$75 tic includes all you can drink beer. Guess where the focus of the event lies.
Ah, Shamrock Fest, the only concert of the year where I couldn’t actually care less about any of the bands and am more interested in the fact that the VIP section provides free beer all day. Unfortunately, mid-March isn’t really the best time of year to have an outdoor festival in DC, as it’s still often cold and rainy. And for the 2nd year in a row, it rained for Shamrock Fest. However, Joey, Seth, Lauren, and I had already bought our tickets and by God, we were going to use them and get our beer. The weather report was unfavorable, though not disastrous, with only light rain anticipated much of the day. I tried to talk her into the contrary, Lauren she was more concerned with putting together a cute outfit, rather than one that would keep her dry. She even convinced me to forgo my rain pants because they were “dorky.”
We arrived at the venue and began the day, running into a few friends here and there. Joey and Seth eventually made it. Seth’s father also came, which was a pleasure, because it was my first time meeting him. Not long our arrival, it began to rain pretty hard, chasing everyone into the tents. However, trips to the bathroom still required us to venture back into the rain. The day quickly deteriorated with Lauren the first to grow to wet and cold to want to continue. It wasn’t long before she wanted us to cut our losses on the day and head to the warmth of a bar somewhere in the city. The rest of us agreed and we made our way to Gordon Biersch Brewery downtown, a repeat of the previous year with Joey and Seth. Notice in this whole memoir, I didn’t yet actually mention music. Well, there really wasn’t anything that I saw that was worth mentioning, since we only stayed long enough to see a few unimpressive cover bands. Maybe the weather will be nice for Shamrock Fest next year.
Setlist:
Who Cares
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Houston Rodeo: Brad Paisley, Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas
Come for the world's largest livestock exhibition and a PRCA event; stay for the critically and popularly acclaimed country star
Every March for three weeks, Houston, Texas hosts the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at Reliant Stadium, the largest such event in the world. Each day culminates with a performance from an A-list music star. Though not exclusively country music, the majority certainly is. Thursday night’s performance was country music singer-songwriter and guitarist Brad Paisley.
I started the evening doing all the good the “Texas” things that a rodeo has to offer: eating barbeque ribs and tamales, drinking beer, examining livestock, and perusing cowboy boots and belt buckles. Actually, growing up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, it was pretty similar to the Pennsylvania Farm Show in downtown each January. Since I don’t know anyone who lives in Houston, I was at the rodeo by myself. I figured I would just try to talk to as many people as I could. I was somewhat mistaken that people came from far and wide to attend the rodeo, so my initial goal to meet someone from each of the 50 states proved impossible rather quick. I learned that the rodeo is really just a Texas thing, mostly attended by locals and people from around the state. My new goal became just to find someone that had further to go home than me, and I couldn’t even complete that task. Nonetheless, I met plenty of nice people.
I soon made it into the stadium for the rodeo to see steer wrestling, bull riding, and wagon racing. Quite a spectacle! I don’t know who in their right mind would want to ride a bull, but there are apparently guys who do this professionally. Eventually the lights dimmed and Brad Paisley started his set. I’ve listened to and enjoyed several of his albums, so I recognized many songs, including "We Danced," "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)," "I'm Still a Guy,” and “American Saturday Night” but was only able to sing along to a few courses.
Unfortunately, Reliant Stadium is huge and the layout is optimized for a rodeo, not a concert. For example, there only a handful of people allowed on the floor, standing in the dirt. Therefore, the set up made Paisley feel somewhat distant from his audience. Nonetheless, he was able to get the crowd excited and everyone had a good time. Being able to do this in such a venue is an incredible skill that takes years to hone; Brad Paisley is definitely a rock star. Additionally, the acoustics in the building were terrible, with different pitches either echoing or being muffled. However, all and all, it was a fun show and interesting event. Furthermore, it was a great deal for only $40 for the entire evening. Though a rodeo and Brad Paisley concert couldn’t be further from my typical concert fare at the 9:30 Club, spending all this time in Houston will hopefully broaden my horizons on what defines a good show.
Setlist:
N/A
Every March for three weeks, Houston, Texas hosts the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at Reliant Stadium, the largest such event in the world. Each day culminates with a performance from an A-list music star. Though not exclusively country music, the majority certainly is. Thursday night’s performance was country music singer-songwriter and guitarist Brad Paisley.
I started the evening doing all the good the “Texas” things that a rodeo has to offer: eating barbeque ribs and tamales, drinking beer, examining livestock, and perusing cowboy boots and belt buckles. Actually, growing up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, it was pretty similar to the Pennsylvania Farm Show in downtown each January. Since I don’t know anyone who lives in Houston, I was at the rodeo by myself. I figured I would just try to talk to as many people as I could. I was somewhat mistaken that people came from far and wide to attend the rodeo, so my initial goal to meet someone from each of the 50 states proved impossible rather quick. I learned that the rodeo is really just a Texas thing, mostly attended by locals and people from around the state. My new goal became just to find someone that had further to go home than me, and I couldn’t even complete that task. Nonetheless, I met plenty of nice people.
I soon made it into the stadium for the rodeo to see steer wrestling, bull riding, and wagon racing. Quite a spectacle! I don’t know who in their right mind would want to ride a bull, but there are apparently guys who do this professionally. Eventually the lights dimmed and Brad Paisley started his set. I’ve listened to and enjoyed several of his albums, so I recognized many songs, including "We Danced," "I'm Gonna Miss Her (The Fishin' Song)," "I'm Still a Guy,” and “American Saturday Night” but was only able to sing along to a few courses.
Unfortunately, Reliant Stadium is huge and the layout is optimized for a rodeo, not a concert. For example, there only a handful of people allowed on the floor, standing in the dirt. Therefore, the set up made Paisley feel somewhat distant from his audience. Nonetheless, he was able to get the crowd excited and everyone had a good time. Being able to do this in such a venue is an incredible skill that takes years to hone; Brad Paisley is definitely a rock star. Additionally, the acoustics in the building were terrible, with different pitches either echoing or being muffled. However, all and all, it was a fun show and interesting event. Furthermore, it was a great deal for only $40 for the entire evening. Though a rodeo and Brad Paisley concert couldn’t be further from my typical concert fare at the 9:30 Club, spending all this time in Houston will hopefully broaden my horizons on what defines a good show.
Setlist:
N/A
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