The show started with Hayden "Woody" Wood and his Liquid Kitchen. He bar tending skills were more impressive than Tom Cruise's in the movie Cocktail. He was flipping bottles over his head and behind his back. And he even got some alcohol in his eye. That last part wasn't part of the act and he said it hurt. I bet it did but at least we knew the bottles were full. He brought 3 ladies on stage (they actually had tickets to sit on stage... I wasn't willing to pay $200 for that privilege) to mix drinks for him. One of the ladies was wearing a long dress that looked a little like a fancy flour sack and was hammered. Note to self: Never wear a fancy flour sack dress, get hammered before a show and think you're sexier than you are. Woody had the three ladies mix cocktails and then toss the glass/shaker at him. Drunk flour sack lady was the second and chucked it at him. He had to duck to his left a little to catch it to which he cried "Jesus!" After the three ladies he did some dancing and mixing and had 3 guys come on stage. The guys were supposed to mix drinks but being in Iowa, when Woody's back was turned they started drinking straight from the bottles. He had said the crew had a good time the night before drinking until 4 AM with some locales. You get what you ask for Woody. Woody also pulled a married couple celebrating their anniversary on stage. "What do you do in the kitchen?" Woody asked him. "The dishes" was his answer. Woody was going to fix that. He outfitted the guy with a frilly apron, a purple cape and crown and gave him 60 seconds to make 4 drinks for his wife and beg for her forgiveness. The way he gave a feather duster with a string attached to it so she could crack the whip at her husband. On his way to beg for forgiveness, 2 drinks slipped off the tray and crashed to the floor. Woody looked shocked. This left the guy with 2 drinks. His wife forgave him and both left the stage with smiles on their faces.
After the opening act, a video played featuring 3 guys that Guy had met while doing Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Guy Fieri came on stage and introduced his crew which included original camera guys from Triple D, DJ Cobra from LA and 3 guys he met while doing Triple D: Panini Pete, Stretch and Pigskin. Guy is very charismatic and funny but he did touch on a few important issues. He promoted his new book Guy Fieri Food: Cookin' It, Livin' It, Lovin' It and told the crowd to pay special attention to the dedication page. The book is dedicated to his sister Morgan who passed away from cancer. The publisher already had the book printed with a dedication to his family when Morgan passed away and Guy changed his mind about the dedication. The publisher ripped out all of the pages with the old dedication and printed the new one. How awesome is that?! If any of my family are reading this and would like a Christmas present idea, that book would be an awesome gift. The second issue he tackled was childhood obesity. "Somewhere along the line, we've forgotten to teach our kids what real food is," he said and it's so true. I hear a lot of people say "I don't cook" with pride in their voice. That is nothing to be proud of. You can't or don't want to prepare food for your family? Good for you. He told us to cook with our kids. Abby and I looked at each other at the same time. "I cook with my kids," Abby said at the same time I said "I'll cook with your kids!" It's true. I steal people's kids to cook with. I cook with Jade, Aiden and Eve. It's fun to cook with kids and I plan to do it with my own someday. Music played throughout the show and DJ Cobra had some special effects for the hilarious stories that Guy told. Guy is a great speaker. He was able to mix in subtle cooking lessons with his stories, like don't get your oil to hot. That story was about deep-frying a turkey for Thanksgiving and how he almost started his house on fire because the oil was too hot. (It was outside and spilled and the fire was dangerously close to his porch.) He also did a skit for Minute to Win It, a show he hosts on NBC. The show's concept came from Australia and he was asked to host an American version. In the preliminary part of the show, he told a contestant "You have a minute to win it." The producers liked the phrase so much that they asked for permission to use it. He had no idea they were going to use it for the title of the show. I've never seen Minute to Win It but Abby has. When he asked for audience volunteers even though we were on the third level, Abby jumped up and down trying to get his attention. And I, being the good friend I am, pointed at her like a dork. Unfortunately she didn't get picked. He did pick a soldier from the crowd. "I support our troops. I don't support war but I do support our troops," Guy said when the soldier came onstage. The soldier got a standing ovation from the crowd. It was a great sight to see.
Throughout the night Guy recognized various people during the show. He recognized the students from a culinary school that were acting as his stage hands and a member of the Pork Producers responsible for getting his show to Sioux City. I learned a lot from Guy. Not all of it had to do with food preparation. He always plays music while he's cooking because cooking should be fun. I think this is an excellent idea and have been using it in my own home. Abby and I stood in line until midnight for Guy to sign the t-shirts we bought for our husbands. He's a trooper. I could tell he was really tired but he was still very funny.
