Jason Aldean in concert

That was...

Well, let me preface this with I instinctively distrust any country band without a fiddle and I'm a *huge* fan of the Texas sound vs. the Nashville sound (which I can jabber about endlessly, I know, but country music is my fandom of choice).

*grins*

It wasn't bad. Aldean rocked "Hicktown" and there were moments of true clarity. His voice is strong and distinctive and he gave props to Tim McGraw. He sounded like him, but if I didn't *know* the song, I couldn't have understood a single lyric. He swallowed the mic. He was a tad chatty and making faces at the audience, which had me daydreaming a little and wondering if maybe I should just get up and go pee.

However, don't cover Dwight Yoakum in Austin during SXSW if you can't pull it off. We're a touch fierce about our music down here.

I mean, it wasn't *bad*, but he didn't make me a fan (although, I do very much recommend his CDs - he has a deft hand at choosing songs, that weird mush-mouth thing is taken care of, and his voice is lush) and, given that he was the deciding-factor on whether we were going to suck it up and fly overnight to Raleigh to see him and Tim McGraw? I'm a little disappointed.

On the other hand, if you care about country music at *all* and get a chance to see Tracy Lawrence live?

Go.

Don't question it, just go. It's magic.