Tim McGraw 4/24/10 Palace

Yesterday was another first for me. I attended my first counry concert and did not die of embarassment or bleeding ear syndrome. The lovely BLT and her Dogg decided at 3:00 PM Saturday to give the Tim McGraw/Lady Antebellum show a whirl, if we could get decent tickets. Much to my surprise, we obtained Row 5, section 111 at face value. After buying the tickets, called Hank & Jeanine Miller (two of our best "Country" friends to see if they were going. They were going and had a preconcert meet & greet, with 3 song accoustic concert by Tim McGraw himself! We also met Virgie & Marissa at the show. Marissa bought Virg tickets and dinner for a mothers day gift. Anyway, onto the show.

Lady Antebellum put on one hell of a show! More Rock and Pop, than Country in my opinion. Good tight band, strong vocals, and good stage presence. Being 5 rows from the stage made it even better. Set was about 1.25 hours and well worth hearing/seeing. They closed with "Rockin in the USA" by Mellencamp and did the anthem justice. The crowd seemed to enjoy every song, but you know who they were here to see. At this point, I must point out that this crowd was way too nice! Hell even the bathrooms were clean and neat. This ain't no concert like I've seen before.

Tim McGraw took the stage at about 9:00 to a huge ovation. The stage was an inverted "T" with the catwalk area jutting into the crowd about 150'. Strong sound, strong musicianship, great crowd, and good lighting/staging made for an enjoyable experience. Tim works the crowd as well as anyone in music today. In fact, midway through the show, he allowed a couple onstage so the young man could propose in front of 20,000 people. He's lucky she said yes! Compared to my "out of comfort zone" show Wednesday, Gogol Bordello, this show was timid and pleasant. As the Rock Dogg, I don't dig "Timid and pleasant"! Give me raw and gritty anyday. The band played a full set of approx 2.25 hours, and most fans that I talked to, raved about the show. The lovely BLT liked the show and that's all that mattered.

In summary,m the "Rock Dogg" is not about to change his allegiance. I tried country and it did not take (although Lady Antebllum was worth seeing). No offense, Timmy Boy, but your rythem section was weak and there was virtually no good guitar work. Pick it up and you might make a decent rocker!

Atmosphere A
Crowd B
Sound B
Lighting B
Staging A
Bands B
Weather C

Overall, as a rocker, I'll give it a C+. The lovely BLT gives it a strong B+.

Gogol Bordello

There are not many bands the Dogg wants to see that I haven't seen yet. Suffice to say when my "Dogg Jr" daughter, Lindsay insisted I go with her and the gang to the Royal Theater to see Romanian Gypsy Punk rock legends, Gogol Bordello and the warm up band, DeVotchka, I was less than enthused to say the least. Lindsay has seen them at least 8 times and has always insisted that I would love the band. With this in mind, we departed for Wednesday nights bash.

The night started with Lindsay, Brent, Andrew and the Dogg having some Bar-b-Que and drinks at Memphis Smoke. They all tried to build my enthusiasm and stoked me well with pre-show Jaegger-Bombs. My anticipation was growing by the minute for this new experience.

We arrived at Royal Oak Theater just in time to grab a drink and see the start of Devotchka's set. This band is tight as can be, energetic, and even though I knew none of the songs, they put on one hell of a show! I'd pay to see them alone. The staging and lighting was as to be expected at Royal Oak, average at best. However the sound, as usual was superb. The crowd looked to be 90% between ages 18-28. Pretty sure I was the "oldest Dogg" in the place. Don't matter to me, if it rocks, I'm there. This show started out rockin with the best of Europe.

By the time Gogol Bordello took the stage at 9:20, the place was sold out "assholes to elbows" with the box office turning away dozens more. The energy of the crowd was on a par with the biggest acts I've seen. The band consists of: 3 guitarists, bass, drummer, percussion, accordian, fiddle, back up singers, and i think I even saw a tuba at one point! This band kicks some serious ass. The energy is somewhat north of J. Geils 30 from years ago. The band, the crowd, and even the staff were always in motion. The Dogg made it within 40' of the stage, but the intensity of the pit was a little too much for a 51 year old Dogg with bad knees. So I settled into my position about 80' from stage, dead center. For the next 2 1/2 hours, I was as entertained as any show I've seen before. This is a must see show for any true rocker. The sound, the energy, the crowd, the people watching, and most of all the non-stop pogo must be experienced to appreciate. This dogg is now a huge fan of Gogol Bordello and will be pimping them big time!

Lindsay, Brent & Andrew, thank you so much for turning me on to this jam band. Great show and even better company. Seeing you all leave the pit after 4 songs, soaking wet and exhausted made me yearn to be young again!

Weather C
Crowd A+
Lighting C
Sound A
Staging B
Atmosphere A+++
Line up B+

Overall an"A" show that should be added to all of your bucket lists.