When we arrived, we had to wait outside for about thirty minutes. I thought about counting cowboy hats as we waited, but I didn't get that bored. Before long, we were allowed inside, and we started the trek to find our seats.
I got Mom and Dad settled in, then went out to check out the souvenir merchandise and food. We'd just had a big dinner at Crepe Danielle, a long-time favorite of Mom and Dad's. I had a delicious spinach and mushroom crepe with plenty of Swiss cheese and cream sauce. We all chared a lemon, sugar and butter crepe for dessert.
Anyway, I wasn't hungry once we got to Arco, but I bought a couple of bottles of water, anticipating a long show. I also bought a souvenir picture of Alan Jackson for my scrapbook, and a hat.
Mom and Dad chuckled when I got back to our seats, because my hat has the name of an Alan Jackson song on it.
It's 5 O'clock Somwhere!
We had a pleasant surprise when we found that James Otto would also be performing. I became a fan of "Just Got Started Lovin' You" over the summer, and he sang it.
Then Trace Adkins came out. He is a great performer, but we were really annoyed by a large group of kids in front of us. It's one thing to stand during a concert, but they were climbing over the seats into other rows, drinking, and in general being really obnoxious. We couldn't see, and their stupidity was interfering with our enjoyment of the concert. We werent' the only ones--a lady behind us told them to sit down a couple of times. The first time, they complied...and after that, they ignored. Nice. One of them told the lady, "Well, stand up, then!" I wanted to snarl at him. It's not like my dad--with his bad knee and his cane--could stand the whole concert.
After Trace left the stage, I found the nearest usher and complained. He allowed Mom, Dad and I to move to other seats, and we watched the whole of Alan Jackson's stage time with a clear view.
James Otto and Trace Adkins were good performers...but Alan Jackson was the highlight of the evening. My parents and I love his music and he did not disappoint live. He is one of those recording artists who can actually sing, and he brings such a down-home, country-loving, aww-shucks, nice-guy persona to the stage, it's impossible not to like him. He was very gracious to the audience, and very energetic in his performance. People were singing along, and he really seemed to appreciate that people know his music so well, and enjoy it so much.
The highlight of the evening was, of course, when he sang "Remember When." This is Mom and Dad's song--for Christmas last year, Dad gave Mom a framed wall hanging with the lyrics to the song. Everytime we listen to the song in the car, they both get very quiet. Aside from being a sweet song, it is also beautifully orchestrated. Alan didn't let us down last night--he sung it beautifully. Midway through, I looked to my right and saw Mom and Dad holding hands...and dabbing at their eyes!
We chose to leave during the encore--we would have loved to stay to hear some more, but we also wanted to avoid the worst of the crowds leaving. It was good to get Dad's bad knee out to the car before the lobby became a madhouse.
We were home by about midnight, exhausted but exhilerated. It was a really fun show (despite the boozy kids in front of us for the first two acts) and we were very impressed by all three performers. Needless to say, we all slept in this morning!
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