Liftoff at the concert

by Susan Anderson
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 2:24 PM MDT

Though I’ve never taken off in a rocket headed to outer space, I imagine that the energy at a sold-out music concert might give the same feeling.

At the Josh Turner and Carrie Underwood concert in Casper on May 14, we had the suspenseful countdown followed by a whoosh of energy when the performers came on stage.

It seemed like the entire screaming and hollering crowd at the Events Center might lift off.

Sometimes this column needs a disclaimer, and this one is, “Don’t expect a real music critic.” So this is more of an account of the experience -- one that I never would have expected to write about back when I was studying to be a journalist.

But experiencing concerts in the company of 6,500 others wound up and thrilled people reaches some level of excitement that becomes a peak of its own, something you will always remember and talk about. (Have I mentioned that I attended the Altamont Rolling Stones concert on Dec. 6, 1969? See what I mean?)

Fantasy alternate

Casper is attracting some pretty exciting performances lately, ranging from Elton John to last week’s “Carnival Ride” tour. It doesn’t hurt that these top acts also get the pick of the musicians to accompany them. You won’t hear a better drummer than Nigel Olsson, who began accompanying Elton John 35 years ago.

And the country music bands now puts out something that sounds a lot like rock did way back when. They bring fiddlers, guitar players, drummers and keyboard players who could be a show in themselves.

My own fantasy alternate career would be playing fiddle for a hot country music act.

Unidentified rising object

Country music concerts have changed a lot since I watched Willie Nelson stand on the stage at the Casper Events Center under a single spotlight and, without a word to the audience, rattle off his songs and walk off.

Now there is a runway the singers can walk down for maximum contact with the audience and a light show that leaves the ’60s in the dust. Then, amid swirling lights and smoke, Carrie Underwood slowly levitated to the stage, a little like an unidentified flying object from below.

The words

Some of the lyrics are funny and true, and it seems that every single fan knows them. Josh Turner started with his distinctive growl, and then turned the mic toward the crowd to finish out his phrases, performing a kind of duet with them.

Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel” is so serious that it’s slightly jarring when she follows up with her ode to vandalism, “Before He Cheats.”

I have to say that the male fans seemed to grow quiet when she described how she “dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped-up, four-wheel drive …”

Listening to this song nonstop on the radio with my 12-year-old daughter has led to some teaching moments about what actually would happen to a girl who carved her initials in someone’s leather seats, no matter how bad of a guy he is.

The worst is that I keep waking up with, “I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights” in my head. At least I got to explain what a Louisville slugger is to my daughter, so I counted it as an educational moment.

But I’m still trying to figure out if it’s a positive evolution from lamenting your cheatin’ heart to bashing in your headlights.

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