So many things to do in NYC on a Saturday night, but once again I opt for my favorite pastime: concert going. This past Saturday, Rodney Atkins brought along Josh Thompson and Tyler Farr to the Best Buy Theatre in the heart of Times Square in NYC. The show had many empty seats in the upper section but standing room was full. I was actually pretty surprised at how full it had become since none of these guys had albums to promote, but they were still bringing in the redneck country guys and gals from NY....which there are a lot of!
One of my favorite things to see is a bare bones performance: a powerful voice and a guitar. Tyler Farr delivered. He sang his current single Redneck Crazy and Hello Goodbye along with some Johnny Cash and a little bit of Whistle from Flo-rida. I'm not sure about the rest of the crowd, but I loved his set. Give him time, because I think he is going to be big. He just needs the break.
Josh Thompson brought rockin' country to his set. Funny thing he tweeted earlier in the day "this crowd looks rowdy"...he didn't know how rowdy they really were. A fist fight erupted mid-set in the middle of the floor. He told those involved to settle down and that he was not playing anymore until it stopped. Well it did and the music resumed. He played a mix of old and new including the song which would be his new single, Hillbilly Limo, a fun up-tempo number that the crowd was singing along to by the end. I have been a fan of Josh since 2010 and I have to wonder why this guy has not had anymore hits. He tours like crazy, is terrific live and is a strong songwriter, having written cuts for both Jason Aldean and Brad Paisley. Maybe his time will be soon, I hope so.
The crowd liked Josh, but boy did they love Rodney. I had only seen Rodney twice before and once was a songwriter's series, so this is my first true concert experience with him. He was good, he played hits including Farmer's Daughter, He's Mine and Cleaning This Gun. Honestly, the crowd loved him, singing along with every song and really enjoying his set. He comes across on stage as personable and hard working. In addition, he and his talented band seem to have a good time while up there.
I was able to meet all three artists and I have to tell you, the three of them are extremely genuine, down to earth guys who talk to you without rush.
For under 30$ a ticket, this show is totally worth it.

www.rodneyatkins.com
www.tylerfarr.com
www.joshthompson.com

Country music is all over NYC this week. Kip Moore played Webster Hall last night and we were there. The venue holds about 1500 people and the place was sold out. Lotsa young ladies, many wearing their red baseball caps backwards a la the object of their affection. A pretty young crowd with one thing in common, they were ready to have a good time. And Kip Moore definitely gave it to them. He took the stage around 9pm and gave a full throttle performance. The minute he walked out on the stage the floor was literally shaking, the crowd giving him a crazy, warm, and energetic welcome. The entire crowd was singing every word and bouncing along to Crazy, his first number of the night. When I saw Kip with Eric Church on the BSB tour, I said he had "it" and he still does. He gives 110%, plays to the audience and moves around that stage like a pro. He's having fun up there and it's contagious. He sang a 17 song set, resting for a bit  on a stool when he sang his new single Hey Pretty Girl. He capped it off with an encore blend of Tom Petty's Free Fallin and Faith When I Fall.
The opening act, A Thousand Horses are a southern rock group originally from South Carolina, now in Nashville. If you like Blackberry Smoke, definitely give these guys a listen. Their set was loud and energetic, and did a good job of pumping up the crowd for Kip.
For more information and tour dates, click on the artists name to be taken to their web page.

Sooo, since this is the third time I have seen this tour I am pretty certain I can give
an honest review. Saturday's show was in Albany NY and was sold out! The
prior shows had Thomas Rhett as an opener, who I think is pretty terrific.

I was excited to see Lee Brice opening this show since he is coming off a
few big singles and I had only seen him once prior in a small venue.

Lee Brice played  for about 20mintes and the crowd ate it up. He sounded pretty good on songs “A  Woman Like You” and “Hard to Love” smiling and interacting with the crowd. But  he still has not won me over.
He has a strong voice but I feel as if he’s  overdoing it, punching me with the words or delivering them over dramatically  instead of delivering them to me naturally. And boy does he have the facial 
expressions…..perhaps he’ll grow on me….worked with Miranda Lambert. 

Now  Dierks and the guys’ set, as always, was too
short. But I don’t feel like he was  rushed. The songs flowed nicely
and he seemed to be enjoying himself the entire  time. Many ladies
undergarments were thrown on stage to which he commented that “this was the most pieces of underwear thrown on stage ever”. My favorite parts  of
the show though is when Up On The Ridge is played
and also, the nice acoustic  blue grassified, everyone in front of the catwalk
“Settle for A Slowdown”. The  guys are talented and I think this really shines 
through when they go bare  bones: voices and instruments...that’s it. The set
stayed pretty much the same  except for a few new pics of the band
during the segment where he introduced  them via video screen. The
lighting and video screens are not overused, but as I  have said before, Dierks does not need them.
He and the band, to me, are perfect  as is.  I loved hearing “I Hold On” (a song he wrote
after his father passed...if you want to know who Dierks is, listen to

the lyrics)again and  closing with “Home”, the flag behind them. And
this time he not only gave away  one guitar, but a second to an
adorable little boy in the front….this is one of  the reasons we love him so much. The set list did not
change from previous  shows. However, DB would come out with ML twice before,
once for the finale of “Bad Angel” and another for “It’s A Long Way To The Top”.
The latter song was  taken out of the show and in its place Miranda sang “Do
Right Woman”….why this  change had to take place is beyond me. Another thing 
that bothers me is if this  is a true co-headlining tour why doesn’t Dierks
have an encore? ML comes out to  sing “White Liar” and “Do
Right…”….why can’t Dierks, with 10 #1 hits, come out  and sing an
encore or two? I would even take an encore where the two of them  come out together and sing 3 songs. They are friends and their voices go very  well together…seems logical to me.

Miranda’s set was the same as before  except for the aforementioned extra song. I can do without her rendition of “Mississippi Queen” and the song “Dead Flowers”. I would like to see “Nobody’s  Fool” as a replacement for one of those. She just did not seem all that into it  on Saturday. I wouldn’t say she 
phoned it in, but she did not jump around as  much or interact with
the audience as I have seen at other shows. The finale  though, was like a big party. Both
bands were on stage,  Angaleena Pressley from  Pistol Annies came out as well and Lee Brice. “Bad Angel” it was with a little  misstep for the third verse (who was singing Angaleena
or Lee?) with ML suddenly  having some pep, laughing
and trying to balance a cup on her head. This is the  type of fun atmosphere I
would pay to see every night.

Then after final  bows, unless it was my 
poor lip reading skills, I tell you Lee motioned to DB to  walk off stage with
ML and he would follow. Well, it sure looked like Dierks  said "no come with
us", as he put his arm around Lee and they all walked off  together.

Gotta love this guy. Cannot wait til
April.