Going Country

Tuesday, 17 November 2009 10:05

Last week I went country for two nights in north Florida, just before my hippie jam weekend and shortly after my metal weekend. Lately country music seems to be kicking rock down the road as there are so many country artists selling out the large arenas and selling tons of records. It’s really no wonder; the songs offer a positive message and the music is great and varied. It’s no longer the traditional sounds with the "tear in my beer" lyrics. With so much negativity in the world, people are hungry for a positive message that emphasizes the attitudes that make America great, and no music is more American than country.

By John Davisson

While rock is filled with noodlers whining about things or depressingly shoe-gazing on stage, or angry punks and metalheads, country artists unashamedly cheer for God, guns, love, family, apple pie and America. The singers croon about things worth believing in, not empty distractions: sex, drugs and rock and roll. Some of the songs tackle issues with solutions on a personal level that connect with people, while others are celebratory like rock used to be. The shows have nice productions that can rival any arena rock show, and country artists often cover rock anthems from the past that connect to their fans in a way that the current poptarts couldn’t comprehend. While rock stars complacently relaxed, country music grabbed the spotlight.

The first show I saw was the CMT on Tour '09: Jamey Johnson and Randy Houser at Maverick’s, a yuppie honkytonk on the Landing in Jacksonville. Randy was as much rock as country and is an up-and-coming country singer. His opening set was a high-energy affair.

Jamey Johnson has written numerous country hits and probably could have stayed in the background cashing royalty checks but he recently struck out on his own with hits like “In Color,” and “High Cost of Living.” His stage presence was much more low-key compared to Randy, but by the end of the night it was clear he belonged onstage, not backstage.

His set included his hits and he brought his sister onstage during “In Color” as the fans sang the lyrics back to him. He stopped his show at one point because he thought security was ejecting a fan that walked into the security pit at his behest. It turned out she wasn’t being ejected but it was nice that he stood up for her.

After Jamey finished his set, Randy joined him onstage and the honkytonkin’ continued as they performed a whole set of covers together. Some of the covers were obscure, some were hits but they all were intense and showed how the artists were in the business to play. The best ones I remember were from country and rock: “The South’s Gonna Do It Again” (Charlie Daniels Band) and “Turn the Page” (Bob Seger). I was slightly familiar with Jamey and Randy, and after seeing them I now consider myself a big fan.

The next night, I caught the Zac Brown Band on the Breaking Southern Ground Tour at the St. Augustine Amphitheater. I’ve seen them several times this year and knew what to expect: a great set of never-ending music that owed as much to the jam band scene as to country. They now have several huge country hits under their belt (“Chicken Fried,” “Toes,” “Whatever It Is,” and “Highway 20 Ride“), and their fan base keeps growing, so they sold out this medium-sized venue easily. Last year they played Common Grounds here in Gainesville. Next time they come through (and they are road warriors), they will probably be in arenas.

The band consists of Zac Brown, (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini (fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, vocals), Coy Bowles (guitar, organ), Chris Fryar (drums) and Clay Cook (guitar, organ, mandolin, steel guitar, vocals) and they are all awesome musicians. Their jam on “Devil Went Down to Georgia” (another Charlie Daniels Band cover, could this be the beginning of a CDB renaissance?) is simply a jaw-drooping experience; the devil fled St. Augustine that night.

The Zac Brown Band also hand-picked some of their friends from Atlanta to open the show, and it was a different approach to staging than most shows. Each of the openers played a set of approximately five songs with very short set changes.

Levi Lowrey played first, starting with a solo.  During his set various members of the Zac Brown Band joined him to help flesh out the songs. He was equally adept at folksy guitar pickin’ and fiddle-sawing. The songs were intensely personal observations that quickly captivated the audience and no doubt won him some new fans.

Sonia Leigh played next; she also won over some fans with her sound, which had a slight rockabilly edge. Like Levi, she was joined by several members of the Zac Brown Band. Nic Cowan played the final opening set and his sound was more soulful and urban than the other two openers.

The Zac Brown Band came out to play a long set of their hits and some nice covers. In addition to the “Devil Went Down To Georgia,” they covered “Blackbird,” “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” and “I Shall Be Released.” At the end of “Highway 20 Ride” Zac’s father joined him on stage.

The production was nice, with video screens and nice lighting and some rustic touches on the stage, but it was the band (and the excellent songs) that made the show. Although it was a long set on a big stage, the band managed to play music that connected with the fans intimately and encouraged the revelry. The sound owes as much to rock as to country, but it’s cooler to be country.