggests that security guards from the LP camp were in fact the informants that steered them into the Sublime dressing room.

In any event, as the proverbial smoke clears on this sonic scandal, both bands are slated to perform locally this summer. Sublime with Rome’s closest play will be the Oakdale in Wallingford, Conn. Aug. 10. Linkin Narc… er, the Crawler means Park… comes to Mansfield’s Xfinity Center Aug. 16.•

 

Send correspondence to Nightcrawler, P.O. Box 427, Somers, CT 06071; fax to (860) 394-4262 or email garycarra@aol.com.