A few hours after I landed in Dallas, I went to the Alan Jackson concert at the Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie, about 15 miles south of the airport. The support acts were Ashley Monroe and Jon Pardi. Pardi rocked it!
But the main event was always going to be Alan Jackson on this 25th anniversary tour.
And he was as good as he sounds on all those CDs he’s made.
He played a lot of his back catalogue of hits. I didn’t write them down, but there were heaps. Some that spring to mind were “5 o’clock somewhere”, “Drive”, “Chattahoochee”, “Itty Bitty”, “Where were you (when the world stopped turning)”, “Summertime blues”. (There’s always Google… This site lists the songs played at concerts by various artists, including the set list for the concert I attended: http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/alan-jackson/2015/verizon-theater-grand-prairie-tx-6bcb8a12.html)
I had an excellent seat and have made some observations (after the photos) about attending a concert in the US, which is certainly a different experience than I’ve ever had at an indoor concert at home!
(notice the hats!)
Observations:
- people wear hats to concerts and don’t take them off… baseball caps, cowboy hats mostly
- denim and boots and country shirts are everywhere – and that was just the women 😉
- everyone brings in food (nachos, hot dogs, fries) and copious amounts of drink (24-ounce cans and cups of alcohol) from the vendors in the lobby
- people wander in and out at will when the performer is playing, not just in the breaks
- sound system was excellent
- no phone reception for me, but then I’m with T-mobile, not Verizon, so I guess that wasn’t a surprise
- it was freezing inside the venue – it was chilly outside, but they had that air con right down to about 35F, I reckon. I’m very glad I’d taken a jacket.
- some people need to learn what’s appropriate behaviour for the situation. Two ladies near where I was needed to get a room, and the chap directly behind me spoilt my night by using ‘Dallas’ very loudly and often and in a way that reminded me of Elaine in Seinfeld yelling ‘Stella!’. Others near me told him to shut up, and he did for a while but then would start up again, even in the middle of a quiet ballad. Again, appropriate behaviour for the time and place…
Rhonda Bracey: At Random 