Hookin' Up and Hangin' Out

If you know me at all, you know I love Toby Keith. And more than just loving his music, I love his concerts. And on Saturday night, I went to my third Toby concert. I'm becoming something of a groupie. Need proof?

Toby, whether or not you like his music, puts on one helluva show. The man can perform like no other. And last night, while far from the best show I've seen him do, was not a disappointment!
Rae and I made the trek out to Nissan Pavilion in spite of the not outdoors concert weather. Nissan is an outside venue and we had lawn seats, which we knew meant we'd be braving some serious mud and traffic to see the show. And I have to say, I'm glad we did it. We got there early enough to be in the first and a half rows of lawn seats. Now, in my personal opinion lawn chairs should be strictly verboden at such events. But alas, I still don't rule the world, and therefore, people are still rude and block the view of the more polite fans behind them. We chose to sit in such a place where the only people blocking us were a couple of teenage girls and their mothers (hereafter to be known as The Freaking Cheerleaders) that were not in chairs. We sat strategically so that we could see right over and around them, having an excellent view of the stage and massive screens.

The opening acts were Rushlow Harris (a duo that, mark my words, will make it HUGE in no time at all), and the beautiful, charming, and all together delicious Joe Nicholls. No one has ever heard of Rushlow Harris, and I don't even think they have anything out on the radio yet. Therefore, no one should be on their feet screaming for them yet, RIGHT? But no, before the duo even started singing the freaking cheerleaders were on their feet. No one else in the ENTIRE audience is standing. NO ONE. Certainly not anyone else in the first row (note, first row, not front row). But the girls are standing. I considered asking them to sit until Toby Keith took the stage, but someone beat me to it. And from what I could tell, that lady asked politely. But White Tee Shirt Cheerleader turned and gave her what was clearly not a polite response. One of the mothers quickly popped up and asked the girls what had happened. From my point of view, the girls may have dramatized the exchange just a bit in replaying the story. Next thing you know, their stupid moms are up on their feet too! Oh, and giving the girls beer to drink. They girls couldn't have been more than 15 or 16.












I say if you can't make them do what you want, mock them and make them suffer appropriately. So I took this picture. I noticed from their shirts that they go to my sister's rival high school. I have every intention of making sure this unflattering butt shot gets circulated widely on MySpace soon. Because I'm just that nice.

So, really Rushlow Harris and Joe Nichols were worth the show alone. Joe Nichols even caught a red bra thrown at him during the show and continued to finish the last song and a half with it hanging from his guitar. Not that that makes him great or anything. But it does give you an idea of how much swooning goes on in his presence.

And then it was time for Toby Keith. Yeah Baby. There is nothing quite like hearing, feeling, and seeing thousands of mostly drunk rednecks singing Toby songs. (Rae didn't quite care for the "I'll Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again" song.) Oh and during Toby's performance, everyone was on their feet singing and dancing along. But by then the cheerleaders had moved up to some other seats, leaving us with their mothers. What I like about Toby Keith songs are the originality in the lyrics, and the not-so-typical subject matters. Sure they are still country and redneck related, but it isn't the usual stuff. For instance, "Who's Your Daddy?," or "I Wanna Talk About Me," are not your standard fare, but very fun to sing and scream along to.

In the end, what is the one song that Toby Keith will always be known for? And the song that probably half the audience comes to hear? "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue," otherwise known as the "Boot in Your Ass" song. I love that song, and pretty much everything about it. And I gotta tell ya, there is nothing quite like witnessing 10,000 drunk rednecks screaming in unison, with fireworks, lights, etc going on, "WE'LL PUT A BOOT IN YOUR ASS, IT'S THE AMERICAN WAY!" And that moment, right there, was worth the entire night! I may not get my hearing back for a month, but it was well worth the night!



(not taken at the concert we were at. but just so you can see how the stage lights up right at "we'll put a boot in your ass." oh, and he was on-key at our concert.)