My original intention was to make the most of my e-ticket and rock out for all 11 ½ hours of the festival. But the pollen finally got to me on Friday, so I thought it wiser to attend only for the primary reasons that I paid. So I arrived at Nissan Pavilion around 4:15, missing all of the New Country Review. Which is a shame, but the only motivation to see them was Brian McComas' one radio hit ("99.9% Sure") and Keith Anderson's "Picking Wildflowers." The latter being yet another song I can add to the Losing Your Virginity playlist, but I got to hear it in the car en route during his scheduled set, which was fine enough.
I sat for a few minutes on the lawn in grave overcast and a few sprinkles until around 5:00 when Jamie O'Neal came on. She was excellent. Even though it was neither here nor there for me that she was performing, I maintain that a great deal of music is better when performed live. And I especially enjoyed hearing "When I Think About Angels" because it's just one of those that rings so damned true...that everything is a transitional object when you're infatuated.
I would add that any artist who sings about the importance of visiting family in the nursing home deserves my support.
Mike joined me not long after Jamie finished up, so we had drinks and debated over whether Martina McBride classifies as socially conscious or just whiny. And then the sun came out, the sky cleared to blue, and it was time for Phil Vassar! It's funny because I had the opportunity to see him twice at Madison (after I graduated) since he was Homecoming's main attraction and an alumnus. I suppose it worked out because I wasn't really into country music yet and by now he has quite a few more hits under his belt. He played everything I was hoping for, though I started getting antsy because he struck into "Pretty Woman" and throwbacks often mean the end of a set. So, I bobbed along for a few bars and then, without missing a beat, he glided into the intro of "Carlene," at which point I got so excited, I think I had a small seizure. And it was instant empathy for the groupie archetypes who are all like, "And then I thought he wasn't going to play and then he did!" Although a competing moment was during "Just Another Day in Paradise" when he shouted to the crowd, "I'll bet JMU is beautiful today!" Cheapest applause ever, but I'll eat my shirt if he wasn't right.
Another half-hour break and then the Charlie Daniels Band came on. Words cannot describe how incredible this man is with a fiddle and it would be pointless to try. But I will say this in re: to a past debate about whether the Devil was actually better than Johnny. In an encore I have no doubt was planned just to make the audience wet themselves in anticipation, Charlie Daniels played the extended version of the song. Johnny fucking pussy-whipped the Devil. End of discussion.
Charlie also had the most social commentary in his act, including the evils of child molesters. But most impressive was what he had to say about our troops after his performance tour in Iraq. He said the soldiers asked him why the U.S. media is only reporting on the death and destruction over there when the troops are making so many good things happen. Liberal or conservative is irrelevant, I think. It would be a nice change of pace if we considered building schools and hospitals "news" and not second-class "human-interest stories."
Mike left at this point, so I was on my own for Lonestar. This enabled me to move down to the bottom of the lawn, right next to a speaker for a primo seat. Being the headliners, they went all out with the lights, jumbotrons, fog machines, etc. They began with "My Front Porch Looking In," during which the audience did the best job of keeping in synch for the chorus. It is one of the oddest sensations to hear thousands of half-drunk, jointed-up teenagers pulling it together with the families next to them to sing, "with a sippy-cup of milk."
They continued with some stuff from their current and upcoming album including a couple of stanzas from of "Not a Day Goes By." And then after about an hour, the stage went dark and was relit in various hues of blue, purple, and green and Richie began a piano solo that led seamlessly into "Walking in Memphis." It was my highlight, so I packed up to leave after that. I made it to the top of the hill and prepared to make my exit, when they began talking about their primary childhood musical influence. My curiosity piqued and they launched into a montage of Alabama, beginning with "I'm in a Hurry (and don't know why)." So of course I stuck around for that, then headed off, hoping to make an advanced exit. I was disappointed that I missed "What About Now" but I could hear them from my car, which is the perfect place to hear that song anyway.
Trying not to run over the hundreds of beer bottles left over from the Strict Enforcement of No Alcoholic Beverage Consumption in the Parking Lot, I got out of Nissan after about 45 minutes and made it home around midnight. Mike and I agreed that we will see more of it next year, although this year's lineup will be difficult to top.
( 2:59 PM ) Meghan
