If you didn't listen to country music in the late 70's & 80's, you probably don't know that John Conlee has one of the most distinctive voices inthe genre. And wile you may not know him, many artists today, such as Craig Morgan, cite him as one of their biggest influences. Perhaps because his first single - Rose Colored Glasses - was such a huge hit, going all the wasy to #5 in 1978. Then his next 2 singles - Lady Lay Down and Back Side of Thirty - both went to #1. Big hits that fast isn't very common (if your name isn't Carrie), so he got popular fast.
He performed all those hits plus his #1 hits from the early 80's, I Don't Remember Loving You, I'm Only In It For Love,and Common Man. This one hit home with a lot of attendees with lyrics: "I'm just a common man, I drive a common van, My dog aint got no pedigree"...
You can still see John Conlee fairly often playing at The Grand Ole Opry and a few months ago surprised Craig Morgan onstage at a concert in Jacksonville, NC to invite him to join the Grand Ole Opry.
Considering he was one of the older performers at the festival, he put on one helluva show. It was extremely entertaining...
Will & Caitlyn Rocked!! These are the winners of the CMT reality show, Can You Duet, and i have to say that I LOVE these 2!! A little background diversion... Last Spring, on CMT (Country Music Television for you newbs), Naomi Judd was one of the 3 judges that weeded through hundreds of contestants to come up with 10 pairs of duos for the TV show. Then a duo was eliminated each week until Will & Caitlyn finally won. Think of it as American Idol for duos with a country twist. (Note: Season 2 is about to start - check it out: Can You Duet Season 2...
What is special about these 2 is that they didn't come to the show together - they each came with other partners, who didn't make the cut. But these 2 did and it was the judges who had the foresight to pair them together. And Caitlyn & WIll didn't have a choice - they either sang together or left the show!
AND... when they were here at CMA Fest last year, they had won the competition, but they couldn't tell anyone because it hadn't aired yet. That must have been tough!
On the Sommet Stage this Thursday afternoon, they really played to the crowd and livened up the place. Their current hit, Even Now, was a crowd-pleaser and my personal favorite, Stupid Boy, which likely won them the competition when they sang it on Can You Duet, was superb - better by far than Keith Urban's version and only slightly below Sarah Buxton's (the co-writer) version, which is just exquisite and full of emotion.
Then they spontaneously decided to play one of their current favorites and by Will's own admission, his "Favorite song Caitlyn sings" - the emotional, very-well-done I'm Not Who You Think I Am. The chorus of "you may hate me in the morning, but you're gonna crave me when the sun goes down" speaks to a lot of people.
I love this pair and while it's hard to tell yet if their music is too influenced by the labels, it's refreshing to see that their image isn't. They still look like the same lived-in folks from the firs Can You Duet. And God Bless them for remaining true to that and [hopefully] to their style of music as well. I'll be surprised if they aren't on the Riverfront at least next year. She can SING!
Ok - i must digress for a brief moment to display some of my favorite pics from the trip... Travelin with the Boys just has to make you smile!! Go Rich for building the perfect bed in the backseat!
We found the dog park at Centennial Park near Vanderbilt. On weekdays it was pretty empty but on Sunday afternoon - i bet there were 50 dogs there - no fights, though... Just lots of sniffin'... Here's some pix:
Party at the Water Fountain:
Sequoia makes a friend: Then we found the best place in Nashville for dogs... a nice lady at the dog park told us about this AWESOME place out by the lake - it's an old campground for RV's & tents that's been abandoned for about 5 years - so it still has the circle street but everything else is overgrown - so LOTS of great smell. The boys just RAN & RAN & RAN... we had tongues wagging in about 20 minutes...
Here's one of the long stretches...
And here are the boys with their tongues wagging:
And here's Sequoia on the porch - it's a little porch - hard to get a faraway shot so i opted for a closeup:
Steve Holy was up next… You may not automatically know his name, but you’ll likely remember his gorgeous Good Morning Beautiful and his rowdy, fun-loving I Got A Brand New Girlfriend (also the new album title). He’s a cutie and he did a very nice job on his songs with keeping the crowd engaged.
And here is the classic line that you'll all love (SORRY the video is so bad - i didn't realize i had to set its settings at a different place) BUt you can sort of make it out and you can hear it... In case you need the cheat sheet... I Got a Brand New Girlfirend We went and jumped off the deep end Went out to LA for the weekend Just lying on the beach wearing nothing but a smile Playing Kissy Kissy Smoochy Smoochy - Talking Mushy Mushy about Nothin...
First up was caught an act I hadn’t heard of - Fast Ryde. They were apparently from Nashville and talked about how great it is (which I agree with) and had a nice, fast-paced sound for most songs, which was lively for the day. Their downfall was their apparent need to repeat everything multiple times. It wasn’t just the chorus - it was everything - like we wouldn’t get it the first time, I guess, Anyway,the slower Makin’ It Rain, was quite enjoyable and the faster songs were nice - just repetitive.
Well - today started off SSSOOO well… I planned ahead - I got up early - I recognized there would be a crowd… so for a 10:00 concert kicking off the Riverfront stage - where ticket holders could get in at 9:00 and the non-paying public could get in at 9:30 - I got there at an unbelievable 7:45 to get in line (and be the 75th person in line, no less). But no worries, as time drew close, I too got closer - got my bag checked - and made it inside at about 9:00 am (for the show starting at 10:00).
There was a mad rush to get the best seats - complete with sound effects of a stampede, which was awfully cute… So I landed a primo spot right at the center of the stage and the second grass section back… laid down my towels, secured my space… brought out my umbrella to cover my computer and other necessities… and was ready for the MUSIC! (in an hour). So everything is going great… And then... the sky looked like this:
And at 9:45 when the producer of the festival came out to warn us that while they could play through the rain, they couldn’t play through lightning. And they had the National Weather Service on hand to tell them when the lightning was going to come (defined as: “the lawyers made me be this safe”) SO… they evacuated the WHOLE PARK!! Can you believe that?!?!
My whole morning was wasted!!
So I left as instructed and followed the herd into the Wildhorse Saloon as instructed - who wasn’t even selling alcohol yet!!!! Then when I came out the line to get back in was SSSOOO long it wasn’t even worth it!!
So… I gave up on the riverfront concerts… the line (that I got up at the crack of dawn to avoid) just wasn’t worth it!!My first plan was to go watch the dokdogs competition or the dog Frisbee/high jump show… but it got rescheduled for an hour later. But then luckily our new friends from yesterday had the foresight to go to the rooftop bar while it was still slightly raining and snag the corner primo table with the ultimate view of the Sommet Center stage (with beer table service)… what a way to spend the afternoon! The Sommet Center stage doesn’t have quite as good of acts as the Riverfront Stage (who doesn’t have quite as good of acts as the LP Field stage), but nonetheless they have some great performances… you’ll read all about them.So here I am at the rooftop bar watching the off-off-broadway performers drink beer and getting waited on - what a THURSDAY! Here’s the 411 on the performers… Other than the first one, who I missed!) I’m going post individually so they can be tagged appropriately.
While technically the festival doesn't start until Thursday, it's common knowledge around Nashville that the fun really started last weekend! For those of you that aren't familiar with the CMA Music Festival - or Fan Fair as it used to be known and still remains the name of choice for many - it's 4 days of concerts - all day and all night. - with most of the big names in country music appearing. What makes this different is that the shows are really for the fans. The performers don't get paid to perform. They re-route their tours and make their way here to show their appreciation for the fans! Many also have designated times to sign autographs and most have some kind of fan club party, too. And most everything is very reasonably priced. The 4-day ticket was $135 - not bad for 40+ hours of music! And the fan club events are all around $25-35, usually including a drink and food. I think the performers' accessability to their fan base is the single characteristic that sets country music apart from all other genres. Now on to the fun...Wednesday was kick-off day for the festival - most downtown streets are blocked off and there was a parade down broadway. The 90% chance of rain couldn't deter the anxious fans and it was well-attended. Here's my The Lost Trailers... Then after the parade, there's a big outdoor stage set up outside the Sommet Center all these great acts performed all afternoon:
Trent Tomlinson,
LoCash Cowboys,
Jason Michael Carroll,
The Lost Trailers,
James Otto,
Emerson Drive,
Eric Church,
Rodney Atkins
ok - i actually only heard most acts becuase we were sitting across the street at a rooftop bar and there were people all over the place. I waited until The Lost Trailers came on to get close enough to the stage to take pictures...
But everyone else sounded great!! Keep in mind, too, that all these events this afternoon were FREE in downtown Nashville. They are also opening up all the afternoon concerts to the public for FREE this year - a nice gesture when most people have less to spend on this kind of entertainment. Ticketholders do get to go in an hour earlier to get their spots...
It was a rainy Friday in June - and it had been a very rainy week - so much rain I was starting to think it was time to build an ark!! But like the Postal Service… “Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds”. Such is the case also for Brad Paisley’s (and Direks Bentley’s) fans!! There was some precipitation throughout the entire concert, but that couldn’t stop the big lawn party for opening concert of the American Saturday Night tour.
To set the tone… here’s the Crowd on the Lawn:
As Rich astutely pointed out, it was a much younger crowd this concert (defined as shorter skirts and lower-cut shirts). Definitely less overalls than the George Strait concert! And with that also come the illegality all around us - underage drinking and a distinctive, aroma in the air J that reminds one of college… You don’t get great Kodak moments of the stage from the lawn seats - but it is definitely an experience at every concert!! And the people-watching is hard to top!
Unfortunately, I missed the opening act, Jimmy Wayne (again! I know - I sense a theme, too). Which I did want to make since he’s from “around these parts”, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. I’m sure he was great.
We did make it for the Dierks Bentley segment - even though Rich had to break the posted speed limits on several major highways to make it on time. And BOY, was it worth it. From the opening song - the rowdy new single Sideways - to the very end - Dierks ROCKED the HOUSE!! His energy abounds and just overflows to the whole audience. He’s at that stage of his career where you don’t automatically WANT to go see him live when you hear his name, but every song he plays, you say “I love this song - I forgot he sang it”.
He played most all his hits: Every Mile a Memory, Feel That Fire, Trying to Stop Your Leaving, Free and Easy Down the Road I Go and more. One of the trademarks of country artists (and one of the things we fans like) is that the songs at concerts sound like they do on the albums - or at least very close. And when he strayed from the norm to inject a lot more bluegrass into Come a Little Closer, it was a sweet diversion and completely enjoyable.
You don’t often see an opening act leave and come back for an encore, but it was well-played. His finale was What Was I Thinking and it’s definitely a crowd-pleaser… Even made me decide to wear a “little white tank top” the next time I see Dierks Bentley!
It was an incredibly enjoyably performance… Although I can’t honestly say that Dierks Bentley should be headlining this year, you’ll be hard-pressed to find may opening acts this strong!
And, as a side note - just in case you don’t already have enough reasons to love this guy - I read this week that at his home in Nashville, he has a fence/gate in his driveway and has 2 holes cut in it that could look to some like modern art deco. But really they’re “peepholes” for his two dogs, Jake (who you saw in the What Was I Thinking video) and George. The holes are cut at their head heights so they can see what’s going on the neighborhood. How can you not love this guy!!Plus he's on Twitter and he twitters himself all the time - where he's headed around Nashville, what music he's listening to, etc. It's great!
And then there was BRAD!!
Okay… I know Kenny Chesney gets all the credit and accolades for “best concert ever”, but I have to honestly say that Brad Paisley puts on the best show in country music - at least he did last year - and this year was better! (Disclaimer - I haven’t seen Carrie or Keith or Sugarland, so I can’t comment on those). And this is coming from a die-hard Toby Keith fan!!
Perhaps its because his songs are just so much damn fun - think Mud On The Tires, I’m Gonna Miss Her, Celebrity and [my personal favorite] Online. Part of the credit also has to go to his new, improved stage graphics that must include 57 tv’s/screens showing 1 - 50 pictures at one time. Sometimes this can take away from a performance but in this case, it really enhanced it. He didn’t just display the videos from the songs, as some artists do - he really enhanced them or brought more life to them.
There are those (Rich!) that only like to hear hits at concerts and don’t enjoy the new songs introduced during the performances. This may the first time in history that the new songs were as enjoyable as the the hits - well almost. The graphics certainly helped the cause - you could almost see a video-in-the-making. But overall it had to be the catchy lyrics… another fishing song about a wife asking her husband how long he’ll be at the lake that day with the answer being “’til we catch all the fish and drink all the beer”… Now what’s not to love about that ultimate country song? I predict a future hit…
We all know Brad has a humorous side - you’ve read stories of his pranks on the road with his opening acts et al. But on his albums, he also frequently interjects that humor with at least one track from the “King Pow Buckaroos”. In the concert, the awesome graphics gave us a cartoon track from “Brad Paisly and the Drama Kings” featuring [cartoon] Toby Keith & Kenny Chesney. Although I generally don’t like diversions from the music it was entertaining.
All in all, it was a superb concert and definitely worth fighting the elements to see it. I could be naïve, but it seemed to me that Brad was genuinely surprised/touched/impressed/thankful that there was such a FULL & ENGAGED crowd there to see him [and Dierks] in the rain!
I love Toby (who’s coming in July), but it’s going to be quite hard [imho] to beat Brad/Dierks for “Concert of the year”. Not counting Carrie or Keith, who I won’t be seeing.
I was super-excited when i saw that Miranda was coming to Cherokee to play. We had been to the Big & Rich concert there about 18 months ago and really enjoyed the small, personal venue. All seats were good seats - there were at least 100 other crazy fans there - just like me - hanging out next to the stage taking pictures and screaming. Unfortunately... the powers that be at Harrah's Cherokee Casino decided that wasn't right for them. For this concert, the hall was changed to a larger room - with no incline - so i feel sorry for those in the back. Luckily, we had aisle seats and i was able to stand up and dance next to the wall - so as not to disturb all the biddies around me telling everyone to sit down the whole time. But the most absurd thing the casino did was to give away all the seats in the first 5 rows to their "high rollers". Which sounds good in a boardroom - but turns the concert into a dull event since no one in the front rows is excited to be there - ie singing and dancing. The seats were not pre-assigned - they were supposed to be first-come-best seats starting at 2pm the day of the show. Which would have been great (since i was there at 1:20) except they left out "except for the first 5 rows"!!) Additionally, the sound in that room was somewhat off and it was hard to hear the words on some songs - i think it had to do with the low ceilings as well. Oh, well... enough about that - on to the SHOW!!
From the opening song - Kerosene - to the Gunpowder & Lead grand finale, Miranda ROCKED THE HOUSE! She really gave it everything she had and it was obvious she - and her band!! -are truly doing what they love to do. She came to play and all the songs were exceptional. Her no-nonsense style portrays her passion for music. There were no costumes - just jeans and a black tank - no props, no signs, no gimmicks. It was just Miranda and her band playing the music they love. Since she wrote or co-wrote almost all of her own songs, the emotion behind the words really comes out in the heartfelt ballads like Desperation (a song shoe wrote solo and is her self-proclaimed favorite from her 2008 ACM album of the year, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Bring Me Down and her current hit, More Like Her (which she said she wrote on a day she was feeling "not pretty enough, not skinny enough, and not blonde enough").
Her upbeat songs like Kerosene, New Strings, Guilty in Here and Dry Town inspired literal dancing in the aisles - the highlight of the night could have been during Dry Town when two older ladies started dancing at their seats and one of them threw her cane aside because it was apparently interfering with her dancing.
She branched out from her own material on a few songs to play some popular hits like Midnight Hourand entertained with those just as much. She's not a singer at a microphone with a guitar sometimes. She is always dancing and strutting around the stage and interacting with her awesome bandmembers - who are all just having a blast!
Admittedly - with just 2 albums under her belt, it's a challenge to fill the songlist for a concert with all hits. So i do appreciate that the non-Miranda-fans in attendance were hearing a lot of songs for the first time and thus, not as inpsired to be raucous. Miranda knew this as well and even acknowledged those of US in the audience who were singing all the words to all the songs - which was nice. She did, however, leave out two of my favorites - Mama, I'm Alright and What about Georgia - two of the peppier tunes, opting instead for the slower, ballad-type heartbreak songs like Bring Me Down, Love Is Looking For You, and Easy From Now On. It's ironic that Miranda has obtained the reputation for a "kick-ass, tough-as-nails" singer/songwriter because of the popularity of the hits Kerosene and Gunpowder & Lead. But when left up to her, she always prefers the slower, meaningful, "heartrbreak songs" she has written. It's just the public and thus, the record labels, that respond to the kick-ass songs.
After much coaxing and finally a throwdown to North Carolina people to "get up off your ass" - the crowd did succumb and the true fans rushed the stage for the Gunpowder & Lead finale and i think even the "high roller wannabes" enjoyed the excitement. It was electric and exciting and a treat to be THIS close to the stage.
All in all, it was a very enjoyable concert - i always love it when i get to see Miranda live. And i highly recommend the experience to anyone who like to watch musicians just do what they love - even if you're not a Country Music fan (yet!).
Blake Shelton opening for George Strait - May 15, 2009 Note: this was the first concert on this George Strait tour this year With lawn seats, the pictures aren't great... but the crowd sure is fun to watch! Sadly, my friends were running late and i missed Julianne Hough. I hate that i missed her because last year - she was by far the best of the Opening, Opening, Opening acts in the concert series. She had tons of energy and really got the crowd pumped up - a difficult task for an Opening, Opening Opening act. And, imho, she di a better job than her soon-to-be boyfriend, Chuck WIcks, who was the Opening, Opening Act. Perhaps is was the short shorts and the legs that go on forever (which i'm sure is why my husband paid attention) but she was good. I'm sure she was that good or better this year, too.
I did, however, definitely make it on time to see Blake Shelton - since he is my Miranda's beau, i'm certain i'm biased about Blake. First of all - you just gotta love a star that stays true to himself - his signature plaid flannel shirt was the first clue.While i am happy that Blake [finally] got rid of hte mullet, his apparel choices have not drifted far from his pre-country-star days.
As expected, his performance was excellent and he covered all of his hits and played some fun, new songs, too. While Blake has had a resent string of hits, like She Wouldn't Be Gone and Home - which were very powerful as live performances - the oldies Austin and Old Red are still my favorites. He sang these perfectly as well. I just love his new single, Green, too (I think i heard it on the radio the other day - i assume it will be his next release). Blake's quirky take on politically correct nonsense never fails to entertain. In this song, he was "Green before Green was a Thing", but referring to his John Deere tractor and garm and garden, not the "Save the Environment" initiative. All in all - very solid performance - it only could have been enhanced if Miranda showed up to sing the background vocals for Home like she does on the single - but oh well... maybe next time. Here he is singing Home:
Then it was time for The Man... The Legend... Mr George Strait. You know - there are only 2 acts in country music that truly entertain at a concert even though their whole act is standing at the mic in the center of the stage and playing a guitar and singing - George Strait and Alan Jackson. I think it's because all of the songs are so good - and everyone knows ALL of them. And this concert was no exception. Actually this wasn't my first George Strait concert - but it was my first in 16 years - and i think this one was better.
I should point out that it must be very difficult for stars that are successforl for decades to come up with a song list for new concerts. There's not enough time to play ALL their hits, and they'll surely disappoint some fans no matter which ones they leave out. It's a no-win situation and it's unfortunate that it's only the successful singers that experience it. But overall, George did a nice job of navigating this obstacle (defined as: he sang my favorite song, Amarillo By Morning).
George's recent successes are quite impressive - Give It Away, I Saw God Today, Troubadour - all solid award-winning hits that are excellent songs. His success is well-deserved. The songs were entertaining all on their own - even though there wasn't the "energy" you see at a Kenny Chesney or Sugarland performance, the songs all have a life and energy of their own. From the old classics like I Can Still Make Cheyenne, The Fireman and Ocean Front Property - to the new classics like The Seashores of Old Mexico (my favorite video) and Rolling On THe River, he kept the crown excited to be there and you could tell he was excited to be there, too.
It should also be noted that this was the first concert of the summer tour and it had been only a few weeks since the unexpected death of his brother. But George is a true professional and neither of those things seemed to be a factor in his performance.
All in all - it wasn't the best concert i've ever been to but it was definitely worth the trip! Good music - good friends to enjoy it with - and cold beer! All that makes for a great way to spend a Friday night.
