SUNDAY, JULY 12
Toby Keith and Trace Adkins Despite “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk,” Trace Adkins is the real straight-talkin’ country troubadour here. He’s got a real-live, bourbon-aged classic country voice (in contrast to Keith, who’s got about a one-and-a-half octave growl which manages to sound even flatter), and, when he says stupid stuff in the media, it’s actually funny (See his recent appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher, when asked about cattle cloning: “Did cows stop fuckin’?”). Keith, of course, is the draw here, and he does the bad-ass with steel balls hanging from his trailer hitch schtick as good as anyone. However, a gimmick’s a gimmick, and while country music’s history is full of them, they’re usually in the form of a song, not a public persona. Being big and, er, rich is one thing – being remembered 20 years from now is another. Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre (Davis)
This article appears in Jul 7-14, 2009.
In twenty years we will see who is remembered and who isn’t, I would say Toby Keith will be remembered, but the writer of this blog probably won’t be.