Ain't No Doubt About It

Cross another one off the list of things I wanted to do. After having seen Toby Keith last night, there are only two concerts I have left to attend before I have seen everybody I wanted to. Next summer (assuming they tour) will be the Barenaked Ladies, and the summer after I might finally get to see Dave Matthews. But enough about everybody else, last night was Toby's night.

What a show! He's been ACM Entertainer of the Year at least twice, and there is definitely a reason for it.

Opening for Toby were Shooter Jennings (son of the late, great Waylon Jennings) and LeAnne Womack. I missed Shooter's two-song set (we were a little late due to horrid traffic), but his voice is a lot like Waylon's so I am sure it was great. I'm not a big Womack fan, so I just wanted her to stop squealing and get off the stage. It was actually pretty interesting to see the difference between the crowds reaction to the openers (everyone was sitting on the grass talking or goofing off, the people beside us were reading a newspaper!) compared to Toby Keith (everyone jumped up and stayed up the rest of the night).

Seeing as how he is Toby Keith and all, a 'regular' entrance could not be made. There's no way that he could just grab his guitar and walk out. So, in his big, bad-ass American way, Toby drove a big ole Ford F-350 right onto the stage and through a wall (well it was on a video) as the video ended the screen dropped and sure enough, there was the big ole truck. Lots of smoke and fireworks and then standing on the front of the truck was Toby Keith. A big jump from the truck onto the stage and we were off.

F.C.T.K. (according to the website I got this pic from) means "ford Congratulates TK

Obviously I didn't take the above picture. I tried to get a couple, but they aren't worth seeing

The first half of the concert was just not stop action: loud, screaming, big production action. About halfway through, his band left and he and another guy did three songs that they often perform for the troops when they go into the frontlines in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Listening to Toby sing those songs left one thing in my mind: There ain't no doubt about it, Virginia is a RED STATE BABY. 'Mr. Bush got on the phone and said, 'You SOB's better not be doing any business w/ that Taliban' got cheers like nothing I had ever heard before. Toby was also quick to point out during 'Beer for my Horses' that we ARE the good guys and there is not and should never be any doubt about that. That little statement also got a huge cheer.

Toby finished out the show and then came back to do an encore which consisted of 'American Soldier' and 'The Angry American' (you know, the 'We'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American Way' song).

Overall the concert was just great. I've only been to two other concerts (Trisha Yearwood when I was little for my cousins birthday, and Aerosmith), but of the three this was, by far, the best.

In the words of Sean Hannity, Toby Keith is a 'great American.'