Toby Keith
July 30, 2011
I thought rock concerts were loud. About a month ago, I went to see Toby Keith live in concert and my ears buzzed for days afterward. I must confess that country music is not something I normally listen to, but I’ve seen Toby do guest appearances at several other people’s shows in the past, and he does have that—how do you say? –je ne sais quoi. In other words, he’s sexy, he can sing, and he’s very good-looking.
But it was the “he can sing” part that made me want to go most of all. I’m glad I did. It was another lesson in stepping outside my comfort zone. You never know where something new may take you—and last month, it took me to Cheyenne, WY where Toby surprised me.
With exploding pyrotechnics and sometimes streamers that were shot out over the packed-in crowd, Toby delighted the entire audience and had them dancing, two-stepping (as much as possible in their confined areas), and singing their lungs out right along with him. It was a huge venue—Cheyenne Frontier Days’ main arena, where they also hold rodeos. We had to tramp through the dust and “horse apples” to get to the arena for our standing-room-only section. But every seat in the stands was taken as well.
Toby is proud to be an American and he isn’t afraid to show it. He toasted the USA, the flag, and our military forces with a lot of patriotic songs and words of praise.
He also did a rendition of Ted Nugent’s “Stranglehold”, which was fun and refreshing to me, being first a rock fan. And he did it so well, I didn’t even miss “Uncle Ted’s” version!
At one point, Toby did a “duet” with Willie Nelson, with Willie’s likeness playing on a video on an enormous screen behind the performers onstage. “I’ll Never Smoke Weed with Willie Again” gave us a sneak peek at Toby’s sense of humor beneath that serious face, and then there was the song “Get Out of My Car,” which he introduced with a grin, saying, “You’ll never hear this song played on the radio!” “As Good As I Once Was,” touched my heart, maybe because it reminded me of my late father, who was also a veteran, but it also made me feel glad to be the person I am right now, because in spite of the fact that I am no longer as young as I used to be, I’m not finished yet!
“How Do You Like Me Now?” was the song that surprised me the most. I’ve heard this one before, but nothing beats seeing a performer sing a song live. It had a bit of a rock and roll flavor and this song too, was like saying, “Take it or leave it, baby—this is me and I’m proud to be me!” I’m going to have to add “How Do You Like Me Now?” to my list of all-time top favorite songs.
“Should’ve Been a Cowboy” also reminded me of my dad. He loved country music, being out in nature, and sitting around the campfire telling stories while tossing down a beer or two. Great song. Great memories.
Some of the other songs Toby played were:
American Ride
Whiskey Girl
Under the Rodeo Moon
Who’s Your Daddy?
I Love This Bar
Beer for My Horses
Get Drunk and Be Somebody
I Wanna Talk About Me
Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue
There was a song I wasn’t familiar with, but it was about boots. And as Toby sang, many of the audience members removed one boot and held it in the air. I’d never been in a crowd of dusty cowboy and cowgirl boots before and this moved me—a connection between audience and performer and back again. That’s what great music is all about.
Toby’s voice sounded awesome, he had his swagger and his little boy smile down to a tee, his interaction with the audience was fun, and his band was killer. I had a really great time.
If you have the chance, go see Toby, even if you don’t care for country music. He’s rugged and cute and sometimes naughty. And he puts on a great show.