I went to not one but TWO country concerts last week! I saw The Chicks at Merriweather Post Pavilion Wednesday night (a show that was rescheduled from the summer), and on Friday I saw Russell Dickerson at the Fillmore in Silver Spring. I was very excited for both shows!
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| Very cool set! |
The Chicks
I grew up listening to their music, and I was looking forward to hearing some of their past hits, even though I knew most of the concert would highlight songs from their latest album, Gaslighter, which is nearly all about Natalie Maines' divorce (in specific detail). I did take the time to listen to the album before the show, so I was familiar with a lot of the material, even if it doesn't quite hit like their classics. The performance itself was great: the trio still sounds amazing, even as Natalie recovers from COVID-19 (the reason the show had to be rescheduled). I thought the graphics of the show added to the performance as well. They poked fun at Trump, Putin, and DeSantis, which at first I worried about because that normally wouldn't fly with a country music crowd, but then I figure anyone there still supports them after their 2003 comment about President George W. Bush. And leading into the protest anthem, "March March," names of cities that have experienced mass shootings and the numbers of lives lost were fading on and off the screen; names of African Americans killed by police scrolled, starting out slow and then speeding up, listing dozens and dozens of names. That was very powerful!
Here's a taste of what they played:
Texas Man (probably the most country-sounding song on their newest album)
And some of the older hits:
Goodbye Earl (I didn't stay long enough to hear this song, but I'm pretty sure it was the encore!)
Since I left early, I'm not sure if they played "Not Ready to Make Nice," but I think that's a great song! I'm so glad I was able to see this group in concert, especially since they haven't been in tour for years (this is their first album in 15 years!). I'm not sure how many more chances I'd have to see them!
Russell Dickerson
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| Photo by Mike Davis |
Before I talk about Russell Dickerson, I want to mention his opening band, Restless Road. They are SO good! I saw them open for Kane Brown, and ever since I have wanted to see them again. They came to the Hamilton somewhat recently, but I never bought tickets. So it was a nice surprise to see them! This trio harmonizes SO well together (they remind me of Rascal Flatts or Diamond Rio), and I love their fun energy (plus, checking out their big biceps didn't hurt... *wink*). And they were pretty funny on stage, introducing each other with little poems to rhyme with their names. So cute! I was smiling and dancing the whole time!
They said they were selling signed copies of their CD for "one night only," so I definitely wanted in on that. But when I got to the merch table, I had to order the CD online and they would ship it out; "one night only" my ass! But anyway, I like their music so much that I wanted the CD, so I did it anyway.
Here are some of the songs they performed. I already want to see them in concert again!
No Can DoAnd then it was time for Russell Dickerson! My friend reminded me that we had seen him open for Thomas Rhett (read that blog post here), but I guess from afar, I couldn't tell what a bro he is. He was sticking his tongue out all night, biting his lower lip, hip thrusting... He was like a country Guido, with his hair slicked back and wearing so much jewelry; I half expected him to pull up his shirt like the Jersey Shore's "The Situation" (although once I saw that he was wearing a shirt UNDER his cropped T-shirt, I knew he wasn't fit enough or confident enough to do that). I was NOT into his vibe, and it didn't look good from just about four rows from the stage.
BUT he has great stage presence and put on a very entertaining show, with all the lights, smoke, confetti, etc. you could ask for. He played a lot of songs I didn't know (and I was kinda "meh" about most of them), but he played some of his big hits, too, and those were great! Listen for yourself:
I Wonder (He wrote this song after breaking up with his girlfriend-now-wife. They were only broken up for a month, and then he called her on Thanksgiving to say he was thankful for her. The rest is history!)
God Gave Me a Girl (Then he wrote this song after getting back together with her!)
Down on the Beach (He was sitting in a beach chair on stage for this one. Jimmy Buffett vibes for sure!)
Blame It on Being Young (Reminiscent of Miley Cyrus' Used to Be Young)
Love You Like I Used To (One of my favorites!)
Blue Tacoma (This is my favorite song of his, and of course it was the encore song. If it weren't for this song, I would have left the concert early. But I had to hear it!)
I liked how he told personal stories about some of his songs, like those with his wife. And I thought it was fun how he called out his bandmates and had the crowd chanting their names. One of them was "mustache Kev," and then Dickerson called out a man in the crowd with a great Fu Manchu and we started chanting his name! He made the show different than other concerts, so I appreciated that.
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| Dickerson invited Restless Road back on stage to sing a song together. That was awesome, too! |
My next concert is Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks. Stay tuned for that blog post!
PS: The group Wild Rivers from Toronto, Canada, opened for The Chicks. I didn't think they were that great, so not much to say on that. But you can check them out on YouTube and decide for yourself!
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