...here, speaking of Alan Jackson:
He picked up the shuffle a bit with Little Bitty and too-brief riffs on Pop a Top, Who's Cheatin' Who and I'm a Fool for You. Call it the curse of too many hits (and a shortened set).
I'd call it just the curse of the shortened set, to be honest. I saw Alan Jackson ten years ago at the HLS&R and it was really good, but I think the next time I saw him — in that one-off show with George Strait and Jimmy Buffett in '04 in Dallas — was better because he didn't have the time constraints forced on the rodeo performers. I would definitely go see Alan at the rodeo again though. Now that I think about it, the times I've seen George Strait at the rodeo he played a full set. I suppose that was because he was the first night's performer...but then, it might have also been because he was GEORGE FRICKIN' STRAIT. Lol..and thaaaat reminds me of some more of the commentary under yesterday's Flatts review:
Honestly, he's (Strait -- ed.) been as Pop Country as you could possible be, since his first hits. He's as cliched as anyone could possibly be. And, he's freakin' awesome. So, what makes him any different? Is it that he wears a cowboy hat? Is it that he has a ranch? Is it that he wears Wranglers while performing? Is it that he sings his songs better live? He definitely does do that. Of course, he would be right at home just sitting on a bench singing. His is a more laid back style. Maybe that's it? The major part of his career has consisted of studio work with studio musicians. I'm not completely clear on the huge gap that you see between Rascal Flatts and George Strait other than "It's George Freakin' Strait"!!!...I have to feel for the fans of the group, who went to see them BECAUSE they were fans, and then had their fun experience trashed by a major newspaper because the reviewer doesn't like that type of music. That's a bunch of junk and takes away from their enjoyment of it. Not cool.
Dude, are you frakkin' JOKING here? I do speak from a biased perspective here but George Strait is the furthest damn thing from cliche. Strait wore what he wore because it was truly a part of who he was, what he went to Nashville as — a bona-fide, REAL cowboy. The hat and Wranglers weren't part of a costume. As for being pop-country...well, if we're talking about pop as defined by "being popular" I can't argue with that, but for some strange and unknown reason I Just don't see Strait's audience overlapping that much with Rascal Flatts'.
As for "fans...having their fun experience trashed..." cry me a frakking RIVER. If something so insignificant as a newspaper review hurts their feelings that bad then that says more about them than it does the critic. I've read bad reviews of concerts I've been to but I never let that detract from my experience. Some people and their thin skins...
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