The Band Perry (and Kyle Park): Concert Review

Got Cheap Seats (general admission, really) for The Band Perry at the Whitewater Amphitheater outside of New Braunfels.  Cheap in price only, we were about seven people back from the stage.

Texas Country artist Kyle Park opened the show.  He and his band were very, very good.

Being relatively new to the Texas/Red Dirt Country scene, we were not familiar with all of thier catalog, but that really didn't matter.  His performance was great, his band was impressive.  A special recognition of the bass player who was playing with a cast on his right hand and never missed a note (as far as we could tell).

We were there to see The Band Perry, really.  What this post is all about, but Kyle Park and his band were so good, we couldn't not mention their great performance.

We have seen TBP before, opening for Brad Paisley.  That's where we really fell in love.  Their live show is one of the best we've seen.  And we've seen a lot.

They killed it.  From the first note.

TBP hit the stage like a battering ram with "DONE."  And didn't let up until closing with "Better Dig Two".

In between, they played all the hits from their debut album, all the fan favorites, "If I Die Young", "You Lie", and "Postcards From Paris".  As well as lesser known songs from that album.

Also included was a hefty helping of songs off the new album "Pioneer".  Sprinkle in some classic rock like "Free Fallin'", "A Little Help from My Friends" and a full version of "Fat Bottomed Girls" along with a little "Hey, Ho" and "Amazing Grace", and you have the makings of a show.

But you have to pull it off.  And they did.

Kimberly's voice is more powerful live than what is represented on record and spot on.  Though not represented well in recordings, you get to see how much the brothers (Reid and Neil) contribute.  And the rest of the band was phenomenal.

TBP is not your traditional country artist.  And that's not a bad thing.  Their live show is more reminiscient of Bon Jovi than George Strait.  Not that either is wrong.  But for us misplaced Classic/Southern rockers, this is good stuff.

Not a product of winning a contest, The Band Perry paid their dues the old fashioned way, by gigging relentlessly.  And it shows.  For being so young, they are masters of the stage.

We cannot think of one bad thing to say about the show.  That is rare.

We would be remiss not to mentiont the Whitewater Amphitheater. Our first time there. Great venue to see a show.  Not a bad seat in the house.  And the concession prices are more than reasonable.

Tragedy, sports and music

In the wake of Sandy Hook, the Boston Marathon, West explosion and Oklahoma tornado; it seems a bit silly to be discussing sports and music.

That being said, sports and music have a tendency to unite.  And bring people together.

Kevin Durant of the OKC Thunder has donated $1,000, 000 to the tornado relief efforts.  Matt Kemp, an Oklahoma  native, will donate $1,000 for every home run he hits between now and the All-Star break.  I'm sure many others are doing much.  Those are just two examples that we're aware of at the moment.

There is a huge rock/metal festival taking place in Oklahoma this weekend, Rocklahoma.  Many charity auctions will take place to benefit the tornado victims.  A charity/benefit concert is also in the works.  Again, this is all that we are aware of at the moment.

Life goes on.  Very differenetly for those affected by tragedy.

Here in the Cheap Seats, we mostly deal in frivolity, truth be told.  And that has it's place.  Right now we take a moment to pray for those affected, praise those who have responded and pray again.

Sleep Deprived Rangers Fans Would Welcome This

As fans of the Texas Rangers we, here in the Cheap Seats, suffer from sleep deprivation during weekday series on the left coast agaisnt West Division rivals Oakland, Seattle and Anaheim/Los Angeles, California.  We are so happy that Houston has joined the AL West (and not becuase they are horrible).  That means more games in the Central Time Zone.

With the advent of daily interleague play and the inevetible (in the eyes of many) adoption of the DH in both leagues, it may be time for radical realignment in MLB.  We have often pondered a realignment of the West divisions, self-serving as it may be, but Matt Yallof of MLB.com thinks when (not if) both leagues go to the DH, then radical, geographic realignment should be considered.

Mr. Yallof's full article is here, but here's the short version:

Realign geographically.  Here is his proposed realigned divisions:

Eastern Conference

East
Boston
New York Mets
New York Yankees
Philadelphia
Toronto

Midsouth
Atlanta
Tampa Bay
Miami
Baltimore
Washington

Midwest
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Detroit
Pittsburgh
Milwaukee

Western Conference

Northwest
Seattle
San Francisco
Oakland
Minnesota
Colorado

West
Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Angels
San Diego
Arizona
Texas

Central
Chicago Cubs
Chicago White Sox
St. Louis
Houston
Kansas City

Everything looks good in the Eastern Conference, as far as we're concerned (but we really don't care that much). The problems lie in the Western Conference.  Geographically speaking, it kind of makes sense.  The whole North/South divisions in the Northwest and West Divisions.  But the time zone issues make it a nightmare for fans of the Twins and our Texas Rangers.

With there being six West Coast teams, keeping them all together is an impossiblilty, but if we're going to blow up the whole thing, let's make it more fan-friendly when we put it back together.  Keeping in mind the fine fans of Minnesota and Texas (ok really just Texas because that's what affects us, but Twins fans get the benefit also), here are our proposed divisions for a Western Conference:

Central

• Chicago Cubs
• Chicago White Sox
• Kansas City
• Minnesota
• St. Louis

Southwest

• Arizona
• Colorado
• Houston
• San Diego
• Texas

West

• LA Angels
• LA Dodgers
• Oakland
• Seattle
• San Francisco

This just makes more sense.  And lets us get more sleep.

Best of 3 vs. Best of 5

Here in the Cheap Seats, we have long been proponents of the best of five for men's tennis in the majors.

Not so much anymore.

The game has become more physical. Wear and tear on the body has become more pronounced.  This is not your father's tennis.

Does the drama of the the five set match outweigh the consequences?  In today's tennis world, we think not.

At Indian Wells we saw Martin del Potro play three straight three set matches in the quarters, semins and finals.  All three matches were fantasitc tennis.

All the drama was present in all three matches.  And it was more urgent.

Too many times in the major events, the winner of a long five set match puts up little resistance in the next round's match.

We think the improvement of the overall quality of matches would outweigh the loss of a few epic five setters.

Josh Hamilton and Laundry

Here in the Cheap Seats, we are long time fans of the Texas Rangers.  Almost since their inception in 1972. Although we were four years old at the time.  But as soon as we had an understanding of baseball, we were fans.

We have seen many great players come and go over the years.  While they were wearing out team's laundry, we were their fans.  As soon as they changed uniforms, they became the enemy.  So it goes in this age of free agency and players changing teams on a regular basis.

Josh Hamilton made his return to Arlington this week in the uniform of the Los Angeles California Angels of Anaheim California.  The hated rival.  Based on that alone, he could not have envisioned a lovefest.

Had it simply been a case of Hamilton taking more money and moving on, so be it.  Thanks for the memories, Josh.  Now you're playing for the enemy.  Don't expect the red carpet when you waltz back into town, but best of luck (but not too much).

But no, couldn't be that simple.  Couldn't, as the Bible says, hold the tongue.  Had to disparage Rangers' fans.  That is where the real rub is.

As Rangers' fans, we can understand leaving for more money.  But after you sign with the Rangers' biggest rival, for more money, and claim God was telling you southern California was where you needed to be, don't call us out as being bad fans.

Rangers' fans embraced Josh from the start.  And we were rewarded with two World Series appearances, which we will be eternally grateful.

Rangers' fans aslo booed Hamilton at the end of 2012 when his play was abhorrent.  That's what fans do.

As for us, we will be rooting for the current band of one-gloved, bat wielding mercenaries who currently wear the laundry of the Texas Rangers.

Sorry Josh, don't expect to be welcomed with unconditional love back to the Claw and Antler Nation.

You're wearing the wrong laundry.

And check your tongue with your baggage.

An Evening with Bon Jovi: Because We Can Tour Concert Review

We definitely lived up to the blog name on this one.  We had cheap seats.

We saw Bon Jovi on their (yes, their, not his, this is a band, not a solo act......more on that later) Because We Can tour.  Aptly named.  Sold millions of records.  Sold out arenas and stadiums worldwide for years.  Have more money than they can spend.  Why do it?  Because they can.

The four core members of the band are most decidedly a band.  The bass player has been with them for years, but never appears on album covers and such as a member of the band.  The second guitarist was just that, a second guitarist, although they did allow him a couple of solos and proper acknowledgement.  But the four guys who have been in the band since the inception are the band.

Tico Torres played flawless thundering drums.  The kick drum could be felt in the gut, as it should  be.

David Bryan is the pop metal generation's Jon Lord.  He plays keyboards as a lead instrument and not as a layeing instrument.

Richie Sambora's playing was at times inspired and when needed was flawlessly true to the original recording.

Jon Bon Jovi stills knows how to make the girls scream, although now the screaming girls are middle-aged housewives.  His pipes are still excellent and he delivered in every way fathomable.

What was interesting to us, as Bon Jovi fans since their debut album, was the crowd.  There were many families there, obvious attempts by the parents to expose the offspring to music that they loved.  There were many, many people there of our age (middle class and middle age).  There were some younger college and high school-aged kids in attendance.

Fortunately, the majority of the crowd was like us - grew up on the Bon Jovi hits of the late '80's/early '90's. When those classic songs were played, the fans like us were up, singing and dancing and reliving our youth.  The younger generation just seemed bored.  Sad.

Bon Jovi opened the show with the '80's classic "You Give Love a Bad Name".  Not a bad start.

They have a new album out, so, of course they played four songs from that album.  Not bad songs, but since the album just came out this week, nobody knew them.

But for people our age, every song you wanted to hear, they delivered.

Highlights?  While there were many, out favorite was what they closed the regular set with.  "Bad Medicine" with "Old Time Rock N Roll" thrown in towards the end.  The entire song, not just a passing tidbit.  That had  the crowd on its feet and singing along.

Another highlight was the performance of  "I'll Be There For You".  If there was any doubt that this a band (or at the very least a two-man show) this was it.  This was the first time they performed this song this tour. Richie Sambora sang lead on the song.  Jon Bon Jovi was not on stage.

The only critcism we have with the show is they did not do anything from 7800 Farhenheit.  Granted, not many people know the songs from that album and, admittedly, it was not one of their stronger offerings.  This is just us, but we first saw Bon Jovi in support of that album, so it kind of holds a special place in our hearts. Would have loved to have heard "Tokyo Road" or "In and Out of Love".  But that is minor.

However, they did do the song that first turned us on to  Bon Jovi back in the day - "Runaway".  We were pleased.

Speaking of, the first time we saw Bon Jovi was, we think, 1985.  Opening for Ratt.  The first concert we attended.  So this kind of closes the circle for us.

Music Genres: Pure Fallacy

Here in the Cheap Seats, we are fans of good music.  Or at least our definition of good music.  You know the premise, we can't explain it, but know it when we hear it.

With the exception of rap, we are generally not opposed to any type of music, so long as it appeals to us.

Country? Check.
Pop? Check.
Rock? Check.
And on and on.

Which brings us to this.  Why are we still putting music into a specific genre?  That only limits the audience.  If you take a look at the music you like, surely there is some common vein that runs through all of it.  Even if your tastes are eclectic.

Let us explain.

We are going to post two songs below.  One belongs to a current country music darling, one to a an up-and-coming hard rock/heavy metal act.  With a few tweaks in production and instrumentation without changing the integrity of either song, just changing the artists name would move the song from one genre to the other.

To get the full effect of what we are talking about, we'll give you a step-by-step on how we arrived at our conclusion.  First listen to the Carrie Underwood song "Good Girl".  Preferably with you eyes closed.  Just concentrate on the music. Ignore the video.

Now that you have that song on your brain, which is in fact a rock song, listen to the following Halestorm song "I Miss the Misery", again just listening, the images tend to convolute the mind.

While listening, imagine Carrie Underwood singing.  The guitars pulled back in the mix. Some keyboard layers.  A thinner drum mix.  And we can hear places where a banjo would be apropos.

Now go back and listen to the Carrie Underwood song while thinking about more up front guitars, a heavier drum sound and more bottom end.

We think slight adjustments in the instrumentation and production could make the songs practically interchangeable.  Put "I Miss the Misery" on a Carrie Underwood album and suddenly it's a country song.  Let Halestorm record "Good Girl" and it's a hard rock song.