The blog has been terribly neglected during the last few months. My first resolution for the 2012 is to write more. At the very least, I will post a review of every concert I attend in 2012.
I also will not leave the house without at least some make-up on, and ponytails will be restricted to the gym and hiking trail.
But enough about resolutions.
This year I saw a ton of live shows. The best show by far was Taylor Swift's. The best country show I saw was the Country Showdown with Willie Nelson, Jamey Johnson, and Randy Houser. The concert that was the most fun, was Kenny Chesney's. The one I wish I hadn't missed is Toby Keith with Eric Church.
I started out the year distrusting Eric Church and ended up loving him. I went from thinking that he is just too aggressive and rough to thinking he's rather sexy and brilliant (on top of being aggressive and rough). As a side note, the combination of attraction and revulsion to men of the sort Church represents has been plaguing me since Junior High.
I discovered that David Nail really doesn't enunciate when he sings. The first time I saw him was when he opened for Lady Antebellum and I was sitting way in back. I figured that I couldn't understand him because of a sound issue. I saw him again in a smaller venue with good seats. I still couldn't understand him. Note to David Nail for the New Year. If there is ONE THING a country singer needs to do, it's to enunciate.
This year I want to see Dierks Bentley, Zac Brown Band, and Little Big Town. I've made a resolution that I'll see their shows if they come to town even if I have to go alone.
The first two shows of the year will be Jason Aldean with Luke Bryan and Lauren Alaina, and The Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Let's kibitz later! A happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year to all.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Where are y'all going? Brad Paisley isn't done singing yet!
My friend and loyal reader, Rachel, reminded me that it's been a while since we've kibitzed country music, so here we go...
The last concert I attended was in September, Brad Paisleys' H2O2 tour with Blake Shelton and Jerrod Niemann at The Time Warner Pavilion at Walnut Creek, Raleigh. To much time has passed since the concert so I'll skip the play by play and just give brief impressions.
Jerrod Niemann apparently has a goofy side. His band dressed as superheros. He got people on their feet, making arm letters and singing along to "For Everclear". I'm looking forward to seeing him perform again in November, at the Durham Performing Arts Center in the Country for Kids concert supporting UNC Childrens Hospital.
Blake Shelton sweats like a drunk...pig isn't accurate...I don't know. He sweats like a drunk country music star. At any minute you wonder if he's going to do or say something outrageous. But apart from the slight gross factor (Lord knows how he scored Miranda), my friends and I really enjoyed his show. I love Ol' Red, Austin, and Hillbilly Bone.
Brad Paisley is Brad Paisley. Everything about him and his performance is polished.
So what am I going to kibitz about? I'm going to kvetch about my pet peeves; sitting next to empty seats and people leaving concerts early in order to beat the traffic.
We had cheap lawn seats and were upgraded to real seats inside the pavilion. I'm assuming that they had security walking around the lawn handing out tickets for these seats because the area around the end of the catwalk, between the blue areas of sections 6 and 7 in the diagram below, was not full. It would have been embarrassing for Brad Paisley to sit on the end of the catwalk (on a toilet that night, due to a prank by Sunny Sweeny's band) singing a love song surrounded by (pink flamingos and) empty seats.
It's unlikely that I will take those free upgraded tickets again. It's a buzzkill to sit in the back, on the edge of a puddle of bodies around the end of the catwalk, with a sea of empty seats stretching into the distance. The venue should try and fill the entire pavilion if they're already giving free upgrades. Why leave 500 or more empty seats? There were probably 8000 people on the lawn. Unless folks have learned their lesson and know that staying on the lawn is just more fun, they could have found takers for those tickets among people sitting very far back. A big part of a being at a concert is a sharing energy with other attendees. The only energy to be felt where we were sitting was from a group of shrieking sorority sisters sitting behind us. Being surrounded by empty seats sucks the life out of me.
Then, to make it worse, about halfway through Brad Paisley's set, people started to drift out. Why did these people come at all? Some of them payed over $100 a ticket. The people sitting next to us left 45 minutes before he was done in order to avoid traffic.
I think it is rude for an entire party to walk out of a concert in the middle of an artist's set. It's rude to the performer (even if they're used to it and no longer give it much thought) and it's rude to the audience. Perhaps the fact that I grew up attending classical music performances influences my opinion here. I can't imagine a quarter of the audience getting up and walking out of Meymandi Concert Hall in downtown Raleigh in the middle of a performance by Yo-Yo Ma in order to avoid getting caught in a bit of traffic.
What makes it OK to walk out on Brad Paisley?
The last concert I attended was in September, Brad Paisleys' H2O2 tour with Blake Shelton and Jerrod Niemann at The Time Warner Pavilion at Walnut Creek, Raleigh. To much time has passed since the concert so I'll skip the play by play and just give brief impressions.
Jerrod Niemann apparently has a goofy side. His band dressed as superheros. He got people on their feet, making arm letters and singing along to "For Everclear". I'm looking forward to seeing him perform again in November, at the Durham Performing Arts Center in the Country for Kids concert supporting UNC Childrens Hospital.
Blake Shelton sweats like a drunk...pig isn't accurate...I don't know. He sweats like a drunk country music star. At any minute you wonder if he's going to do or say something outrageous. But apart from the slight gross factor (Lord knows how he scored Miranda), my friends and I really enjoyed his show. I love Ol' Red, Austin, and Hillbilly Bone.
Brad Paisley is Brad Paisley. Everything about him and his performance is polished.
So what am I going to kibitz about? I'm going to kvetch about my pet peeves; sitting next to empty seats and people leaving concerts early in order to beat the traffic.
We had cheap lawn seats and were upgraded to real seats inside the pavilion. I'm assuming that they had security walking around the lawn handing out tickets for these seats because the area around the end of the catwalk, between the blue areas of sections 6 and 7 in the diagram below, was not full. It would have been embarrassing for Brad Paisley to sit on the end of the catwalk (on a toilet that night, due to a prank by Sunny Sweeny's band) singing a love song surrounded by (pink flamingos and) empty seats.
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| We were sitting in the back-middle of section 8. Many seats in front of us and all of the seats to our left were empty. This map is not to scale. The lawn is deeper than the pavilion itself and appeared to be very full. |
It's unlikely that I will take those free upgraded tickets again. It's a buzzkill to sit in the back, on the edge of a puddle of bodies around the end of the catwalk, with a sea of empty seats stretching into the distance. The venue should try and fill the entire pavilion if they're already giving free upgrades. Why leave 500 or more empty seats? There were probably 8000 people on the lawn. Unless folks have learned their lesson and know that staying on the lawn is just more fun, they could have found takers for those tickets among people sitting very far back. A big part of a being at a concert is a sharing energy with other attendees. The only energy to be felt where we were sitting was from a group of shrieking sorority sisters sitting behind us. Being surrounded by empty seats sucks the life out of me.
Then, to make it worse, about halfway through Brad Paisley's set, people started to drift out. Why did these people come at all? Some of them payed over $100 a ticket. The people sitting next to us left 45 minutes before he was done in order to avoid traffic.
I think it is rude for an entire party to walk out of a concert in the middle of an artist's set. It's rude to the performer (even if they're used to it and no longer give it much thought) and it's rude to the audience. Perhaps the fact that I grew up attending classical music performances influences my opinion here. I can't imagine a quarter of the audience getting up and walking out of Meymandi Concert Hall in downtown Raleigh in the middle of a performance by Yo-Yo Ma in order to avoid getting caught in a bit of traffic.
What makes it OK to walk out on Brad Paisley?
Friday, August 12, 2011
Joe Nichols, Take It Off!
Joe Nichols' new video for "Take It Off" is out. Here's a link to the video.
In the video Nichols creates a magical "Take It Off" frame out of newspaper. When a woman, walking down the street minding her own business, crosses into the frame, she suddenly finds herself in a bikini holding a beach bag. Of course she's thrilled and proceeds to the party happening at the large above ground pool in the middle of an intersection.
Apart from the fact that this song had much greater video potential than just another girls in bikinis party video, I'm wondering if Joe Nichols doesn't realize that his greatest fan base is female. We're not interested in watching another bunch of skinny girls in bikinis frolicking in a pool. At the very least, Mr. Nichols, take your own shirt off! Why is it that everyone else in the video is half dressed when viewed through the "Take it Off" frame, but you, Sir, change into a drab grey T-shirt? If you can dish it, you can take it...off!
In the video Nichols creates a magical "Take It Off" frame out of newspaper. When a woman, walking down the street minding her own business, crosses into the frame, she suddenly finds herself in a bikini holding a beach bag. Of course she's thrilled and proceeds to the party happening at the large above ground pool in the middle of an intersection.
Apart from the fact that this song had much greater video potential than just another girls in bikinis party video, I'm wondering if Joe Nichols doesn't realize that his greatest fan base is female. We're not interested in watching another bunch of skinny girls in bikinis frolicking in a pool. At the very least, Mr. Nichols, take your own shirt off! Why is it that everyone else in the video is half dressed when viewed through the "Take it Off" frame, but you, Sir, change into a drab grey T-shirt? If you can dish it, you can take it...off!
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
"Kennyyyyyyy, I love youuuuuu!!!!!!" screached the drunk blond.
Anytime you tell anyone who has been to a Kenny Chesney concert that you're going to a Kenny Chesney concert, they say "You'll have fun. Kenny Chesney puts on the best show", or "Kenny Chesney concerts are a blast." Kenny Chesney has been channelling Jimmy Buffet, so my assumption before the concert was that it is going to be one big party.
The scene is set when we park our car and out of the SUV next to us tumbles, like clowns out of a phonebooth, a seemingly endless stream of barely legals with open containers and attitudes. One young lady rushes across to the edge of the woods and squats in plain view of the parking lot and the handful of men also doing their business along that strip of woods. Welcome to a Kenny Chesney concert.
Uncle Kracker was the first to open. My friend Kristie jokes, "Well of course he's opening. Isn't it his job to follow Kenny Chesney around?" It's easy to poke fun at Uncle Kracker but I like his song "Good to be Me". In general, his set is underwhelming. He closes with his buddy Kid Rock's "All Summer Long", and by then most of the partiers have drifted in, filling in the spaces. An unconscious vomit streaked 20 something is spotted being carried out on a lawnchair by an army of security. The concert has barely begun. That's not fun.
Billy Currington gets the crowd on their feet. I love the sense of humor in his songs. Because we are sitting so far back at the concert I don't have much to say about Currington's set apart from that it's fun to sing along with him. He has just enough hits to make him the perfect opening act. He can fill his short set with songs we all know.
I head to the restrooms right after he leaves the stage, and, after being stuck in a crushing bottleneck that forces me to tread across the former contents of someone's stomach, I find myself in a line to the ladies room that was, I kid you not, at least 1000 women long. The bathroom mission is aborted and replaced by a beer run. I did manage to make it back to the restroom in the middle of Chesney's set. There was no line and just one sick girl standing over a garbage can with her very patient friend, missing the concert. That's not fun.
Enter Kenny Chesney! "I love you Kenny! I love you!" Shrieks the drunk blond behind me, right into my ear. We are so far back that when I extend my arm and hold up my thumb, Kenny Chesney is the height of my thumbnail. Although with better visibility comes a better experience, being at a concert where the audience knows every single word of every single song is a whole lot of fun, regardless of where you're sitting. The crowd is singing along, and when he quiets for even a second, the space is filled with a roar. Everybody is dancing, from the 6 year old in a gingham dress on her father's shoulders to the shirtless beer-bellied 65 year old with the handlebar mustache. All the couples are hugging and quite a few making out, including the lesbian couple nearby. There was so much love and happiness in the amphitheater it's clear; when people say that a Kenny Chesney concert is a blast, that's what they're talking about.
Photos of Kenny Chesney in concert from www.newsobserver.com
The concert ended. While waiting for my friends to get through the restroom line, I shared a picnic table with a family. Their 20 year old son appears to be a mean drunk, strutting around, flexing his bare pectorals and looking for a fight. I said to his older sister, "Maybe he just needs a hug." She snorts. He suddenly sits down. "Mama, I'm so thirsty. I'm just so thirsty." Mama rolls her eyes. I toss him my water bottle. He drinks it down, shuts up and puts his head in his hands. He has stopped having fun.
We march back to the car, past the recharged RV parties, over the creek and through the woods (literally) with a lively bunch of folks, to find the youngsters from the car parked next to us locked out of their car, with the battery dead. Two of them are curled up on a blanket exhausted or nearly passed out. Nobody has a AAA account except one of the girls on the blanket, and she'd have to call her Mom for the number. She wasn't rushing to call Mom. After attempting to help them problem solve for a few minutes we threw in the towel and said "Good luck." Security would eventually help them or the seemingly sober driver would break down and call his parents. They would be OK, but that's not fun.
Now you may ask, why is so much of this article about drunks? Because apart from the music, there is a whole lot of drinking at a Kenny Chesney concert. I've been to around twenty concerts and shows in the last two years and haven't seen so much drunkenness. Even I, for the first time in my 25 years of driving, decided to leave my car where I parked it that afternoon, in a friend's driveway, and pick it up the next morning. If stopped by the police, I surely would have failed a breathalyzer test. I was not the designated driver so it's neither here nor there that I drank a couple beers into tipsy, but it is no wonder that so many of the twenty somethings ended up as complete messes.
So is there a moral to the story? Of course, but it's obvious. I had fun. The majority of attendees had fun. The only people who didn't have fun are the ones who drank themselves into oblivion or had to take care of a sick friend. Don't be one of those people. Kenny Chesney concerts are a blast.
Anytime you tell anyone who has been to a Kenny Chesney concert that you're going to a Kenny Chesney concert, they say "You'll have fun. Kenny Chesney puts on the best show", or "Kenny Chesney concerts are a blast." Kenny Chesney has been channelling Jimmy Buffet, so my assumption before the concert was that it is going to be one big party.
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| Happily waiting for the show to begin. |
Our car is parked almost mile away, so for 16 minutes we march with our lawnchairs past tailgaters swilling beer, with their tents and cornhole. We know we are close when we arrive at the RV parties, complete with bigscreen TVs and Karaoke machines. There is always tailgating at Walnut Creek, there is just more of it than usual. We are a little surprised when we were able to score a spot on the lawn about a quarter of the way back, right in the center. The gates have been open for half an hour but everyone is still outside partying, and has been for almost two hours. As we're sitting there observing the abundance of cute girls in their daisy dukes, boots, and braids we notice a young woman weaving back and forth as she approaches the group sitting in front of us. "Where do I know you from?" she slurs. There are smiles and hugs and then she stumbles back to her seat. The concert hasn't even started yet and she's already smashed.
Photos from www.newsobserver.com of the tailgating at Walnut Creek.
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| I thought these young women looked great in their get-ups. |
Billy Currington gets the crowd on their feet. I love the sense of humor in his songs. Because we are sitting so far back at the concert I don't have much to say about Currington's set apart from that it's fun to sing along with him. He has just enough hits to make him the perfect opening act. He can fill his short set with songs we all know.
I head to the restrooms right after he leaves the stage, and, after being stuck in a crushing bottleneck that forces me to tread across the former contents of someone's stomach, I find myself in a line to the ladies room that was, I kid you not, at least 1000 women long. The bathroom mission is aborted and replaced by a beer run. I did manage to make it back to the restroom in the middle of Chesney's set. There was no line and just one sick girl standing over a garbage can with her very patient friend, missing the concert. That's not fun.
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| The lawn was packed at Walnut Creek |
Photos of Kenny Chesney in concert from www.newsobserver.com
The concert ended. While waiting for my friends to get through the restroom line, I shared a picnic table with a family. Their 20 year old son appears to be a mean drunk, strutting around, flexing his bare pectorals and looking for a fight. I said to his older sister, "Maybe he just needs a hug." She snorts. He suddenly sits down. "Mama, I'm so thirsty. I'm just so thirsty." Mama rolls her eyes. I toss him my water bottle. He drinks it down, shuts up and puts his head in his hands. He has stopped having fun.
We march back to the car, past the recharged RV parties, over the creek and through the woods (literally) with a lively bunch of folks, to find the youngsters from the car parked next to us locked out of their car, with the battery dead. Two of them are curled up on a blanket exhausted or nearly passed out. Nobody has a AAA account except one of the girls on the blanket, and she'd have to call her Mom for the number. She wasn't rushing to call Mom. After attempting to help them problem solve for a few minutes we threw in the towel and said "Good luck." Security would eventually help them or the seemingly sober driver would break down and call his parents. They would be OK, but that's not fun.
Now you may ask, why is so much of this article about drunks? Because apart from the music, there is a whole lot of drinking at a Kenny Chesney concert. I've been to around twenty concerts and shows in the last two years and haven't seen so much drunkenness. Even I, for the first time in my 25 years of driving, decided to leave my car where I parked it that afternoon, in a friend's driveway, and pick it up the next morning. If stopped by the police, I surely would have failed a breathalyzer test. I was not the designated driver so it's neither here nor there that I drank a couple beers into tipsy, but it is no wonder that so many of the twenty somethings ended up as complete messes.
So is there a moral to the story? Of course, but it's obvious. I had fun. The majority of attendees had fun. The only people who didn't have fun are the ones who drank themselves into oblivion or had to take care of a sick friend. Don't be one of those people. Kenny Chesney concerts are a blast.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
1300 Calories Later, Jason Michael Carroll's Numbers
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| Jason Michael Carrol image from Cracker Barrel's website |
Did you know that Cracker Barrel actually has its own record label? The other day I had to google "Cracker Barrel locations" in order to purchase Jason Michael Carroll's new album, Numbers. I met my friend Rachel and her sweet little girl for lunch and as we walked in I shook my head and said to Rachel "the things I'll do for country music...." After partaking of a biscuit, chicken & dumplin's, green beans, fried okra, sweet tea (all adding up to over 1300 calories, oh no!) and good conversation, I bought the CD, loaded it into the player in the trunk of my car and headed home, speakers blasting.
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| Country Kibitzer wondering why she's eating at Cracker Barrel when she's on a diet. |
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| This was just the beginning. |
The album opens with a "This is for the Lonely", an uptempo song, with terrific lyrics, that showcases Carroll's beautiful voice. When Carroll hits those low notes, it goes straight to my toes. Of all the songs on the album, they definitely chose the right one to start with. I'd like to hear "This is for the Lonely" on the radio.
JMC performing "This is for the Lonely" at UNC-Pembroke.
As videos recorded from the audience go, this one has decent sound.
Numbers, the first single off the album, has grown on me over the last few months. QDR, our local country station, has played it with such frequency that my original wall of resistance crumbled. That was the song I was belting at the top of my lungs as I missed the exits to the highway. Still, the subject matter is perplexing, but who cares? It's a pretty song.
A fan made video for "Numbers" with photos of JMC in concert.
"Numbers" is followed by a spiritual but sad "Ray of Hope", a song about loneliness and prayer. It is a quiet and lovely song that many people will be able to relate to.
"Meet Me in the Barn" is the party song on the album and I'm thrilled to finally have a recorded version to dance around the kitchen to. I've heard him perform "Meet Me in the Barn" three times with his band, so was taken by surprise when toward the end of the song a female voice enters the mix. The addition of the female voice is great but it's unclear who the woman singing is. Does anyone know? This song was supposed to be the first single from the album, but due to another song about a barn being released by Trace Atkins at the same time, they decided to release the song "Numbers". I do hope "Meet Me in the Barn" makes it to radio because it makes me smile.
Another good recording from the UNC-Pembroke show by the same fan.
"Meet Me in the Barn" performed without the female vocalist mentioned above.
Another entertaining song is the quirky "Can I Get an Amen", an odd and unexpected political song. It sports lines like "I believe in equal pay, if the job's the same why pay somebody less. It don't make sense. And I believe in women's rights, but I ain't gonna lie, I do like a short, tight dress." and "I believe in loud guitars, smoky bars and muscle cars, pick-up trucks and gun control, as long as they leave mine alone." The originality of having a gospel choir accompany him on this type of song is disarming and caused me giggle until I teared up with happiness. Finally, a song about being a moderate redneck. Beautiful!
The remaining six songs are all about relationships. They range in quality from OK to good. He performed "Let Me" and "Last Words" at Rapids Jam and I enjoyed them live. The weakest one is "My Favorite" which is just too schmaltzy. "Stray" is interesting but it's about knowing that your partner is destined to cheat. Oy. What a bummer of a topic. According to the dates on YouTube videos, "Stray" (click for info) is a song Carroll has been performing for some time. Apparently he wanted to put it on his first album but the record label refused. If he's been performing "Stray" for this long it was probably a great decision to finally record it.
"Stray"
He closes the album with his hit from a few years ago, "Alyssa Lies". I have seen grown men cry during this song at his show. It's a good one.
If you like Jason Michael Carroll's voice I suggest going to Cracker Barrel and buying the CD, but learn from my mistakes. Don't overeat! Tonight I had carrots, celery, and pickels for dinner.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Tim McGraw and his Broken Foot, Raleigh, July 8th, 2011
I wasn't planning on attending the Tim McGraw concert but we have a 21 year old Israeli camp counselor staying with us for a few weeks. I asked her if she had any interest in going for the cultural experience, assuming she had no idea who Tim McGraw is. "Tim McGraw? He's married to Faith, yes? I watch E. Can I wear a cowboy hat?" It's a small world, y'all.
The Band Perry opened. They did a very short set and sang 2-3 songs in addition to the three songs we know from the radio. Luke Bryan got a bigger reaction from the crowd of mostly women. As one would expect from Luke Bryan, he put on an energetic and sexy show. Bryan radiates mischief, which is why it was easy to believe Tim McGraw when he blamed his broken foot on Bryan.
The following is public service message to all country music stars. If you have a broken foot and it hurts, sit down. You do not need to move around the stage with a broken foot. We do not care if you chose to do your whole performance from a hospital bed in traction, as long as you want to perform.
Tim McGraw announced that this performance was being broadcast live on Sirius XM radio. He then proceeded to overdo it and walked right off the stage after15 minute 30-45 minutes (thank you anonymous commenter for correcting me), leaving his band to awkwardly finish the song. After a momentary pause his keyboard player of 18 years, Jeff McMahon came on and explained that Tim needed to catch his breath. McMahon sang two of his own songs for us. Even though one of my friends called this keyboard player "the sacrificial lamb" he held his own and the crowd gave him plenty of love. I really enjoyed his song Angela's Wings, which I found on YouTube for you (click) . McMahon said that this was a first for him (performing solo on the fly for 15,000 people who were there to see McGraw) so if anything good comes of McGraw's broken foot, I hope it comes to McMahon. His performance was, as they would say on Seinfeld, a feat of strength.
The Band Perry then joined McMahon on the stage and performed two more songs including a medley of American favorites like "American Pie" and "Jack and Diane". They are just cute as three little buttons, but by now we were ready for McGraw to come back on and people were starting to wonder if he was done for the night. McGraw did reappear after a 20-30 minute break. He reopened with "I Miss Back When" and was joined by Luke Byran, who dressed up the line "back when a screw was a screw" with some very naughty hip thrusts. For the most part, McGraw refused to sit on the stool they had put on the stage for him. He sounded fine as he limped around, waving his cane in the air and letting the first row sign his blue cast as he passed. I do think the entire crowd would have breathed a sigh of relief if he has just sat his tush down.
He closed with "Live Like You Were Dying", "Indian Outlaw" and "I Like It, I Love It". For all of McGraw's difficulties in the end it was a great show. Once he came back on, McGraw put his all into giving the audience what they came for. I suppose that's the stuff that makes him a country superstar.
I wonder if Sirius XM broadcast the entire thing. Does anybody know?
The Band Perry opened. They did a very short set and sang 2-3 songs in addition to the three songs we know from the radio. Luke Bryan got a bigger reaction from the crowd of mostly women. As one would expect from Luke Bryan, he put on an energetic and sexy show. Bryan radiates mischief, which is why it was easy to believe Tim McGraw when he blamed his broken foot on Bryan.
The following is public service message to all country music stars. If you have a broken foot and it hurts, sit down. You do not need to move around the stage with a broken foot. We do not care if you chose to do your whole performance from a hospital bed in traction, as long as you want to perform.
Tim McGraw announced that this performance was being broadcast live on Sirius XM radio. He then proceeded to overdo it and walked right off the stage after
The Band Perry then joined McMahon on the stage and performed two more songs including a medley of American favorites like "American Pie" and "Jack and Diane". They are just cute as three little buttons, but by now we were ready for McGraw to come back on and people were starting to wonder if he was done for the night. McGraw did reappear after a 20-30 minute break. He reopened with "I Miss Back When" and was joined by Luke Byran, who dressed up the line "back when a screw was a screw" with some very naughty hip thrusts. For the most part, McGraw refused to sit on the stool they had put on the stage for him. He sounded fine as he limped around, waving his cane in the air and letting the first row sign his blue cast as he passed. I do think the entire crowd would have breathed a sigh of relief if he has just sat his tush down.
He closed with "Live Like You Were Dying", "Indian Outlaw" and "I Like It, I Love It". For all of McGraw's difficulties in the end it was a great show. Once he came back on, McGraw put his all into giving the audience what they came for. I suppose that's the stuff that makes him a country superstar.
I wonder if Sirius XM broadcast the entire thing. Does anybody know?
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Rapids Jam, Day 3: One Hot Southern Mess, but Lots of Fun.
On Saturday, day three of Rapids Jam, Tracy and I arrived at the concert late to shorten our exposure to the heat. First we went out to lunch in Roanoke Rapids at Logans Roadhouse (I don't recommend it for salads. My salad was wet.) and then asked in the Starbucks where to walk around and do some shopping. After expressing their frustrations on the scarcity of attractions in Roanoke Rapids, the baristas sent us to the Riverside Mill shops in Weldon. It was air conditioned and had a nice combination of QVC closeouts (I bought a sweater of all things), good quality pottery and crafts, antiques, and used books. If you want to do a little shopping next year in the Rapids Jam area, I suggest Riverside Mill.
One hot Southern mess! That is the word to describe Saturday at Rapids Jam. It was around 100 degrees and even after the sun went down, it never cooled to a comfortable temperature. The only people busier than the water vendors were the EMS. We sat under the shade tent for the hottest part of the day and watched a stream of people being transported on ATVs back to the first aid tent. At one point it was so hot that I considered taking up smoking again so I could go into one of the tobacco promotions tents which appeared to be air conditioned. We decided that it was too hot to stay in our sunny seats for any act that wasn't really good, so I'm only going to review the good performances we watched from beginning to end.
Until Scotty McCreery came along, Jason Michael Carroll was our country music hometown hero in the Raleigh area. Since I'm not a teenager, in my book he still is. JMC has an album coming out (to be available at Cracker Barrel) that appears to be chock full of terrific songs, including his current single, Numbers. Numbers has grown on me quite a bit since I last wrote about it. He focused his show at Rapids Jam on songs from his new album, including Let Me (Beautiful), and Meet Me in the Barn (Sexy), and Last Word (OK). This is the third time I've seen JMC live and he's always good. He moves that wonderful bass voice of his all over the stage. At Rapids Jam he tripped on a piece of equipment while running backwards and fell flat on his back but he kept right on singing. At Rapids Jam it was too hot to jump up and down with at the appropriate place during "I Can Sleep When I'm Dead", but of course I wept during Alyssa Lies. That song breaks my heart, and with the memory of an act the day before telling the audience to "beat their children" I'm sure glad he played it.
Clay Walker was also good but he had some problems with feedback and at one point seemed a little aggravated with a stage hand. I also think the heat may have been getting to him but it's obvious while watching Clay Walker perform that he's a guy with a great sense of humour. He opened with "I'm in the Mood for You." He sang one of my favorites, "Before She Was Mama", which always makes me laugh. "She Won't Be Lonely Long" in my opinion is one of the sexiest songs out there so that was excellent to hear. "Jesse James" was a little awkward (it always is) but I like the lyrics to that one. He played one song that sounded like a Mexican vacation party song (not sure if it's an old or new one) while he shot confetti out above the audience. Of all the acts at the festival, his felt like a fun summer concert. If it just hadn't been so darn hot.
Lady Antebellum closed the festival. I saw them last summer but had terrible seats. Even though it was still baking hot at 10pm this concert was more enjoyable than the more temperate one last summer from bad seats. They played all of their hits and some of the songs they've penned or co-written for other artists, including Sara Evan's "Little Bit Stronger" (co-written by Hillary Scott). They closed with "Just a Kiss" and "Need You Now", in that order. Hearing those two songs in that order is like the story of a first date turning into a booty call a few hours later and I was amused. Of the three headliners, Willie Nelson, Sugarland, and Lady A, I definitely enjoyed Lady A's concert the most. Country music snobs can me shallow and accuse me of having terrible taste in music but Lady Antebellum deserve their popularity. They have a wonderful country/pop sound and have generated a lot of excellent songs in a very short period of time.
One hot Southern mess! That is the word to describe Saturday at Rapids Jam. It was around 100 degrees and even after the sun went down, it never cooled to a comfortable temperature. The only people busier than the water vendors were the EMS. We sat under the shade tent for the hottest part of the day and watched a stream of people being transported on ATVs back to the first aid tent. At one point it was so hot that I considered taking up smoking again so I could go into one of the tobacco promotions tents which appeared to be air conditioned. We decided that it was too hot to stay in our sunny seats for any act that wasn't really good, so I'm only going to review the good performances we watched from beginning to end.
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| Jason Michael Carroll |
Until Scotty McCreery came along, Jason Michael Carroll was our country music hometown hero in the Raleigh area. Since I'm not a teenager, in my book he still is. JMC has an album coming out (to be available at Cracker Barrel) that appears to be chock full of terrific songs, including his current single, Numbers. Numbers has grown on me quite a bit since I last wrote about it. He focused his show at Rapids Jam on songs from his new album, including Let Me (Beautiful), and Meet Me in the Barn (Sexy), and Last Word (OK). This is the third time I've seen JMC live and he's always good. He moves that wonderful bass voice of his all over the stage. At Rapids Jam he tripped on a piece of equipment while running backwards and fell flat on his back but he kept right on singing. At Rapids Jam it was too hot to jump up and down with at the appropriate place during "I Can Sleep When I'm Dead", but of course I wept during Alyssa Lies. That song breaks my heart, and with the memory of an act the day before telling the audience to "beat their children" I'm sure glad he played it.
 |
| Clay Walker |
Clay Walker was also good but he had some problems with feedback and at one point seemed a little aggravated with a stage hand. I also think the heat may have been getting to him but it's obvious while watching Clay Walker perform that he's a guy with a great sense of humour. He opened with "I'm in the Mood for You." He sang one of my favorites, "Before She Was Mama", which always makes me laugh. "She Won't Be Lonely Long" in my opinion is one of the sexiest songs out there so that was excellent to hear. "Jesse James" was a little awkward (it always is) but I like the lyrics to that one. He played one song that sounded like a Mexican vacation party song (not sure if it's an old or new one) while he shot confetti out above the audience. Of all the acts at the festival, his felt like a fun summer concert. If it just hadn't been so darn hot.
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| Lady Antebellum |
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