Jason Aldean with Luke Bryan and Ash Bowers in Boise, ID

This is the story of a boy who knew what he wanted.  This is the story of a 9 year old boy with Asperger's Syndrome who got a DVD for Christmas and surprised us all.  See, this little guy doesn't talk much at all, and only when absolutely necessary at that.  He doesn't like loud noises or much commotion, but he absolutely loves his music, so when we took him to the Rodney Atkins concert at the fair last Summer, it was met with minimal enthusiasm.  He liked the songs, but the volume and crowd were a bit much for him, so after it was over, he let us know that he didn't really want to go to any more concerts.  Fair enough -- if he's not ready, he's not ready.

Along came the Christmas of 2009, complete with the gift of a DVD of Jason Aldean in concert in Knoxville, TN.  He's liked Big Green Tractor since the day it hit the radio, so we thought this might be a good one for him.  (That and he's wearing out the Josh Turner soundcheck DVD he loves so much.)  One run through the DVD was all it took for him to latch onto that, and then surprise us with this statement:

"I want to see Jason Aldean in concert!"

Now, statements from him in general are somewhat rare, but this one really took us unawares.  Nevertheless, we honoured it by letting him know that we'd do our best to get him to one.  Little did we know that within a few weeks, a March 20th show would be announced for Boise with Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan!  So, knowing all the while that taking him into a venue that seats roughly 10,000 people to a show that will give the mains a good workout would be a bit of a gamble, we made arrangements nonetheless, and hoped for the best.

By the time yesterday rolled around, he was beyond ready to go, as were all of us.  (I think the anticipation of a show makes it all the more enjoyable sometimes.)  We piled on into the arena and caught the opener, Ash Bowers, with whose work we were relatively unfamiliar as a newcomer to the country scene.  His set was a quick four songs, but he did a good job with a band consisting of two acoustic guitars, bass, and cajon.  With all the emphasis on the headliners, we didn't even know he'd be there, so that was an interesting little surprise.

Luke Bryan came along next with a full set -- a very full set!  I didn't time how long he played, but it was all his most popular songs plus a good handful from his newest CD, and other stuff thrown in here and there.  As it turns out, he's quite a funny guy with a very genuine sense about him.  He had the crowd in the palm of his hand, and gave an all-out, full band performance that was quite well done.  In my opinion, it might have been the better part of the show, but that's all relative to personal taste.

He acknowledged that he might not have been at the top of his game due to a mild injury, and seemed a bit frustrated when a guitar he was handled didn't play properly (sent it across the stage on its back, even!), but really put it all out there for the audience, who responded enthusiastically at all times.  It was great fun, and I doubt anyone present didn't enjoy it.

My only issue with Bryan's part of the show is twofold, and both parts are similar.  As a sportsman and hunter, the song Drinking Beer And Wasting Bullets has bothered me since the first time I heard it.  When he got through the first chorus and the 11-year-old Waterfowling Wonder looked at me in shock, I hated the fact that I'd have to have that conversation with him.  Even he knew that was a violation of one of the 10 Commandments of Hunters' Safety (namely that alcohol and firearms do not mix), and I don't think our kids need the mixed messages.  The second issue I had was his comment regarding driving around Boise's backroads while drinking whiskey from a Dixie cup.  Maybe I'm just taking things too seriously, but that was a bit much for me.

Aldean was next, and after the high energy and fun of the Luke Bryan set, the kids were already starting to wear down a bit.  It was getting late, and they'd heard so many of their favourite songs already, it was fairly understandable that they'd be dragging.  When his silhouette came up on the curtain, 12 feet tall and unmistakable, though, they joined right in with the rest of the crowd whooping and hollering, and stayed right there with him through the end of the show.

For his end of things, the concert was quite a spectacle.  There was a fairly elaborate set with catwalks and ramps, curtains used to various effects, and a wall of amps and cabinets (none of which appeared to have been miced, interestingly enough).  One thing I really appreciated from a visual perspective was that the light show, while fairly elaborate, was not overwhleming.  It wasn't the razzle-dazzle cavalcade that distracts the audience, but a well-designed asset to the production that highlighted the performance well.

All the hits were here, well-executed by one of the tighter touring bands.  "The Three Kings" of Rich Redmond, Tully Kennedy, and Kurt Allison were joined by Mike Frey and a mysterious, unnamed steel player.  (He has a name, I'm sure, but wasn't introduced.)  I have to say that after hearing the live sound from the DVD, the pedal steel brings an extremely compelling aspect to the overall sound.  Aldean's approach has typically been straightforward rock 'n roll -- two electrics, bass, drums, and his acoustic.  It certainly works for him, much the same way we observed Little Big Town's similar arrangement, but the steel lends a bit of the traditional "country" sound that had been missing on the DVD.  It all works quite well together, and won't disappoint he audience looking for the rocker image or the country sound.  (On a related note, I think Little Big Town could use a touring mandolin player for the same reason, and I just happen to be available!)

Gibson Les Paul models ruled the roost on his set, as one would expect for his high-gain, cranked-to-10 sound.  A nice Nashville style Tele made a few appearances, a PRS or two showed up, and of course you can't play Big Green Tractor without a Strat, so there were some of them, too.  It was interesting watching all the guitar changes and wondering how many of them were absolutely necessary.  Sure, I'm a guitar geek, but it actually seemed a little distracting, especially when one of the changes went very wrong.  Give these guys credit, though.  They have their sounds dialed in, and they know exactly what it's going to take to get them from song to song.  It's a very studio-worthy approach, and it works for them. Ash Bowers' bassist had made use of a lovely goldtop LP bass in their set, and an identical model (looked identical from our seats, anyways) showed up for one Aldean song, which was a nice little treat since you don't see them very often at all.

The set was about what you's expect from a Jason Aldean show.  We were expecting Wide Open for the opening number, but got Crazy Town instead; a move that really works, as the latter is more of a high-energy romp, and got the crowd really worked up from the get-go.  It's been one of my favourites since the first time I heard the album, so that was a pleasant surprise.  We also did not expect him to cover the Bryan Adams tunes, Heaven and Cuts Like A Knife in the middle of the show, both of which were done to a high standard of excellence. Of particular interest, aside from the first two songs mentioned here, was his performance of two earlier non-singles, I Break Everything I Touch (accompanied by guitar issues), and I Use What I Got.  Both are great live songs from the very beginning of his career, and I'm glad he still puts them in the setlist.

As far as putting in a cover of Kid Rock's Cowboy goes, though, that ranked way up there on my list of "what the heck?" concert moments. Still, everyone else was having a good time and enjoyed it regardless of what I thought.  Consider the source of this comment, though -- I've never liked anything by Kid Rock.

And how did the kid respond to the show?  He kept his fingers in his ears all night, but smiled and smiled... and smiled some more!  As soon as the show was over, we asked how he liked it, only to hear him reply, "Now I'm ready to go see Josh Turner!"  I guess he's hooked like us now.  Cool.