- February 8, 2003 - Tacoma Dome - Tacoma, WA
- As a few of the young bucks in the world of country music these boys are on fire. Rascal Flatts is the perfect accompaniment to the Toby Keith tour this time around. Definitely not to be dubbed as a country "boy band," yet this isn't your grand-dad's country ensemble either. These guys hold their own with great harmonies and a style all their own. Playing to nearly 22,000 screaming fans in the Tacoma Dome on a Saturday night is sure to keep the fire blazing under these lads.
- As the lights went down and the screams went up, the three young men from Rascal Flatts came bounding on stage. The energy level remained peaked until they thanked everyone for coming. At your first glance of their lead vocalist one might think you were at a punk show with his spiky hair. It wasn't long before they blew the crowd away with the unforgettable sound of country we have come to expect from them. Whether they had us swingin' to "Prayin' for Daylight" or swaying to "I'm Moving On," Rascal Flatts put on a show that kept the crowd singing along and feeling great.
- After a fine set by Rascal Flatts, it was time for Toby Keith. This big dog definitely had a house befitting his status as a major league country player. Playing to the sold out audience, Toby rocked the Tacoma dome. The Dome was packed. Toby had sold more seats than the Rolling Stone as well as Paul McCartney when they had visited the dome in 2002. If there was any question as to whether Toby has arrived I don't think he would have a thing to worry about.
- As the house lights lowered and the crowd began to scan the stage, an opening video played. It featured a cocky bulldog making his rounds through town, making his opinions and presence known. Complete with a pink panty shot of a hot chick right down to "Toby" the bulldog pissing on a front page news photo of Osama Bin Laden and Dan Rather which drew big cheers. You could tell from the start that this concert would be full of attitude. It appeared the fans were craving it and knew Keith could give them. As the video faded out a black figure started to slowly rise from the floor in front of the screen. No mistaking it - the Man had arrived! Dressed in black from head to toe, he strolled down to the stage front and started belting out hit after hit.
 Backed by the Easy Money Band, Toby moved from one side of the stage to the other to make sure his all the fans got the show they deserved. His performance of "Who's your Daddy" and "How Do You Like Me Now" brought on some great cheers from the crowd. Older classics like "A Little Less Talk And A Lot More Action", "You Ain't Much Fun (Since I Quit Drinkin')" and "Getcha Some" had the fans screaming and singing every word right along with him. Of his entire show he performed two of his ballads, "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This" and, off the new album "Unleashed," "Rock You Baby". He then told the screaming hoards of fans that was about as tender as he intended to be that night. He even had Rascal Flatts come back out during one of the songs to add that "little something extra," not that he needed to. With a full band, complete with horn section, Toby's backing group kicked some serious tail.
- Midway through the evening when it was time to take a break Toby and a special guest (whose name escapes me at the moment), came out with just their guitars to give us a sample of what they term as "bus songs." These songs were certainly not meant for commercial airplay and had been written basically to amuse themselves on the long road trips between shows. If they have many more of these outright hilarious tunes they definitely need to record and release them. Between "I'll Never Smoke Weed With Willy Again" and a song paying homage to life under the Taliban order in Afghanistan and how it'll be "ride camel ride" getting out from under that government and their belief system. They started out with a verse depicting the proud owner of a 2-bedroom cave who hasn't seen his wife's uncovered face since they moved to Afghanistan to be either goat or camel herders. We couldn't help but laugh ourselves silly. Of course the crowd just loved the form of salute to the Taliban he thought would be appropriate.
- To finish off the show he played "Courtesy Of The Red, White & Blue (The Angry American)" written just after the 9-11 attacks. Instead of some mushy song about remembrance he came right out and said what most American probably felt - "You'd better watch out because 'we'll put a boot in your ass' for messing with our country" in no uncertain terms. Toby makes no apologies for his views and, since we do live in a free country he has every right to voice them. The fans at his Tacoma show certainly seemed to share that opinion to the fullest.
- One thing to add, that was an extra treat to those who enjoy concerts but are hearing impaired was the use of a side-stage "signer" to help the deaf members of the audience enjoy the lyrics as the rest of us did.
- It had been a long wait for Toby to grace the Pacific Northwest on one of his tours, but the wait was worth it. Keith's easy-going manner and "regular Joe" attitude makes him easy to relate to and in turn makes him seem untouched by the egomaniac personality that tends to pollute some artists once they have achieved major mainstream success.
- Written by and Photos © 2003 Tara Hauff
|
