Concert for the Cure fan story

 

Jessica sent me these pictures and review of the Concert for the Cure benefit concert which featured Jason Aldean, Jake Owen, Ashley Ray and Luke Bryan last month and I'm just getting to it.  I feel bad because the review and pictures are top notch, I've just been so slow getting to everything in my email.  Sorry Jessica.  Anyway, enjoy her teling of the concert and then you can visit her Facebook to check out the rest of her awesome pictures.

My roommate, Heather, and I got to the Wildhorse Saloon about 6:00pm to wait in line so we could get good seats as everything was general admission.  At first we were told we would have to go to the 2^nd or 3^rd floor and fill in, but once we got inside we realized everyone was crowded around the stage, so we joined the crowd.  We ended up about 3 or 4 people back which was awesome.

 

 

Ashley Ray took the stage right at 10:00 and rocked it!  She is a new singer/songwriter from Kansas who was recently out on tour with Eric Church on his Young and Wild Tour and that’s how I knew who she was.  She sang songs such as “Hurricane” and “Next Time I Fall in Love” and did a cover of Tom Petty’s “I won’t Back Down” and “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon.  She talked about how this show was kind of a celebration as her mom had been battling breast cancer and was finally able to get out of the house, so Ashley flew both of her parents in for the show. 

 

After her set, Lance Smith, who was host for the night, came back out and interviewed Ashley for a few minutes.  She had mentioned during her set how during the Eric Church tour she had couch surfed with fans to cut the cost of getting a hotel room all the time.  Lance asked her about this and asked what one of the craziest stories she had was.  She said it was too inappropriate, so she proceeded to talk about the very first night of the tour.  She told how she was couch surfing with a fan and there was a card board cut-out of Alan Jackson.  They had been drinking that night, so to be goofy, she put “Alan” in bed with her and “slept” with him.  The video is up on her myspace page (www.myspace.com/ashleyray).  Well, it just so happened that when that incident happened, she was couch surfing at Heather’s parents’ house.  Heather and I knew from the beginning what story she was going to tell, so we were dying of laughter in the audience.  Ashley told Lance that the fans she had couch surfed with were in the audience and pointed to Heather and I.  Lance told us it was our fault she “slept” with Alan Jackson.

 

After Ashley, Luke Bryan took the stage.  I have seen Luke several times in concert and he never disappoints.  He performed his set acoustically with the help of one of Jake Owen’s guys on drums.  He did not have a set list, so he just kind of went with the flow and sang whatever he felt like singing and even took a few requests.  He sang a brand new song about how he would never do something again and then doing it again.  It was awesome! He sang his current single “Do I” by request and his hits such as “Country Man” and “We Rode in Trucks.” Jake Owen joined him on stage to help sing “Good Directions.”  He closed his set with his hit single “All My Friends Say.” I was very disappointed when he was finished as I could watch him perform all night long.

 

 

Jake Owen took the stage next.  He played “Yee Haw” and his new single “8 Second Ride” which I am partial too since one of my friends helped co-write with Jake.  His parents were side-stage, so before he sang “Don’t Think I can’t Love You” he talked about when he wrote the song he had his parents in mind.  It was cute to watch his parents while he sang that song.  He also did a rap and freestyle to “Fresh Prince of Belair.”  He finished his set with a cover of Alabama’s “Dixieland Delight.”

 

After a short break, Jason Aldean came on to rock the stage.  He kicked off his set with the title track of his new album, “Wide Open” and then went into “Crazy Town” which happens to be one of my favorite songs on his album.  He then sang his hit and first #1 single, “Why.”  Then, he sang a cover of “Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty which he credits as one of his favorite bands.  Right before he sang his newest single, “Big Green Tractor,” he brought a guy on stage to make a very special announcement.  I thought he was going to talk about the Susan G. Komen Foundation which is what the Concert for the Cure benefits, but he didn’t.  He talked about a woman (who was Jason’s Mother-in-Law) he met 4 years ago and how much she meant to him.  Then he got down on one knee and proposed to her as the crowd went crazy.  It was a very cute moment.  Then Jason told them he had a very romantic song for them and performed “Big Green Tractor.”  He played several songs from his 2^nd album, including “Johnny Cash,” “Relentless,” and others.  He finished his set by rocking out to his last single “She’s Country” and “Hicktown.” I was disappointed there was not an encore, but the way he finished the show was awesome. 

 

 

  

This was my 17^th Jason Aldean show and it was by far one of the best.  After the show, Heather and I and a few friends went around behind the Wildhorse hoping to catch Jason or even just his band members.  Just before the band came out (no Jason), Lance Smith came out.  Heather caught him and we started talking to him.  He made a comment how normally at events like this he is side-stage or backstage and doesn’t normally get to watch the show, but tonight he went out front to watch.  He said Jason was awesome and “Jason Aldean is going to be huge.  He could very well be the next Kenny Chesney.” To hear someone like Lance say that about Jason made my night and made me remember why I love Jason so much.

Comments

[Concert Tickets]

hoping i could get some tickets i waited outside the event waiting to be approached by some tickets touts but that never happend.lol.

i ended up having to go sight seeing instead.

[Jessica]

Thanks for finally posting this! No worries on it being late :) I appreciate it =D