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.