Category Archives: Concert

by | February 27, 2016 · 7:00 am

Toby Just ‘Ain’t As Good As He Once Was’…

635687599432167722-TobyKeith17My Monday started out as one of the best Mondays one can have—my parents handed me two front row tickets to see Toby Keith at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo that evening. The excitement that poured over me to finally have the opportunity to see one of the first country stars that influenced my love for the country genre was surreal. Immediately I opened my Spotify app to start preparing for my night, I started out with some classic oldies like “I Wanna Talk About Me” and “Beer for my Horses” before I decided to try a few songs off of his new album… Meh. At first I didn’t even think about the fact that Toby had released a new album within the past couple of months and I hadn’t heard a thing about it… I realize now that that was the first red flag.

Towards the end of the day, after endlessly hyping myself up and teaching my ill-informed boyfriend some of my favorite Toby songs, we were just about ready to head to the rodeo. We spent the first hour or two walking around the stockyards and eating corndogs, completely submerged in hundreds of fellow fans wearing Toby paraphernalia—it was Toby Keith mania. Nothing made me more excited to hear him play than to be surrounded by so many other people who shared the same passion for his music as me. As the sun went down and the trailers started packing up their livestock, we headed for the entertainment arena.

The rodeo was amazing. I have grown up going to the show every year of my life, yet never growing tired of seeing the same events in the same order with the same smells and the same atmosphere. There’s something so comforting about returning every year to an event that seems to never be influenced by change.

As soon as the last bull rider barely made it past his eight seconds of whiplash, the lights went down and I actually got butterflies in my stomach. Toby came out in a Ford truck with nothing other than a Red Solo Cup shooting through the sunroof. As hilarious as I thought that was, it wasn’t less than a minute later when my excitement vanished and I quickly felt a yawn engulfing my face.

FullSizeRenderEverything was off. The drums and the guitar were louder than the vocals; I could barely even hear him considering I was in the front row. The dancers had little energy and were completely off beat. And unfortunately the worst of all was how wasted Toby was. I had seen drunk performers before, such as Pat Green and Tim McGraw, and obviously I had had something to drink as well because drinking and country music go so well together, but there was something so sad and disappointing to see someone who you liked so much as child now as a fat old drunk. He played some of the songs I knew, but mostly many songs that neither the audience nor I had ever heard of, which was obvious by the amount of people sitting down or leaving. I made myself stay until the end in hopes of hearing my all-time favorite song, “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue”, but left in complete disappointment as he never even sang it. There was something so upsetting to me about seeing him in such a bad state, almost like going back to a place you loved when you were young and innocent, only to see it old and corrupted. Although I still will probably jam out when I hear an old Toby Keith song on the radio or at a party, I won’t forget the fact that his song speaks the truth, he really just ain’t as good as he once was.

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Filed under Blog Post 3, Concert, Rodeo, Toby Keith

by | February 24, 2016 · 7:00 am

The Most Famous Stuffed Horses in Country Music

IMG_1091My family and I have attended many country concerts across Southern California in the past eight years. In 2012, we began to notice stuffed horses in the front row of concerts for artists such as Eric Church, Lady Antebellum, and Keith Urban. After seeing two grown men dressed in red, white, and blue suits get on stage with Luke Bryan and perform “Country ‘Boy’ Shake it for Me” while holding stuffed animals and wearing flashing horse necklaces, I had to know the story. I learned that this was not the first time they performed with Luke Bryan on stage. In fact Luke called them out from the crowd by name at a concert in Georgia and invited them on the stage.  (Video of them begins at 1:05)

My family and I met Joshua Zeyak, 30, in October 2013 IMG_3253at a Luke Bryan Concert in San Diego, CA where he was tailgating wearing a bright green shirt with his name printed on the front, hot pink shorts, a horse belt buckle, and cowboy boots. We recognized the stuffed horses sitting on top of his truck right away and began the conversation.

One day in 2009, middle school teacher Leo VanWarmerdam, 28, used small plastic animals to reward his students for good behavior in his classroom. Later that night, at a bar in Corona Del Mar, CA, he discovered the animals were still in his pocket. Having some fun, Leo placed a small plastic horse on the rim of his drinking glass and passed the others around to his friends. Soon after, the entire bar wanted to join in the fun leaving Leo with no more animals.

The next time out country music fan, Josh, a friend of Leo’s, brought a bigger version of the plastic horse for his cup, and the obsession grew from there. Whenever the horses were brought out strangers at every bar, party, or concert wanted to get involved!

IMG_1092Eventually the horses grew in size and now are familiarly recognized at country concerts across Southern California. Men and woman of all ages are drawn to the horses and the personalities behind them.

After meeting Josh and his sister, Jenna, in San Diego our families began to plan what concerts we were going to next. Three years and over 25 country concerts later, I can say that Josh, Jenna, and the rest of the “pony” group are like family to me.

In order to capitalize on the popularity of these horses we finally decided to create a following for them on social media. As a Public Relations student I was automatically chosen to take charge of this task for “experience” as my dad said. I don’t know how promoting stuffed horses will look to future employers, but in the end it was all for fun and games.

IMG_4111We now have a Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and website for Pony Boys USA! Here is where we share our fun experiences within the country music world. Whether it’s on stage at concerts (pictured on the right with Eli Young Band) or backstage hanging out backstage with artists’ people get a kick out of the crazy fame these horses have gained.

It may be a strange connection to country music, but Pony Boys USA and all the people involved have enhanced my experience as a country music fan. Not only do I attend more country music concerts but I also get the chance to learn how to make a website and promote a new brand. I have no idea where this will go, if anywhere, but the bottom line is we have a great time and I enjoy the added benefits of watching my “brother” sing on stage with Keith Urban all because of some small horse obsession.

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Filed under Blog Post 2, Concert, Country Pop, Keith Urban, Live Music

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by | February 13, 2016 · 7:52 pm

My First Rodeo

998x484-crop-singapore5 years ago, I would have never ever thought about going to Auburn, Alabama for a rodeo. I’m from a small city in SouthEast Asia called Singapore. Singapore is the most expensive city to live in followed by Paris, according to BBC News. We have a population upwards of 5 million, and it takes about 20-25 minutes (without traffic) to drive from one side of the island to the other. As you can see, Singapore is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.

17290545Singapore has a very diverse culture. It holds the one of, if not, the biggest beach party in the world called “Zouk Out“. Every year, famous artists such as Afrojack, Alesso, and Avicii etc. will come and perform, along with others. It’s kinda like ACL except it focuses more on house and EDM, whereas ACL hosts a larger variety of artists.

As you can already tell, I haven’t mentioned the words “country music” a single time. Well, if you’ve jumped to the conclusion that country music and Joseph Schooling can never be found in the same sentence, you’re right! I used to despise country music. I always thought it sounded awkward, and it seemed like every country song I heard either told a tale about God or stereotyped cowboys.

22612__mg_4644fHaving said that, I moved to the U.S. in the summer of 2009 and slowly started to hear a hint of country creep into my life. Fast forward to the Spring of 2015… right after NCAA’s, a group of guys (Kip Darmody, Will Glass, and John Murray) and myself decided to drive 13 hours to Auburn, Alabama to the Alpha Psi Rodeo, where the guest singer was none other than Brad Paisley. I was kinda reluctant to drive all that way to a rodeo, but I thought, “hey 4 close friends on a long ass road trip to the deep south. this could be a story to tell in the future!”

So we journeyed 13 hours on Friday after class, drove 10 hours to Mobile, AL and crashed in Will’s place for the night, and continued on to Auburn the following day. We got to the venue at around 9am, set up a tailgate, and started pounding beers. To be honest, I didn’t get my hopes up too much before the trip. I didn’t think a city boy like myself could handle being at a rodeo with people roaming around in cut out shirts, boots, and jorts. To my surprise, I had a blast! I mean, I’m sure all the beers and bloody marys definitely helped get through the day, but seeing a live Brad Paisley concert wasn’t all that bad. We got to meet a ton of new people, and I started to appreciate country music in a way I’d never thought could be done for myself. I’m almost glad Kip convinced me to go on that trip with them. It gave me a broader outlook on life, and it taught me not to be so naive. So for that, thank you, Kip!

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Filed under Blog Post 2, Concert, Live Music, Rodeo

by | · 7:00 am

A Day at the Fair

One summer day back in 2005, my family and I decided to go to the Alameda County Fair in Alameda, California. I knew that it would be a day filled with lots of fun, sun, rides, and memories. Little did I know, my memories and music taste were about to change for the better.

After around 6 hours of walking around the fair, my 10 year old self could no longer keep up. The day had been spent making the most of the unlimited ride wristband, going to the petting zoo, and eating the different fair snacks. Since both my 5 year old brother and I were exhausted, we decided to sit down at the bleachers in front of a small stage, to recharge before making the most of our last few hours at the fair. My parents, brother, and I were the only ones at the bleachers, accidentally making us the audience for the performer that was soon about to come out.

miko2The lights started to shine towards the middle of the stage. I heard the guitar strumming and all of a sudden a girl with dark skin and dark curly locks came out with a bright smile. “Hello, my name is Miko Marks, I hope you guys are ready for some country music!”

Miko Marks explained that she was originally from Mississippi (later moved to San Francisco) and that she would be playing the music off of her first album  “Freeway Bound” that had been recently released.

At first, to be completely honest, I was bored because I wasn’t used to hearing ballads and country music. I listened respectfully, and although I didn’t know the music, somehow I had been captivated. After performing a few songs off her album, she proceeded to sing a song called “Mama”, which was the song that changed everything for me. I had never heard of her or her music, but she had an inviting aura around her and her chorus was catchy.

For the rest of the show, I had a smile on my face and nodded my head to the music. I questioned why other people weren’t stopping to listen to her music, she was so good! Some people would stop and listen for a song, and then proceed to enjoy the fair. All I knew was that I was glad my brother and I had been really tired because it led us to enjoy her music.

After the show, she came up to us. I felt like the star, but it should have been the other way around! She told us we were the cutest little things. We took a picture with her and she gave me her guitar pick. She had albums and merchandise for sale, and since she had been so kind to us, I think we might have felt obligated to pick up her cd, but at the same time we had enjoyed her music, so we ended up buying one.

From that moment on, I would carry my Miko Marks cd everywhere I went and soon started to venture out to other country music. My mom started sharing her love of Kenny Rogers and my dad his love of Johnny Cash, and I started finding other artists that I liked. If it wasn’t for the warm Miko Marks’ encounter and her song “Mama”, I would not have found my appreciation for country music.

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Filed under Blog Post 2, Concert, Live Music, Women

by | December 1, 2015 · 7:00 pm

My Country World in Austin, Texas

When looking into my degree plan, I saw that I had to take one last rhetoric class in order to fulfill my core requirement. Now I have to be honest, I have never been been a fan of any sort of English class, but I am happy to say that is no longer the case. I actually looked forward to this class every week and will be sad when it is over. Unfortunately, however, all great things must come to an end… And may I now present to you: my country music experiences outside of the classroom..

  1. Coupland Dance Hall

So coming from Fort Worth, I have been toGetImage.ashx my fair share of Billy Bob’s concerts. After coming to Austin I was wondering if I
would ever get to experience the same kind of country music culture. Let me tell you, the Coupland Dance Hall out in Coupland, Texas is all of that and more. When my sorority had a date function there, I was so excited to check it out. From the stringed lights to the country two step this place has it down to a T.

  1. Austin City Limits1501734_10203808627229961_2094592200129301172_n

Even before I applied to the University of Texas, I had always dreamed of going to ACL Festival. As soon as I got in I knew that was my first order of business, I bought a ticket. One year later and I was still just as excited for my second time. There is really nothing like going to a big field with all of your friends listening to awesome live music. Because the names were somewhat familiar to me at the time, I attended both the Dwight Yoakam and Sturgill Simpson concerts. My dad had recently introduced me to Sturgill Simpson and encouraged me to attend his concert. He was right on about his unique and traditional country sound.

  1. Nashville

My roommates have always told me to sit down and watch an episode of the hit ABC show Nashville, but I could never find the time. When I found out that I could write about this show for my blog post. I sat right down on the couch and started the pilot episode. Little did I know that pressing play on that remote would have me completely compelled by a tv show. I understand that some people think that the drama is unrealistic or the acting is bad, but the music will change their mind on the overall perception of the show. In a previous post I looked further into the duo Lennon and Maisy, but they are just one example of the talent on the show. I encourage anyone who loves a drama filled tv series to give it a try.

NashvilleS4415Overall I have really enjoyed this past semester. I not only learned about the history of country music, how to analyze it, and what it means, but I learned how to appreciate it for more than just a twangy sound.

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Filed under Blog Post 5, Concert, Live Music, Movies and TV, Nashville Sound, Texas