Not Your Typical Country and Western Concert

I have always loved going to concerts.  But it was one thing that slipped through the cracks when our kids were little…we were just too tired.  The thought of staying up till midnight just exhausted me thinking about it.  Now the kids are growing older and want to go to concerts so it is more on our radar.  We have been to Katy Perry and Taylor Swift, and Ariana Grande is definitely in our future.  But it has been a coon’s age since I have attended a country western concert.  In the 80’s and 90’s I saw countless acts, like King George (of course), Reba, Brooks and Dunn, Alan Jackson, Conway Twitty, Vince Gill…you get the picture.  I am loving the new Country artists I hear on the radio, like Florida Georgia Line, Zac Brown and Darius Rucker.  So when I heard Luke Bryan was coming to town, I sought out the few country fans I know here in AZ and begged to go to the concert.  Please please please, let’s do this.  And, wow, did I get an indoctrination into the new Country culture, namely of Fireball Whiskey and the proliferation of Daisy Dukes (do the kids these days even know who the original Daisy Duke was???…Catherine Bach, thank you very much…or the Dukes of Hazzard for that matter, and yes, of course I saw Waylon Jennings live).  And can we talk about Fireball Whiskey?  Has no one ever tried Hot Damn before?  Tastes exactly the same, but some guy is making a mint off that brand.

So on to Luke Bryan: Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year for 2013, Georgia boy, singer, songwriter, performer, Country cutie.  “Rain Is A Good Thing” has been one of the most popular songs on my iPod for a few years.  “Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey, whiskey makes my baby feel a little frisky.”  Clever, catchy, how can you not love it?  And speaking of loving it, let’s move on to the topic of these jeans he wears.  Definitely not your run of the mill jeans.  Good bye Wranglers, hello shrink-wrapped jeans, apparently his signature.  Seriously, how does he get these on?  Or off, for that matter?  

I start with a rear shot, and I am almost nervous about sharing what the front looks like…

…the boys were even blushing…

…but I have to admit I found him darling

The girls, and the crowd, loved it, especially during “Country Girl (Shake It For Me)”.  There were so many great songs, it was hard to pinpoint a highlight…”We Rode In Trucks”, “Crash My Party”, “Drunk On You”, “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye”, and one fabulous duet with Lee Brice, who opened for him, of Eil Young Band’s “Crazy Girl”.  At one point, he was drinking water out of a red solo cup claiming that the dry air was kicking his ass.  I think he was confused…his jeans may have been cutting off his circulation.  

In his life he has known some tragedy, losing both his older siblings, one in a car crash, and the other in unknown circumstances, according to Wiki.  So he dedicated his beautiful ballad “Drink A Beer” to all those for have lost someone.  One of the things I love about country music is the stories the songs tell, and how I can relate to many (not the mama got drunk in jail songs and run over by a train in the rain), but many others, and “Drink A Beer” is one I cannot listen to without shedding a tear.  So I feel I need to share the lyrics with you and hope you all raise a glass to a loved one lost.

 

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