While I should be writing up a practice in-class essay for
tomorrow, I’m not. Big shock, I know. Instead, I am still cranking Justin Moore
due to my concert high this weekend. I pulled another one of my stunts doing
two concerts two days in a row in two different cities. Last time it was three
in a row, in three days, in three different cities, with three different
people. This weekend I was lucky enough to have my better half Frank Baker
along for both shows and it was great to be able to share that experience with
him. Now, on to the important parts.
It started out on Friday – Jason Aldean with Jake Owen and
Thomas Rhett at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. I’d already seen Jason
Aldean many times, and tend to have been disappointed more each time with his
attitude and lack of connection to the fans. Frank, however, wanted to see him,
so I agreed when my buddy Tyler Oney and my sister Chas Lawson asked me to join
in on their fun. Thanks to Tyler, we were lucky enough to get pit tickets AND
backstage passes to meet Jake Owen. Cha-Ching!
It was a fun ride. We picked up Tyler in London and Chas in
Richmond and were Louisville bound. Cranking the new Blake Shelton CD,
sunglasses on…we rocked. We get to Louisville with just enough time to eat.
Chas’s choice of TGI Fridays was more than acceptable and it was really cool I
might add to walk above everything in the skywalk all the way to Fourth Street.
By the time we get back to the Yum! Center, we grab a nice
spot in line to get in the doors, only to find out Will Call is on the opposite
side. We race over there, grab our tickets and meet and greet passes, only to
find out we had 5 minutes to get inside and get in line for the meet and greet
with NO IDEA where we’re going. We RUN, literally…all the way in a half circle
to get to the allotted section and into the group awaiting Jake Owen. It was a
short meet and greet, but he was super sweet, and we made it out in time to get
a good spot in the pit for the remainder of the show. Thomas Rhett did a good
job in his Luke Bryan like stature, and jammin’ tunes.
Jake Owen put on a wonderful show – hopping in the stands
multiple times, minus security to sing to people, drink their beer, hug the
ladies, high five the dudes, and acknowledge the cute little kids in their cowboy
hats, too. Unfortunately, Tyler and Chas were on the opposite side of the pit
from Frank and I, but we could still make eye contact from time to time. The
good part about this is that we didn’t get thrown into the fight as they did.
Tyler, being the gentleman that he is, tried to protect Chas by pushing her
behind him as he preceded to punch a drunk retard in the throat. They survived
with no injuries, unlike some other poor, innocent people.
Jake was definitely all about the fans, and I was very impressed.
Even Frank, who had never seen either of them before, expressed his evaluation
that Jake did wayyyyyyy better than Jason. (Sorry if you read this Heather
Winiger…I cannot tell a lie). At the
end, we tried to get in line to meet Thomas Rhett but that idea died quickly
once they ushered him away before all the drunk people trampled him. Instead,
we just sprinted to the car and headed home. It was a long night but a lot of
fun.
Unfortunately, Chas missed out on Night Number Two of fun.
We traded her for my little brother Aaron, also known as Neighbor (OK, so he’s
technically my cousin before anybody corrects me, but I will forever claim him
as my little brother, so there). I would have preferred she could have joined
us all, but you can’t always get what you want as the Rolling Stones have
preached for years. We headed to London with Neighbor in tow and met Tyler at
my favorite place, Old Town Grill, for supper where the two goofballs proceeded
to harass the waitress. Surprisingly enough, she harassed back, which was even
more humorous.
After getting to Corbin, we made our stops, bathroom and tee
shirts, and headed down to reserve our spot in the pit. Who did I run
into? None other than my sweet little
sisterly friend Andi Couch and her friend. They are all friends with my cousin
Neighbor as well, so we had a small reunion and stood together all night,
hugging and high-fiving, singing along with each other and playfully brawling.
I had no idea how great the night would be when it first started.
The opening acts, Dustin Lynch and Jon Pardi were good. They
only had a few songs I liked out right now but I was pleasantly surprised when
Dustin sang an old favorite of mine by David Lee Murphy, “Dust on the Bottle.”
But when Justin Moore came out, singing “Guns,” all eyes were on him. Here’s
where the show got awesome…on a whole other level than I expected.
At the end of his first song, “Guns,” he said, “that’s right Mr. Obama, you won’t take my guns” and the crowd cheered. Only one other artist I have seen has called a president by name like that and in an authoritative tone, and it was the one and only Hank, Jr. He is the only other person that I have ever seen that tied with Justin Moore on a concert. And surprisingly, who was opener that night? Justin Moore. It all made sense. He learned from Bocephus, and he talks about it in the song, “Hank It,” which he wrote, and says, “I took myself out and sat in the crowd and learned how Bocephus shakes ‘em down…”
As the show went on, I realized how great he truly was, but
not strictly because of his entertaining skills. Of course his songs are about
the common folk back here; the working class, the farmers, the gun owners, the
hunters, the country boys and girls, the pride of America and the patriots. But
he is, as he said himself, normal. He
grew up in the country. Driving trucks down dirt roads. Partying on the
weekends like folks here do up on Leeco. He changed his life and had a family.
He takes his little girl to gymnastics. He takes out his on trash. He misses
his grandpa. He loves country music. He
represents all the things I am… with pride.
I was never prepared for such a fun, yet emotional show. He
sang his song “Grandpa” and it reminded me of my own. Seeing the emotion he put
into it, was so touching. It brought tears to my eyes. Not only that, but
later, he sang “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away” and asked everyone in the
audience to pull out their cell phones and light up the arena as bright as they
could, in hopes his grandpa could look down from Heaven and see him. He did find a little humor. He said, “every
body in here over the age of 5 has a cell phone, so take ‘em out!” I laughed a
little but I couldn’t focus on him because during both of those songs I
couldn’t take my eyes off little brother. We were both thinking the same thing
and I knew it. Our own granny and grandpa, bless them in Heaven. He looked like
he was gonna cry any minute and I couldn’t hold back my tears. Sometime during
the show I saw him moving closer toward me.
It’s funny, our relationship. We’ve always been close. We’ve always been
able to talk about things. I’ll never forget him covering me up on the couch
when I was asleep at granny’s because he thought I looked cold and mom told me
later she had watched him do it. Sometimes words don’t need to be said. But
sometimes they do. Every time we part ways, I always tell him I love him. He
scares me always working in dangerous activities and I worry that the last time
I see him sometimes really will be the last time I see him. So I tell him I
love him, just in case. He never says it back. But I’ve always known he does.
When he moved toward me, he put his arm around me and said, “I love you,
Jessie” and I started to cry and I just hugged him and said, “I love you, too,
little brother.” Moments later we were slapping high fives and singing to each
other some other Random song, but it was the best moment and I will never
forget it.
Justin Moore toward the end did something else I thought was
nice. He thanked us, the audience, for spending our hard earned money. He
acknowledged that he we knew we couldn’t afford it, or “all the other tee
shirts and koozies and CDs we try to sell you, but you do it anyway, because
you love Country Music.”
And I do. I do love Country Music. And it’s nice to be appreciated. He asked us all if we felt like we got our
moneys worth, that if we hadn’t he wouldn’t leave there until we did, and we
all cheered. Truthfully, the tickets for Jason Aldean the night before were a
lot more and not as good of a show. 
He talked about his normal life and his kids and his wife.
He thanked us for being there. He sang another song and we cheered so hard that
he sat down on the middle of the catwalk, and cried. He took his hat off and
just cried. His emotion bled through and it made me cry. It’s so rare to see
pure, true, and genuine emotion from an artist. But I’ve never felt it stronger
from anyone than I did him. 
My most favorite part was when he did the encore. He came
out and gave a nice little speech. He
told us that he swore to himself that if he ever had the chance to live his
dream, and stand on that stage every night that he would use that platform for
good. That he wanted the folks who came to his show to leave better people. He
said he was proud to be a Christian. Maybe he wasn’t as good of one as he’d
like but he was trying. And he wanted us all, if there was anybody in the
audience that didn’t to think about being better and maybe getting to know the
Lord. He wasn’t preaching, and he said that, he was just being honest. He was
just being true, and from the heart. I screamed for him until my lungs hurt.
And I didn’t care. He earned every squeal I had left in me.
His encore song was “Outlaws Like Me” which was also the
name of the tour. Before the last chorus he broke out into Amazing Grace and I
sang along with every verse. He then finished with the last chorus and ended
the song, crying once again. He thanked us all, and did something so cool, and
so fitting but it was something I’d have expected more to see on the George
Strait Tour.
He took off his hat, bowed to every side of the
audience, hung his hat on the microphone stand, and walked back off stage with
honor, leaving his hat behind, still hanging, with the spotlight on it.
It gave me
CHILLS. It was the best end to a concert
I’ve ever seen. Ever. From anybody.
Now, for those of you who know me, you know I tend to tell
it like it is. And this blog is no different. I have seen hundreds of concerts.
I’ve seen legends, I’ve seen those that are hot in mainstream, and I’ve seen
those just starting out. I have been to the Grand Ole Opry 100 times or more.
I’ve attended CMA Fest for over 10 years. Never have I seen a show as good as
that one. Unless it was the Hank Jr. show previously mentioned but even then it
would be hard to say. His genuine emotion, song choices, raw talent, and inner
personality made this show the best. The atmosphere and the people I was with
of course helped too, but Justin Moore gave it all he had. He poured his heart
out on that stage and gave us all he had. He showed real respect and
appreciation for his fans and I have never been so impressed with an artist.
Not even Jamey Johnson and most of you know how obsessed I am with him. Justin
Moore’s humble attitude was so endearing and it made him so good to watch. I
could go on but I will leave you with this…it definitely won’t be my last
Justin Moore show.
I may not be an outlaw, but I know and have known enough of
them. Folks have said my Uncle Leonard was an outlaw. I have friends who have
at least acted like Outlaws. However, I
have made mistakes in my life and I have learned from them. Outlaw is a state of mind. Waylon was an
outlaw. Willie is still an outlaw. Being
an outlaw doesn’t make you bad, it just makes you tough. Outlaws have certainly
been a huge part of my life and musical taste. I respect them greatly. I always
will.
God Bless the Outlaws.
<3 Jess
Outlaws Like Me
I've been a rough houser,
A good time sleep arounder,
A Straight up whiskey pounder,
Till I don't know my name.
I've been a church goer,
A front pew Bible holder,
A cry on my momma's shoulder,
When she saw me change.
But each day's a choice
Which one I'm gonna be.
God Bless outlaws like me.
I curse the sun
I pray for rain
I'd run a mile,
To walk through pain
I've seen the worst
And I've seen the best that I can be.
God Bless outlaws like me
I've been an SOBer,
A nighttime bar room leaner,
A go back and forth betweener,
And that's the truth.
And I've been a come home early,
Get to my girl in a hurry,
At night so she didn't worry,
I even said I love you.
But each day's a choice
Of lovin’ her, or livin’ free.
God Bless outlaws like me.
I curse the sun
I pray for rain
I'd run a mile,
To walk through pain,
I've seen the worst
And I've seen the best that I can be.
God Bless outlaws like me
I curse the sun
I pray for rain
I'd run a mile to walk through pain
I've seen the worst
And I've seen the best man I can be.
God Bless outlaws
God Bless outlaws
God Bless outlaws like me.
