{"id":798,"date":"2012-06-16T20:00:15","date_gmt":"2012-06-16T20:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.71.127.204\/wordpress\/?p=798"},"modified":"2015-10-13T16:46:35","modified_gmt":"2015-10-13T16:46:35","slug":"dierks-bentley-friends-woodlands-pavilion-spring-tx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/2012\/06\/16\/dierks-bentley-friends-woodlands-pavilion-spring-tx\/","title":{"rendered":"Dierks Bentley & Friends – Woodlands Pavilion – Spring, TX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Written by Dave Clements <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Jun 16, 2012 at 06:00 PM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Image\"Before I share my observations of the Dierks Bentley & Friends Show that took place Sat., June 16th at The Woodlands Pavilion, a word of thanks should be expressed.\u00a0 Live Nation\u2019s Levi Johnson & Brian Birr have been generously supportive of what we do at Houston Music Review and these guys bend over backwards to help us get you a good story and photos to match, so my heartfelt thanks to you both.<\/p>\n

Now, regarding the show\u2026 it had several twists and turns as the afternoon and evening unfolded.\u00a0 We had another\u00a0 steamy summer Texas day\/evening and there was\u00a0 electricity in the air, sometimes literally as storms rolled\u00a0 through the area. Their timing worked out okay though and provided minimal interruption.<\/p>\n

The concert was kicked off on the big stage by Chris Cagle. Certainly I had heard of him being a local boy however I really didn\u2019t know that much about him or his music.\u00a0 If I\u2019d had more exposure to him and his music I would have been a fan way before this performance. Cagle belted it out with serious country vocals and the energy to go after it pretty good all from a wooden stool. He had a lot of the characteristics of my friend and fellow singer\/songwriter Kevin Black\u2026emotionally charged and willing to put it out there.<\/p>\n

Chris hails from Baytown (a place I know well having worked there for over 10 years in my prior life), and he graduated from Ross Sterling High School in \u201987.\u00a0 Based on his comments it didn\u2019t sound like he\u2019d played around here much AND greatly appreciated his local fans who came out to watch him.\u00a0 Chris let the audience know that he was aware they could have chosen another place to be in the\u00a0 early afternoon and the sweltering heat.\u00a0 He seemed genuinely touched at the size of the crowd and\u00a0 enthusiastic support.\u00a0 It impressed me too that this hard working artist had just flown in from a show in Wisconsin early in this morning and was flying to another show in California later that afternoon.<\/p>\n

Next up was Wade Bowen, another of Texas\u2019 own. Wade has been noticed nationally here lately and for those of us that have been listening to this guy for the last decade or longer we are excited to see him \u2018break out\u2019 beyond the great state of Tejas! Bowen has a unique sound and very understated demeanor that I think kind of gets in his way from time to time.\u00a0 On this day, at least early in the set, he was WAY laid back.\u00a0 He shared that the band had played 25 shows in the last 30 days which from a business standpoint is good if they can keep their energy\/focus level up during each show.<\/p>\n

I thought the guys were little slow to get into their musical groove however by mid-set they had reached a nice stride. The best offering was their FIRST TOP 10 HIT, \u2018Saturday Night\u2019.\u00a0 This song has obviously done well on iTunes and radio across the country. I sure hope he can follow it up with something that puts him firmly on the national stage, assuming that\u2019s Bowen\u2019s goal. Guess the money is better nationally\u00a0 but beyond that the \u2018shelf life\u2019 can be short.\u00a0 Just look at Pat Green and Jack Ingram!<\/p>\n

\"Image\"Before moving on I\u2019d like to speak for a moment about one of my favorite Bowen songs of late.\u00a0 It\u2019s called \u2018Mood Ring\u2019, and it\u2019s been a favorite song since the first time I heard it performed by the writer of the song, Paul Thorn. I suggest if you don\u2019t have it, go get it, both ways (Bowen and Thorn) and if you are not into music but you are into women then, by all means, go buy it.\u00a0 It provides great advice for dealing the woman in your life\u2026you\u2019ll understand\u00a0 more after you listen to it!\u00a0 Besides all the great music from Bowen, I have met him and gotten to know him a little.\u00a0 He is a genuinely nice guy ,a family man, gives back to the community.<\/p>\n

I really don\u2019t have much to say about the next artist to perform to the near 8K crowd other than I don\u2019t think they came to just see her. Jana Kramer, actor\/singer, God love her, is very cute and has all the gestures for the big stage. She has all those moves and they seem so well rehearsed that they just looked phony and uninspired to me. They were probably necessary as she needed to do something with her hands given she didn\u2019t play the guitar.<\/p>\n

Her single \u2018Why You Wanna\u2019 did get a nice reaction from the crowd. I am guessing that she is on Dierks Bentley\u2019s record label and was sent out with him with the hope that his fans and audience members will take suction on her.\u00a0 I will be surprised if Texas does.\u00a0\u00a0 I suggest Jana not give up her acting career but with role models like Jessica Simpson,\u00a0 Rebecca Black, and Victoria Justice, I guess I understand why she is making a run at music,\u00a0 But good grief, could we just maybe start with some raw talent?<\/p>\n

Speaking of raw talent next up was the \u2018done\u2019 half of Brooks and Dunn. Come on Ronnie. I was so underwhelmed by your last two performances at\u00a0 Rodeo Houston when you looked liked you were not there and\/or stoned and then you come out and tour as a solo act and give us a major dose of BSthis evening!!!!<\/p>\n

You are a very talented artist and I so very much wanted to write something nice regarding your show and then you go and do something stupid and ruin it for me\/us. You leave the stage 40 minutes early and don\u2019t do one of your best B&D songs, \u2018Neon Moon\u2019?\u00a0 And it was on your set list.\u00a0 And THEN you don\u2019t perform your first solo career single, \u2018We All Bleed Red\u2019?! It\u2019s REALLY hard to figure.\u00a0 These people paid good money to come to the show and you give them a half ass performance\u2026something isn\u2019t right.<\/p>\n

My suggestion is ..IF YOU CANT GET IT RIGHT AND DO YOU JOB WITH ENTUSIASM THEN STOP TOURING AND JUST TRY TO SELL RECORDS\u2026\u00a0 please\/thanks. By the way I did like the new tattoo\u2026AND it\u2019s okay to have a midlife crisis late.\u00a0 Maybe it means you are going to live a long time?\u00a0 Just please stop touring or give us your best effort!<\/p>\n

\"Image\"At this point it seems anticlimactic to even speak of Dierks Bentley\u2019s set.\u00a0 He was the headliner and hands down the must enjoyable to photograph.\u00a0 There was lots of movement around the stage and terrific stage lighting! His slim and, according to my wife, handsome figure, curly locks, and enthusiastic approach to entertaining\u00a0 were all appealing apparently too many of the boot scootin\u2019 ladies in attendance. For sure his focus for the evening was THE WOMEN. I bet they pay most of the bills in the Bentley household.\u00a0 Only fitting since, as he shared while introducing \u2018Let\u2019s Make Some Memories Here Tonight\u2019, his household is made up of a wife and two young daughters! His biggest memory of this particular evening may by having to scramble around to start his show early because Ronnie \u2018Done\u2019 bolted early.<\/p>\n

Dierks did make a nice comment about Mr. Done, though in judging the lukewarm reaction of the audience, it fell on their collective deaf ears.<\/p>\n

So, I get what Dierks Bentley puts out there.\u00a0 I get what he does however, I try every time I see him to get into\u00a0 his music but just walk away wondering what\u2019s\u00a0 \u2018the appeal\u2019? Okay, maybe I do know the answer but it doesn\u2019t work for me.\u00a0 If it works for you, well God bless you and GOD BLESS THE NASHVILLE SOUND\u2026whatever it has come to be\u2026<\/p>\n

Until next time, I look forward to seeing you down the road and hope you\u2019re keep\u00a0 it between the navigational beacons!<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Dave Clements Jun 16, 2012 at 06:00 PM Before I share my observations of the Dierks Bentley & Friends Show that took place Sat., June 16th at The Woodlands Pavilion, a word of thanks should be expressed.\u00a0 Live Nation\u2019s Levi Johnson & Brian Birr have been generously supportive of what we do at… <\/p>\n

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