Down on D' Street

We attended the Nashville Rising concert last night.  There have been several benefit concerts for flood relief, however, this one was scheduled almost six weeks later in order to provide additional funds in an ongoing manner.

The concert was organized by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw and included variety that one would not necessarily expect!  The show was extremely well-designed with each artist performing approximately two songs and a brief intermission with videos and other activities.

The show began with Carrie Underwood.  I am not and never have been a fan and while many do love Carrie, I thought she was screechingly loud.  Her stage costume was a bit on the bizzare side and later I noticed that she may have tried unsuccessfully to emulate Faith with the black jacket!

Favorites:

Well, it's that time of year again when I have a bit more time to share concert experiences around N'ville!

I'm going to work from most recent to cover what's been happening over the past year.

Last week was the CMA Music Festival.  The CMAs usually take place the same week as the Bonnaroo Festival.  CMAs - Nashville; Bonnaroo - Manchester!

We always opt for the CMAs.  Maybe due to convenience and quite possibly due to the fact that living for a week in a muddy field doesn't appeal to me all that much!

Because of the flood, I was wondering how the CMAs would go.  Many festival-goers who had booked rooms at the Opryland Hotel were relocated to other hotels in and around the N'ville area.  Needless to say, there was "no room at the inn" downtown.

We usually try to attend to of the nighttime concerts, however, this year we only went to the closing ceremonies due to teaching schedules and other events.  Although the concert was well worth the $$$, I still miss seeing Keith Urban! 

We got to LP when Blake Shelton was coming on stage.  We also saw Trace Adkins (...excellent!) and the show ended with Brad Paisley...who is always consistently outrageous as a N'ville picker!

Here are some of our pictures:








Although oppressively humid and hot, a good time was had by all.  I saw today that over 22 million dollars was spent ... great news for N'ville!

Here's a preview of what I'll be posting soon:

• Jimmy Buffet concert and the N'ville flood
• Christopher Cross and the N'ville Symphony
• James Taylor and Carole King 
• Trying to get Paul McCartney tix
• Last Rodeo!

I can't believe so much time has passed since my last post.  I've been to many concerts and musical events since and will be bringing the blog up to date soon!

We had tickets to two nights of the CMA Music Fest concerts at LP. Thursday, we arrived at a humid, crowded, packed stadium. The show began with Brooks & Dunn. I was surprised that they came out first but was glad to see them after many years.

They were excellent as usual, however, all I could think about was AV (Arrington Vineyards) and all the great wine that Kix and his friends are making. The thought of a late night fall picnic on the grounds overtook my thoughts...KB 105, and the other favorites...

The concert was abruptly stopped due to a tornado warning, thunderstorms, and rain. We waited a while under the concourse, but decided to make a run for it and got back to the Bennie just before it rained. As we were waiting, I remembered all the previous Fan Fares with B&D, the Curb Record Show, King George, and one year a surprise visit from Garth!

We heard that after three hours, they resumed the music with abbreviated sets from Deirks and Brad.

We returned to LP on Sunday - the last night of the festival - and the closing show. The think I like about the CMA Music Fest is the variety of fans that attend. We sat behind some Danish dudes who completely "rocked out" to the music. Next to us were some very hard core "deliverance-types" - nice but a bit scary.


HIGHLIGHTS!

John Rich pimped out in the fur coat! I always think he puts on a very entertaining show complete with Cowboy Troy and Two Foot. I only wish he was a bit more of a realistic Democrat! On a side note - I had to ask Paul to refrain from commenting during Detroit.


Taylor Swift was awesome! My kind of high school girl - not afraid to tell the story of true high school experiences. Paul thought she was a little bitter, however, given the typical high school situation, I think she is right on target!


Next up was a surprise visit from Sugarland...the Eurythemics of country music! Jennifer and Christian were excellent. Their music is crisp, clear, and both were very entertaining. I must say that they were the Danish dudes' favorites as I have never seen the likes of such moves from concert goers! In between were a few "no names" in my opinion. Many were performed in a strained yet enthusiastic manner.


Last up was Kenny (no last name need be mentioned), who closed the festival. The wait was worth it, of course. Kenny is one of the most energetic performers I have ever seen. The last time we saw him was also at LP last summer. The place was packed, drunk on music and Corona, and very "into" the music. Kenny encourages and invites engagement and he gets it! He sang all of the "summer songs" that everyone was waiting for. I couldn't help remembering the first time I saw him at a Fan Fare in the late 1990s. At that time he was just starting and he was...young! I remember thinking that he would probably be very big due to his enthusiasm...I guess I was right! Most excellent way to bring the festival to a close!

hmm... maybe I'll go to Bonaroo next year...don't think so! Can't wait until next time! For all the pirates and poets (... and Danish dudes) - see you next year!



Fleetwood Mac at Sommet Center / June 20, 2009

Last Friday we went to the Fleetwood Mac concert at Sommet. This was the first time I had ever seen FM. I was equally interested in observing the crowd as well as listening to the band. The crowd was exactly what I expected with the exception of a few "old tokers" who got caught by the little usher.

Stevie Nicks was her "gypsy self." Even though she repeated singing one song and then going to the back for (I guess) rest, about halfway through the concert her voice became strained. I got a bit tired of the Lindsey Buckingham show as he appeared as though he really loved himself.

Mick Fleetwood, dressed like a character from a Shakespeare play, pranced about in his red booties to the delight of the crowd.

As I listened, I began missing Christine and her smooth, reflective voice.

I also was bombarded with memories of a struggling mother making oatmeal cookies with her three year old daughter while singing Say That You Love Me and later rocking her infant son to sleep to the tune of Everywhere!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MMLsmA2htw

...the tunes of Music City... Till the next concert...