How cold was it Friday for "A Prairie Home Companion" at the State Fair Grandstand? So cold that concertgoers were wearing parkas, stocking caps and gloves. So cold that PHC pianist Richard Dworsky was wearing a winter top coat and scarf. So cold that the fair put up tall, flaming heaters and gave away free hot chocolate (they ran out by intermission) and coffee (which we thought was the drink of choice of Lutherans). And it was windy, too. In fact, it was so windy during the daytime that Garrison Keillor said they were concerned that they could not record the performance for broadcast on Saturday. However, the wind died down by showtime and things went as planned with an audience of 7,103 PHC fans. Despite the weather, Keillor seemed to be in especially good spirits for his seventh consecutive year at the fair. Was it that he relished singing with Sara Watkins (formerly of Nickel Creek, the progressive bluegrass group)? Was it that Twin Cities soul/gospel sirens Jearlyn and Jevetta Steele always put a smile on his face? Was it that he loves regaling about the Great Minnesota Get-Together? It may have been a combination of the all of the above but, most importantly, I think it was that this show featured the Anoka High School marching band. Not only was it his old high school (he said he's got his 50th reunion coming up this month), but he got to sing the Tornadoes fight song. Dude was stoked, man. The show also featured State Fair bits with an auctioneer and the top two finishers in a duets singing contest (Keillor said he loves duets) as well as a bit about Guy Noir investigating misbehaving fair-contest judges, a state-fair sound effects demonstration (something Tom Keith has done before at the fair) and a reworking of the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody" into a love song for French fries and other fair foods (a song Keillor did with Jearlyn at a previous fair, I seem to recall). Maybe Garrison thought he needed to reheat things on such a chilly night. The performance by Keillor and company lasted two hours and 45 minutes (including intermission). Obviously, some things will have to be trimmed for the 2-hour broadcast that starts at 5 p.m. Saturday.