Same Three Guys, Same Three Chords

Saturday night the mighty G-rod and myself went to the White River Ampitheater in Auburn to see Brooks & Dunn and ZZ Top in concert.

We both went to see ZZ Top almost 10 years ago, so it was perfect that we got to see them again together this time.

It seemed an odd pairing of musical tastes, but what the heck.

This turned out to be a real treat on all levels.

I had heard about this concert a few months back but it got sidelined with everything else that was going on at the time. On Friday I was reminded that the concert was the next day, so I went online to see if it had sold out yet and luckily it hadn't.

Hotness didn't want to go since it was supposed to rain so I called G-rod and he said he'd be up for it. We made transportation plans and I got the tickets that evening.

Getting to the venue was a breeze, and much closer than driving all the way out to the Gorge for a concert. I definitely will come here again for another show.

After parking, we got in line to get in and had to go through security. We both brought folding chairs with us, since we had general admission lawn seating.

G-rod's chair was too tall, so rather than go back to the car he just tossed it in the garbage.

I felt bad 'cause now he had to stand for the whole show. I offered to rent a chair from guest services, but he said he was fine and actually used my backpack for a seat.

I went to go check out the T-shirts and whatnot they were selling and was approached by a staff member of the venue.

She was giving away ticket upgrades for seating under the covered area. I scored two seats together... for FREE!

We moved in under the cover and enjoyed the entire show without getting rained on further and G-rod was able to sit comfortably. So it all worked out well.

The opener was a country singer by the name of Rodney Atkins. I hadn't heard of him before but his songs were catchy and fun. I might end up getting his CD as his music was pretty good.

I have to laugh, though, as one of his songs was things he loves about the South. While he sang, all the rednecks and cowboys were hooping and hollering and I was thinking to myself "Hmmm.. all these Northwest "cowboys" have probably never even been in the South before."

But whatever. It was fun and the music was good. A top-notch opening act.

Then they set up for Brooks & Dunn.

I'm familiar with two or three of their songs, the ones you hear on the radio anyway, but didn't know most of them.

It was a great show and they were having a good time playing for the audience.

It's nice when the band is enjoying themsleves instead of just going through the motions of performing.

Here they are:

Then we had a long pause while they set up the stage for ZZ Top.

For just three guys, it sure took a while to get things ready.

Once they finished, though, it was non-stop hits.

They opened with "Got Me Under Pressure" and just went on from there.

If you are familiar with their music, they played ALL the hits that you hear on the radio. In fact, I didn't hear anything older than their 'Recycler' album from 1990, even though they've had a few albums since then.

They played, the crowd stood up and sang along (me included!) and the place was electric.

They even brought out the fuzzy guitars and did "Legs". This is G's favorite song so once he saw the 'fuzzy geetars', he busted out with a big old smile.

They finshed and left the stage while the crowd cheered for an encore.

When the came back they dove right into "La Grange" and did a medley of "My Head's In Mississippi" during the guitar part, which was really good.

Then Billy Gibbons called out for Brooks & Dunn to come out and join them onstage and they all played on "Tube Snake Boogie". Kix Brooks on harmonica, Dusty Hill on bass, Frank Beard on drums, Billy Gibbons on lead guitar and Ronnie Dunn on rythym guitar.

It was fantastic. Everybody was singing, the guys on stage were having a blast and it was a rocking finish to a great night of live music.

When it was all said and done, we headed back home and I got in around 1:00 a.m. then slept in this morning.

Thanks for going with me G, I had a great time!

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FYI to the 'cast and crew' in my area:

If anybody is looking for a concert buddy so they don't have to go alone to a show, let me know. I'm open to a lot of different music and I don't get to make some concerts as I have nobody to go with all the time (Hotness doesn't go to concerts as much as I like to)

If I can afford tickets and it's a band I'm interested in, drop me an email. I'm a fun concert date and I won't try to get in your pants after the show!