Chris took the stage and stole our hearts. Again, since we don't listen to the radio much we tend to miss the new artists unless we just stumble across them. Chris has two albums and they were both in Cari's iTunes wish list. After seeing him buying them was a given. He's just a cutie pie! We're both fans for life now.
After his set we were ready for some cool air and food and we had our sights set on Hard Rock Cafe. The line to get in took about 30 minutes but at least it was under a tent so we, at least, had some shade. By the time we got our table, it was smokin' outside. Sitting in a real chair somewhere cool was heaven! Eating healthy went out the window too. As we looked at the menu, their hamburgers jumped off the pages at us. I was amazed to read that all their hamburger are 10 oz. Wow ... really? They did have a "baby" one that was only 6 oz - that's the one we both chose. Of course, we ordered fries to go with our burgers - and they were really good too! LOL
Rested, cooled off and tummies full we set off to the Convention Center. As we made our way through the streets we heard what sounded like Chris Young singing live again, so we followed the sound. Sure enough he was under a tent with just his guitar performing for a small crowd. Needless to say, we got much closer to him this time. When he finished we were informed that tomorrow was his birthday, so everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to him. It was wonderful.
Once again we headed to the Convention Center. There wasn't much going on - Trent Tomlinson and the Zac Brown Band were set up signing autographs but that was about it. I did manage to pull a Greased Lightning canvas bag out at their booth though - nice bags! And we joined the Chris Young Street Team, which simply means they may call on us to promote him if/when he comes to town. That's pretty cool though! Oh, we also bought his two cds at his booth too. Good music!
Upon leaving the hall there was an A cappella group called Memphis Beat performing. You know us - we love that kind of thing. So we stopped and listened to the end, which was only 2-3 songs.
It was about time for Mark Wills to come on the Chevy stage, which is right across the street from the hall so we headed in that direction. He's another artist was have some old stuff from but nothing new. It was still fun to see him perform songs from years ago though.
Emily West was next on the schedule for Chevy stage. We had no clue who she was but didn't have anything better to do and were able to grab some good seats right up front, so we stayed. She was quite entertaining and has a really good voice. She favors Faith Hill and even sounds a bit like her. Can't remember when her cd comes out but I'm sure we'll be on the lookout for it.
Since we ended up having to take a taxi to LP Field last night, Cari and I decided to get there early tonight. After Emily West's set we stood in line for the shuttle and were there by 6:00pm - the gates didn't open until 6:30pm. So we waited some more, and watched the line get longer by the minute. We were hot, tired and desperately needed water. Any other time we'd have seen six different vendors on the corner selling water, but we couldn't find any tonight.
We went through the same gate as last night but the security guard tonight was on a power trip. Remember those plastic Starbucks cups we bought? She saw mine in my bag and told me I'd have to throw it out, that I couldn't take it inside. ??? She actually told me to take it back to my car. Uh huh, my car's in Virginia Beach you idiot! She pushed me to the side and ignored me, continuing to check bags from those behind me. After a couple of minutes, Cari and I walked away out of her sight, repacked our bags and went in through another gate ... with no problems at all. How crazy, ridiculous is that?
By the time we actually made it inside the gate, we were dying of thirst - and a little hungry. So we stopped to get some water and a pretzel on the way to our seats. That's when I spied the "Blue Moon" sign!! Woohooo! You know after the Nazi guard I needed a beer! Aw man, it went down like silk! LOL Good stuff! We chatted with the people around us until the show started. The Band Perry sang our National Anthem and we then witnessed one of the lamest flyovers I've ever seen. One lone jet. Hmm, that was impressive - NOT! Guess that's result of living close to two bases and having jets fly over us constantly.
Julianne Hough opened tonight's show. Actually her music is ok but her performance was a bit much for me. First of all her skirt was way too short, and the way she gyrated on stage you'd think she was pole dancing. It was bad. We weren't the only ones with this opinion because Cari and I heard others commented on it later. She didn't impress me much.
Josh Turner was next. Cari and I ended up standing in line for pizza most of his set. We could watch him on the TV at the vendor counter but we missed most of it. He is a pretty man, and his voice is incredibly deep.
I've never been much of a fan of Miranda Lambert. Some of her stuff is ok but I can do without most of it. She just isn't my style. Cari and I should've waited until her set to get our pizza so we would've seen Josh. Oh well, live and learn.
Every time I've seen Keith I've walked away happy. I/we have always loved his music and it's been an enjoyable journey watching him grow as an entertainer. The best thing about a Keith concert is when he gets lost in his guitar. You can tell by watching him that everyone and everything else just disappears for him. It's a magical moment. Even though it was getting late and it had been a really long day, he had most of us up on our feet, clapping and singing to the top of our lungs. Nothing like it. He opened with "Days Go By," and went directly into "Sweet Thing," "I'm In" and closed with "A Little Help From My Friends."
I haven't seen Reba in years. Cari had never seen her before and we were pretty excited! Reba never fails to please the fans. The only negative I can say about her is I was disappointed she only sang five songs. We were all itching to hear more! She opened with "I Want a Cowboy," and dove right in with "Strange," "Keep On Lovin' You," "Consider Me Gone" and closed with "Fancy." She really did leave us wanting more. :)
There was a "Special Guest" on the line up to close for tonight. Cari and I were so hoping it would be Kenny, or Garth, or George Straight or Sugarland, or ... you get my drift. We had been hearing rumors it was gonna be Kid Rock. Are you kidding me? Really? We had already decided it if was him we were leaving after Reba. That's exactly what we did. Apparently loads of others were of the same opinion because about two thirds of the stadium emptied after Reba. There was a line on the steps just to leave our seats. There were lines to catch a shuttle. The cars were lined up to get out of the parking lot. It really looked as if the concert was over. For the minority that remained, they said he did a good show. Whatever. Kid Rock is not my thing and I, personally, do not believe he has any place at a major concert (especially closing the show) at a country music festival. He is not country, not recognized as country and not played on country radio. It was still midnight before we got back to our room. I was so pissed about it I wrote on CMA Fest's Facebook wall sharing my opinion of their lack of intelligence choosing Kid Rock as our "Special Guest."
Tomorrow's another day ... :)
G'nite!
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