After the performance I witnessed last Friday night, I had to Google a burning question: how many songs do big name country music singers play during a concert? I found that at recent concert, Toby Keith, Jason Aldean, and Blake Shelton each played 18 songs in their main sets and two songs in their encores.
This past Friday evening, Nashville singer/songwriter Zach Neil performed a solo acoustic show at Half-Time Rec, a rowdy bar in Saint Paul , Minnesota
After a 15 minute break, Zach began his encore. Unlike Toby, Jason, and Blake, he did not stop after two songs. He did not stop after ten songs, despite rousing the crowd with a rendition of “Folsom Prison Blues” that would certainly have made the Man in Black proud.
He did not stop after 20 songs, when the crowd joined him in belting out the chorus to the always popular “Margaritaville” by Jimmy Buffet.
After song 30, the cowboy tune “Give it Away” by George Strait
Song 40 of the encore was Eric Church’s new single “Springsteen.” At this point, the dance floor was full, and the crowd was left to wonder how long the Old School Good-Timing Cowboy from Nashville
He whipped the crowd into two-stepping frenzy with song 50, “Callin’ Baton Rouge” by Garth Brooks. The crowd’s energy carried to song 51, Zach’s signature song “Horses to Ride.” After hearing that original, the crowd yelled for another, so song 52 was his tribute to Wrangler Jeans, “Long Live the Cowboy.”
As he had done through most of the evening, Zach played a request at song 60, Gary Allan’s “Right Where I Want to Be.” After two more requests, and with the bar closing in five minutes, Zach asked the crowd what final song they would like to hear. The spectator with the loudest voice requested Eric Church’s smash hit “Drink In My Hand.”
Zach gave it his all one last time and deeply exhaled when he finally finished. After 63 songs and nearly four hours, his encore was finally complete. During the encore, he had not stopped for a bathroom or any other kind of break. His only pauses were the 30 seconds between songs where he would banter with his fans and take requests.
Including his first set, he played 81 total songs, with only two songs played more than once. He picked and crooned to tunes from 37 different artists and six different decades. And he did it all with a great energy and sense of humor, as well as one of the best country voices around.
After we finished loading up his gear at the end of the night and we started to drive home, Zach simply said, “I hope you don’t mind if I just stay quiet now. My voice is a little tired.”
The next day, I asked Zach why he kept playing and did not just take another break. I pointed out that most musicians would probably have taken three or four breaks during a five and a half hour concert. He simply replied, “Well, right when I was planning to do so, everyone really started getting into it, so I just decided to keep ‘em entertained.”
Entertain 'em, you did. Good work, Cowboy.
Song 51 - Horses to Ride
Entertain 'em, you did. Good work, Cowboy.
Song 51 - Horses to Ride
As the purpose of my blog is to practice writing for my upcoming book, here is Zach giving a pre-concert in John’s living room the evening before.
This video is from a concert of Zach's at St. Johns.
The college students really enjoyed Horses to Ride on Thursday night.
The Set List
The Set List
Set 1
|
1. Two of a Kind Working on a Full House - Garth Brooks
|
2. Should have been a cowboy - Toby Keith
|
3. Good directions - Billy Currington
|
4. Drive - Alan Jackson
|
5. Check Yes or No -
|
6. Rollin on the
|
7. Come a Little Closer - Dierks Bentley
|
8. Two Pina Coladas - Garth Brooks
|
9. Guys Like Me - Eric Church
|
10. Much Too Young - Garth Brooks
|
11. All my Ex's Live in
|
12. Red Solo Cup - Toby Keith
|
13. I'm Gonna Miss Her - Brad Paisley
|
14. Some Beach - Blake Shelton
|
15. Who are you when I'm not lookin' - Blake Shelton
|
16. I love this bar - Toby Keith
|
17. Fishin in the dark - Nitty Gritty Dirk Band
|
18. One more drinkin' song - Jerrod Neimann
|
Set 2 - The Encore
|
1. Tequila Makes her clothes fall off - Joe Nichols
|
2. Getting you home - Chris Young
|
3. Toes - Zac Brown Band
|
4. You and Tequila - Deana Carter
|
5. Drink in my hand - Eric Church
|
6. Horses to Ride - Zach Neil
|
7. Papa Loved Mama - Garth Brooks
|
8. Wagon Wheel - Old Crow Medicine Show
|
9. Luchenbach Texas - Waylon Jennings
|
10. Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash
|
11. When the sun goes down - Kenny Chesney
|
12. Here's a quarter - Travis Tritt
|
13. What was I thinkin - Dierks Bentley
|
14. Bad Moon Rising - Creedence Clearwater Revival
|
15.
|
16. I think I'll just stay here and drink - Merle Haggard
|
17. Family Tradition - Hank Williams Jr
|
18. I think I could stay with you - Pure Prairie League
|
19. Its five o-clock somewhere - Alan Jackson
|
20. Margaritaville - Jimmy Buffet
|
21. Friends in low places - Garth Brooks
|
22. Horses to ride - Zach Neil
|
23. Colder weather - Zac Brown Band
|
24. Buckin Song - Jerrod Neimann
|
25. Neon Moon - Brooks and Dunn
|
26. Mud on the tires - Brad Paisley
|
27. Wasn't that a party - Tom Paxton
|
28. You never even call me by my name - David Allan Coe
|
29. Love your love - Eric Church
|
30. Give it away -
|
31. Rodeo - Garth Brooks
|
32. HoneyBee - Blake Shelton
|
33. Nothin on but the radio - Gary Allan
|
34. Ring of fire - Johnny Cash
|
35. Okie from
|
36. Good timin' man - Waylon Jennings
|
37. Your man - Josh Turner
|
38. Happy Birthday - Various
|
39. Prop Me Up - Joe Diffie
|
40. Springsteen - Eric Church
|
41. American Solider - Toby Keith
|
42. Angry American - Toby Keith
|
43. Big Green Tractor - Jason Aldean
|
44. Please Come back to
|
45. Something like that - Tim McGraw
|
46. Jackson - Johnny Cash
|
47.
|
48. Drink in my hand - Eric Church
|
49. Knee Deep - Zac Brown Band
|
50. Callin
|
51. Horses to Ride - Zach Neil
|
52. Love live the cowboy - Zach Neil
|
53. Rhinestone cowboy - Glen Campbell
|
54. Lonesome, ornery, and mean - Waylon Jennings
|
55. Chicken Fried - Zac Brown Band
|
56. Long Haired Country Boy - Hank Williams Jr
|
57. Take it Easy - Eagles
|
58. Troubadour -
|
59. Lot Less Talk and a lot more action - Toby Keith
|
60. Right where I want to be - Gary Allan
|
61. People are Crazy – Billy Currington
|
62. Dixieland Delight -
|
63. Drink in my hand - Eric Church
|
No comments:
Post a Comment