Pat Green rocks out Texas Motor Speedway (Photo by John Schreiber, The Daily Campus.)
Growing up in a big city that had about as much Southern influence as Fenway Park when the Yankees were in town, I must admit that I was beyond excited with anticipation to attend the Pat Green concert at the infield of the Texas Motor Speedway on Wednesday night.
Headlining Samsung Mobile’s Rockin’ Roundup, Green kicked off the Dickies 500 Race Week at the Speedway. I certainly didn’t know what I was in for.
Pulling into the parking lot, I spotted about 300 or so itinerant domiciles lining the spaces, forming their own veritable trailer park of sorts. I asked my friend what these mobile homes were there for, and you can imagine my shock to learn that people were camping out and waiting for the NASCAR races that are to begin this weekend. You can imagine my even greater shock at learning these people are in mobile homes because they actually travel around the country, following the races like groupies of The Grateful Dead. I estimated that among the residents of these 300 mobile homes, there were approximately 97 teeth and 288 mullet haircuts. Now, I was definitely pumped for the concert.
Catching the second half of opening act, Los Lonely Boys’ set, it was half a set too long. Its promise of some “badass ‘Texican’ music” was an empty one. The rough, metallic-sounding guitar riffs were not “badass.” They were just bad.
However, when it finished its set with its Grammy Award- winning song, “Heaven,” almost every woman 45 years and over got up to dance, squealing like a 14-year-old girl. At least someone liked the band’s stuff.
Taking the opportunity to move as far away from the stage as possible, standing on an actual NASCAR racetrack was (all sarcasm aside) a pretty stimulating experience. The only experience I’d had thus far with car racing was the Grand Prix Race Cars at Disney World and the combined 45 seconds that I had watched of it on TV. However, standing on the track made the sport much more real and respectable, although I don’t think I’ll be joining two-toothed Tom out in the trailer park anytime soon.
Taking my seat for Green’s set, I was fascinated with the cast of characters in attendance: Five teenage guys all wearing boots, Stetsons and Wranglers jamming to the music, a guy sitting on his friend’s shoulders – both wearing matching “F*** You I’m From Texas” T-shirts – and a slew of older gentlemen sporting NASCAR-themed leather jackets. I knew Texas was not only a different country from where I was from, but maybe even a different planet.
Pre-concert I was not a complete Pat-Green-novice, but I was definitely no expert. I mean, I knew my “Wave on Wave” and could hum a few bars of “Baby Doll,” but I was about to gain a whole new appreciation for the Texas-born musician.
The crowd was most definitely into the show right from the start. However, it wasn’t until Green played “Over and Over” that this city girl had her foot a-tappin’ to the music. “Three Days” had me even more attracted, and “Texas on my Mind” really enraptured the whole crowd into Green’s soulful country sound.
From then on, Green had his audience’s attention, playing songs like “All the Good Things Fade Away,” “Here I Go” and a special cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days.” As a huge fan of the boss, I must give Green credit for his rendition of this great song. What makes Green different from the average country singer is his unique style that is all his own. While not quite rock ‘n’ roll, Green’s sound is not as twangy as most country music. His voice also seems to have much more depth than the average honky-tonker.
Green finished the night with an encore performance, playing country chart hit “Don’t Break my Heart Again” and one of my new favorites, “Southbound 35.”
