A Country Sports Night
I caught another free show at the Hard Rock on Sunday night. This time it was Vince Gill and it qualifies as the first country music concert I’d ever seen. My tastes tend to classic and progressive rock, but as long as the casino sees fit to send comp tickets my way, I’ll oblige them and see their shows.
 Vince Gill is a country super picker, as well as one of the world’s great songwriters and singers. His virtuosity was well on display for an almost two hour set with an 18 piece band that constantly shifted instrumentation. I only had heard two of his songs before; “The Next Big Thing” which I had seen the video for a few years ago and “Oklahoma Border Line” which is featured in the Eric Clapton’s Crossroad’s Festival DVD.
 The sound was excellent and we had floor seats a little over half way back. Three traditional bluegrass songs were featured with Vince on mandolin accompanied by stand up bass, acoustic guitar, and fiddle. The last few numbers of the show were country rockers and I counted six guitars playing for the encore. The crowd was probably the most subdued of any concert I ever attended, with everyone seated for the whole show. It was in stark contrast to the rowdy atmosphere I’d seen at The Who show less than a week earlier.
After the show we dipped into a nearby sports bar and caught my Lady Volunteer women’s hoops team break North Carolina’s hearts with a spirited come back in the Final Four. The Lady Vols play Rutgers tonight for the National Championship, which would be number seven if they win. I’ll be watching.
My friend Rich has secured free tickets for separate shows with Smokey Robinson and Diana Ross at the Hard Rock later this month. This will make over a dozen free shows in the last year. Even though many acts, such as these Motown shows, are not my cup of tea, I still can learn something from these world class musicians that will hopefully rub off in my own music making some day.