Josh Abbott Band 5.20.11

Meghan, Josh Abbott, & Jen

May 20, 2011 Grizzly Rose, Denver, CO

This was our first time seeing Josh Abbott Band (JAB).  This band can sure draw a Texas dirt crowd in Colorado…..impressive, not unlike their music.  We weren’t in our usually spots near the stage which means 2 things:  1.  I did not catch a guitar pick, and, 2.  We were tearin’ up the dance floor (you heard me right).  When the pick hits the guitar strings on ‘I just wanna love you’, I just wanna spin around the dance floor with a wrangler clad cowboy.  When Preston Wait saws that fiddle, it’ll make you want to two-step like you never knew you wanted to.

I just wanna love you, I just wanna love you,
I just wanna love you tonight.
Get lost in love with you for hours, make love in a bed of flowers.
I just wanna love you tonight.

JAB played their hits, ‘She’s Like Texas’ She’s as bright as the Dallas sky./She always holds her head up high./She loves the company of her family./She believes in God’s greater plan./She trusts that I’m a good man./That’s why I’ll always believe that she’s like Texas, and she likes me.’,  ‘Buried Me’, ‘Good Night For Dancing’ and his new single with Kacey Musgraves, ‘Oh Tonight’.  The latter two were missing the female voices of the duets but still good.  JAB did a stirring version of the intimately edgy ‘Taste’,  Well I close my eyes but I open my heart/As the heat of the moment slowly tears our clothes apart./And we begin to move and I slowly surrender to/The beauty and seduction that embodies you.

Before the encore, which included one acoustic song by Josh Abbott, they closed with ‘Road Trippin ’  Koozie’s in the console, beer’s on the floor,/and everybody’s gassing up their Fords./I got good tunes blaring sing-along-songs, and everybody’s glad to get long gone.  After hearing this song live and not having to use the coat check for the first time in many months, we can officially say it’s summertime in Colorado.

We love it and we want more…come back to Colorado soon Josh Abbott Band!  For more information about the Josh Abbott Band and their music or to purchase your summertime – road trippin’ koozie, click here:  http://joshabbottband.com/

Meghan♥

Lee Ann Womack, Reba McEntire, and George Strait 4.1.11

George Strait, Reba McEntire and Lee Ann Womack at Pepsi Center April 1^st

This was an incredible evening packed with some of the most outstanding talent in the industry.

Lee Ann Womack opened and she was terrific. This was my second time seeing her in concert and she’s quickly becoming one of my favorite female vocalists. Womack performed all her hits including, ‘I May Hate Myself In The Morning’, ‘Last Call’, ‘Solitary Thinkin’, and ‘I Hope You Dance’ which has become her signature song.  She only had 30 minutes on stage and my only complaint of the night was her performance was too short. For more information or to sample some of her best tunes: www.leeannwomack.com

Reba McEntire commands a real presence on the stage, (just think back to all the award shows she’s hosted) she shines in the spotlight! Tonight was no exception, she showed up dressed head to toe in black sparkles! Comedienne Melissa Peterman, known as dingbat Barbra Jean from the sitcom “Reba” showed up mid-set for a goofy interaction with Reba that included McIntire claiming to be a huge Rockies fan and auditioning at Denver’s local Diamond Cabaret Strip Club. Reba and Peterman performed a quirky duet of the show’s theme song, ‘I’m a Survivor’.

My favorite part of the night was watching Reba and Womack perform a duet to ‘Does He Love You’, a song about two women loving the same man.

‘I’ve known about you for a while now
When he leaves me he wears a smile now
As soon as he’s away from me
In your arms Is where he wants to be
But you’re the one he rushes home to
You’re the one he gave his name to
I’ve never seen his face in the early morning light
You have his mornings,His daytimes
And sometimes I have his nights’

Reba’s encore was probably one of the most memorable I’ve seen. A yellow taxi cab drove on stage and out stepped Reba in a red sparkly dress to perform ’Fancy’.  The crowd went insane.

George Strait, aka, THE KING OF COUNTRY. This was my very first time seeing Gorge on stage.  Some might say his performance lacks flair but certainly not talent. But that’s what we all know and expect from this veteran of country music. Remember the movie from the 80s and his character Rudy? The film provided great insight into the following years for his performances. You won’t get distracted by the lights and special effects and fog type of stuff that many acts now rely on. He’s there to sing and singing is what he does best! There’s simplicity to his performance that’s heart-felt and endearing.  There are very few artists who appeal to such a widespread audience. For example, I had the pleasure attending this show with my 85 year old grandma who’s been a loyal GS fan over 20 years. There were a handful of eager pre-teen girls sitting in front of us, giddy with excitement to see their first concert ever while sporting braces and matching George Strait shirts! He draws an amazingly diverse crowd that all have one thing in common, their love for his music.

And with so many songs to choose from (almost 60#1 hits) he could have played all night long and I would have stayed and sang along! He ended with ‘The Cowboy Rides Away’ and it was the perfect song to end his 32 song set list.

If you want to see an amazing performance, you certainly saw just that! 4 hours of AMAZING music!

Jennifer♥

Stoney LaRue 3.19.11

 March 18, 2011 Grizzly Rose, Denver, CO

Jen, Stoney & Meghan

An all-time favorite of mine, Stoney LaRue.  His voice is full of soul and spirit and he does not put on a bad show.  Ever.  This set included a lot of much anticipated and welcomed new music. Among the new tunes, ‘Velvet’ a beautiful ballad ‘Come down and watch your first step, don’t do anything you might regret, you’re much too innocent to suffer, and it wasn’t all sunny days picking through your memories, the rain came down and you covered me in velvet.’, ‘Us Time’, a simple but soulful lovesong….the kind that melts my heart right down to nothin’.   ‘I got a place just down the road where we could watch the sunrise and after a night of lovin’ on you I love that look in your eyes, I’m needin’ some you, havin’ a drink, shootin’ the breeze just bein’ around you, a joke to make you smile, I’m needin’ some me, actin a fool, tryin’ to impress you, oh it’s time for some us time’. 

 He also did a really catchy new Spanish tune, but since I don’t speak Spanish, I couldn’t tell you what the Spanish words are, but it sounded great and now I want to learn Spanish.  Something about, ‘I will carry you’….really great tune.  This gives us all something to look forward to in May when the Stoney album is released. 

The new songs replaced popular picks such as ‘Downtown’, ‘Texas Moon’, ‘Shot Full of Holes’ (recorded and written with Jason Boland), and ‘Going Down in Flames’, though he didn’t fail to play crowd favorites, ‘One Chord Song’, ‘Idabel Blues’ and the always amazing Brandon Jenkins tune, ‘Feet Don’t Touch the Ground’.  He closed his set with the infamous ‘Oklahoma Breakdown’.  The encore performance was comprised of 3 tunes including the Gary Stewart cover, ‘Empty Glass’, ‘Oklahoma’ co-written with Cody Canada and previously recorded by the late Cross Canadian Ragweed with a thorough and intricate instrumental jam in the center of the song.

What was missing:  It was a great show and I love the new music but I would’ve liked a couple of acoustic songs…..just Stoney – guitar and voice.

If you still haven’t seen a Stoney LaRue show, well (well, well), it’s time you do. www.stoneylarue.com

-Meghan♥

Easton Corbin 3.6.11

March 6, 2011 Grizzly Rose, Denver, CO

Close call Easton Corbin.  I bought tickets to this show because I love his traditional sounding deep country voice and his radio hits, ‘A Little More Country Than That’ and ‘Roll With It’.  He reminds me (and probably most of everyone else) of a George Strait Jr.  I’ll start with the bad:  11 covers in the set.  Now, covers aren’t all bad and with a perfect deep country voice and a steel guitar in his band I assumed his covers to be in the likes of Vern Gosdin, Conway Twitty and Waylon Jennings.  However, my assumption failed to consider that the average age of the audience was about 19 thus, many of his covers were newer songs.  He opened with ‘A Little More Country Than That’ and after that I started to question, ‘A Little More Country Than What?’ as his next covers interspersed with his own album songs included:  Brooks and Dunn, Alan Jackson, Gary Allan, Alan Jackson again, and then finally, an oasis, a Merle Haggard cover of ‘Silver Wings’.  This was only to be followed up by a Kenny Chesney cover but then another Merle tune, then Conway Twitty’s, ‘Love to Lay You Down’.  He punctuated the covers with a couple more of his radio hits were, ‘Roll With It’ and ‘Love You Back’ and an interlude in one cover of Jerry Reed’s ‘Amos Moses’.  He started his encore performance with an amazing acoustic rendition of George Strait’s ‘The Chair’.  He closed with 2 newer George Strait hits.  ‘Ohhhh, I like you too but to tell you the truth’……..you should’ve ended at ‘The Chair’…..you just can’t top that.

What was missing:  more traditional covers (less new country pop)

-Meghan♥

Casey Donahew Band 3.4.11

March 4, 2011 Midnight Rodeo, Austin, TX

This was my first time seeing the Casey Donahew Band and my first trip to Austin.   The Midnight Rodeo is a smaller venue and it wasn’t too crowded, benefits on both accounts, in my book (however it’s a little ways outside of the downtown area).  The band performed their prevalent hits, among them, ‘Nowhere Fast’, ‘Let Me Love You and’ and ‘Next Time’ from the Moving On album released in 2009 and ‘Shine on Me’ and ‘Love Me Right’ from their self-titled album released in 2006.   Casey Donahew might fall into the category of Outlaw County or Texas Country, thus Texas is a reoccurring theme in his lyrics.  His songs are energetic and maintain a country sound and feel.  His lyrics, while simple, have a striking rhyming scheme that builds momentum in each song.

“Gonna take a stand and draw the line
Find a bottle and drink you off my mind
Find somebody new who
Don’t look a thing like you and
Spend all night and half a day
Lovin my blues away
Oh but you know that I’ll be fine
Cause there won’t be a next time” (Next Time) 

 

 

 

 

“Now it’s been a long 25 years
Living life with all these fears
I’m holding on for a better day
Pray the sun will come and stay
Shine on me, shine on me” (Shine on Me)

My personal favorite, ‘Angel’, the story of a women at the mercy of addiction.

“She’s an angel that’s lost her way,
She’s an angel from another day,
She may be the devil, sent to lead me a stray
But I think she’s an angel that’s lost her way” (Angel)

What was missing:  Jen

If you are reading this blog and you don’t understand any of it then you need to check out some Casey Donahew Band music ASAP.  You can listen for free on his website:  www.caseydonahewband.com

Casey Donahew if you are reading this, please add some Denver tour dates to your schedule.  That would be great, thanks.

-Meghan♥

Cody Canada and The Departed 3.3.11

March 3, 2011, Cowboys, Colorado Springs, CO

I fell in love with the original Cross Canadian Ragweed because it’s nothing like the Nashville pop country taking airwaves hostage these days.

I group myself amongst all the other avid Ragweed fans, disappointed to see them break up. So it’s with out question that I had high expectations for the new band. And the question on everyone’s mind: what is the difference between this band and Cross Canadian Ragweed? I saw The Departed perform a few times at Musicfest back in January, shortly after their debut, raw and uncut! I have to admit, I wasn’t sold.

I attended their March 3^rd show in Colorado Springs with more of an open mind. They played most of the songs from their upcoming album “This is Indian Land”, a tribute to Canada’s original influence and Oklahoma-based songwriters from the 1960s to early 2000s whose sound is called Red Dirt. I really like the song Skyline Radio:

“Step on up right this way if you wanna see the show we’ll help you out, fix you up, mend your fence and fill your cup, ……til you check your local listings for the skyline radio…….Someday im gonna take that ride, wanna have you go by my side, you’ll be Bonnie, I’ll be Clyde , with no particular place to go, get the key, let the motor run, talk about it in the mornin’ sun, be the best thing we’ve ever done, youand me and the skyline radio”

I strongly believe the new band behind Canada brings a lot of talent to the stage. Original Ragweed members, Cody Canada and Jeremy Plato are joined by two Oklahomans, keyboardist Steve Littleton and drummer David Bowen and Texas guitarist and singer-songwriter Seth James to form The Departed.

It’s obvious these guys love what they do and that is what makes fans fanatical about them. In the middle of the show Cody addressed the crowd saying “thanks for showing up, not knowing what to expect, and giving our new songs a chance. We’ll try to play a few of the old songs ya’all know and love.” I left the show feeling like I was there at the beginning of a something legendary…..yet an unquinching thirst for some Ragweed tunes remains.

Jennifer♥

 

 

Cody Canada & Jen

Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson 2.25.11

February 25, 2011 Buell Theatre, Denver, CO

My only regret is that I didn’t see these living legends earlier.  No doubt, years and hard living have taken a toll on the two but it has not compromised the integrity of the music with these two accomplished lyricists and musicians.   A bit weathered, as evident by the rough voices over the acoustic accompaniment, they don’t  fail to produce an unrelenting spirit in songs that chronicle stories of patriotism, drinking, hard work, struggles, loss, love, and life.

The Kris and Merle show was a full band acoustic set shaped by time-honored country songs tied together with comical commentary at the Buell Theatre.  I generally prefer shows in smaller venues but our seats were close and the sound was great.

Kristofferson opened with a song before Haggard joined him and from there played about 1 song to every 3 of Haggard’s.  Kritofferson played classics such as Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down, ‘Why Me Lord’, ‘Me and Bobby McGee’ ‘Here Comes That Rainbow Again’, and ‘The Pilgram, Chapter 33’:

“He’s a poet, he’s a picker
He’s a prophet, he’s a pusher
He’s a pilgrim and a preacher, and a problem when he’s stoned
He’s a walkin’ contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction,
Takin’ every wrong direction on his lonely way back home.”

Haggard played hits such as ‘Sing Me Back Home’, ‘I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink’, ‘Silver Wings’, ‘Mama Tried’, ‘Working Man Blues’, and ‘The Fightin’ Side of Me’. 

“And I turned twenty-one in prison doing life without parole.
No one could steer me right but Mama tried, Mama tried.
Mama tried to raise me better, but her pleading, I denied.
That leaves only me to blame cause Mama tried.”

Merle set down his guitar and picked up a fiddle, challenging the fiddle player in the band, for a sprightly Bob Wills ‘Take Me Back to Tulsa’.

What was missing:  Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.  And, the all-time classic Rainbow Stew and my personal favorite, ‘A Place to Fall Apart’.

“I’ll Probably Never See You Eye To Eye Again
This Letter’s Meant To Be My Last Fare-well
But You Need To Understand I’m Nearly Crazy
You Need To Know My Life Has Gone To Hell”

If you get a chance, go and see them while you still can.

-Meghan♥

 

Jen & Meghan at Merle & Kris

Eli Young Band 2.14.11

February 14, 2011, Cowboys, Colorado Springs, CO

I can’t think of a better way of spending Valentines Day than with one of the bands I LOVE the most!

From the first listen back in 2008, I was hooked. The music felt like coming home!  And, after seeing EYB perform 7+ times over the past few years, they never fail to amaze me! Tonight was no exception. Front row center stage at Cowboys in Colorado Springs might just be my favorite place to take it all in. The band has a true gift connecting with their audience and bringing us to that special place in country music where you experience every emotion to the fullest.

 EYB celebrated not only Valentines Day with us, but also the release of their new single “Crazy Girl” which shows a glimpse of an even more complex band than we saw in previous albums…“Without you, I’d lose my mind. Before you ever came along I was livin’ life all wrong. Smartest thing I ever did was make you all mine” augh! I’m melting! Can you please sing it to me? Please!! I’ve always been a sucker for songs like this — even more so when they’re done well, which this one is!

With the release of their 4^th album fast approaching, it’s evident this has the potential to be their best album yet.  A Nashville Boy Band these boys are not.

Thanks for the photo pic. Mike Eli! Thanks for the guitar pick Chris Young! Thanks for an amazing show Eli Young Band!!

Jennifer♥

 

Meghan, EYB Frontman Mike Eli, & Jen

Meghan, EYB guitarist James Young, & Mike Eli

Pat Green 2.11.11

February 11, 2011, Grizzly Rose, Denver, CO

Pat Green has been a favorite of mine for years and this is one artist I will never miss in concert. This whiskey drink’n, barefoot sing’n Texan always puts on an amazing show (even when needing an oxygen machine).  A Grizzly Rose appearance is an annual stop on PG’s tour but I still prefer seeing him play outdoor venues. Either way, all I have to say is please take me to Gallywinter!

 The show sold out in advance, leaving many fans hunting for stray tickets. He performed a nice mixture of his earlier hits combined with recent songs off the new album. One thing is certain; nobody has more fun hearing an audience sing his lyrics back to him as PG! His high-energy, upbeat philosophy on life is reflected in his feel good music. You can’t help but feel happy watching him perform! My only disappointment was that the show had to come to an end. If you haven’t seen him in concert, you are missing out! You have to experience it!  (check our concert calendar for the next PG concert https://fortheloveofthemusic.wordpress.com/upcoming-colorado-concerts/)

Jennifer♥

Pat Green & Jen Copper Mountain, 2010

Randy Rogers Band 1.14.11

January 14, 2011, Grizzly Rose, Denver, CO

Ahhhhh, Randy Rogers…..I’m glad I saw you just a week ago in Steamboat because I couldn’t see anything at this show.  Normally, I love to see a show at the Grizzly Rose but this was an exception.  It is stock show season and the show was oversold…way oversold.  It was shoulder to shoulder everywhere in the club which, for me, means a lot of getting stepped on and ran into by big drunk people – a price I willingly pay, though, to hear some good country music. 

While I couldn’t see much, I could still hear the show and Randy Rogers, you did not disappoint.  I appreciated that the set was not identical to what I had just seen in Steamboat.  I’ve seen some artists do exactly the same set with the same commentary in between songs on several different occasions…boring.  They played some of their classics:  ‘Wicked Ways’, ‘In My Arms Instead’, and ‘Lost and Found’.  What I loved about this set is in the middle of ‘Buy Myself A Chance’  ‘Well here goes nothing I hope for something/I’m walking out across the floor/I cross my fingers, I tap your shoulder and I say….’…they faded right into ‘Well excuse me, but I think you’ve got my chair’ as Randy explained ‘that is the world’s best pick up line’.  Oddly enough, I’ve never heard it outside of the song.  Throw a girl a line.

They also played a lot of new music off of their new album (2010) ‘Burning the Day’ including their first single, ‘Interstate’, ‘Damn the Rain’, ‘Too Late for Goodbye’, ‘Holding on to Letting Go’, ‘Missing You is More Than I can Do’ (Love, love, love that one….. ‘And I think it would be awesome if you’d get on that plane to Austin, baby missin’ you is more than I can do’)  and my very favorite, ‘Steal You Away’

“I could see us walking out that door
not looking back as we roll down the road
and I would show you what a man’s supposed to be
take you anywhere you ever wanna go

I should steal you away,
I should steal you away,
in the middle of the night come take your heart,
I should steal you away,
I should steal you away”

Yes you should, Randy Rogers.  Yes, you should.

What was missing:  Of all the times I’ve seen you play (all in Colorado of course) I’ve never heard you do Hill Country.  Mr. Randy Rogers, please come back to Colorado and sing me some Hill Country.  Thank you.  Love, Meghan

Check out http://www.randyrogersband.com/ for more info, music, and really cool merchandise that you can buy me.

Meghan♥

I will never be a photographer but you look good no matter what Randy Rogers.