Best. Night. EVER

In the first music review, I introduced you to Christian Kane. In the weeks since, he’s been touring the country and last night, I was front and center (well, really second row and a little to his right) for my first Kane concert. My biggest fear at this moment is that I do not have words to do it justice.

It was AMAZING. FANTASTIC. PHENOMENAL. I would say perfect but I did not get a squeeze from the man himself so I can’t go quite that far. But if there were a cloud 10 today, I’d be on it!

I couldn’t find anyone local whose schedule allowed them to go to Winston-Salem last night but not wanting to skip it just because I wouldn’t know anyone, I reached out to the Christian Kane fans on facebook and found several new friends to meet when I got there. And what a fun group they were! In true Kaniac fashion, we grabbed prime viewing, singing, cheering, and photo-taking spots right up front and waited patiently for Bill Gentry. Within 20 seconds of his first song, we realized we had been missing something great by not knowing him before now. He was, in a word, ELECTRIC. I’ve heard people say that about artists but I don’t know that I’ve ever seen one up close and personal before. From his covers of Alan Jackson, Def Leppard, Lynard Skynard, to his own original material, he was, as the lyrics in his song Drive say, “hotter than a July blacktop road”. By the time Christian came on, my hands and feet were sore from clapping and stomping, and my voice was nearly gone from screaming.

Then, the moment I’ve waited for arrived! I felt like those girls on the videos of the Beatles, with everyone crying. I was beyond excited; I probably could have cried but a Kaniac is too cool for that. Christian Kane threw it into DRIVE and never hit the brakes. He rocked the country out of a lot of songs from the recently released album, The House Rules, but also did some of his classics which had become my YouTube favorites including Blaze, Middle American Saturday Night, and an amazing cover of Waylon Jennings’ Luckenbach, Texas. I am sure it’s blasphemy to say but Christian Kane did Waylon Jennings better than Waylon Jennings did Waylon Jennings. And, yes, I am willing to risk having to revoke my Country Music Lover card for that statement. Much too soon, I heard him say, “We’re Kane. Good night!” Noooo! It’s not over, it can’t be over yet. And, it wasn’t! An encore!!! A no-stopping, completely-rockin’ Rattlesnake Smile (and yes, there were plenty of hands raised at the “come over here and give me a kiss” line- yours truly among them, of course!)

After the concert, we were scrolling through photos on my group members’ phones, I looked over and saw Bill Gentry standing near the corner, watching the crowd. I made my move; we can’t leave a man like that unattended, now can we? I was just the gal for the job and several minutes later, I was apparently still just the gal for the job. We talked and tried my best to remember that I do know how to speak and that I know how to put words together to make actual sentences. I scored an autographed CD, a facebook friend request, a photo AND a few hugs, and not the ‘nice to meet you and tomorrow I won't remember your name’ hugs, the ‘so great to see you, favorite person in the whole world, when will I see you again?’ hugs that left my shirt smelling yummy enough that it might never get washed again. Fan for life, I am indeed. I'm pretty sure they'll let a Kaniac be a member of the Gentry Nation!

All in all, it was a perfect night (with the exception of my lost invitation to run away with Christian Kane; it’s ok though, I’m not giving up on that one!). I wouldn’t change one thing about it and I don’t think I would have enjoyed it more with anyone else. So, thanks Christian, Steve, Jason, Will, & Ryan; Bill & his band; Phillip at the door who carded me (gotta love that when you passed 21 eons ago); and especially Kaniacs Patsy, Blane, Donna, & Kris for making my first Kane experience a night that will go down in history as the Best. Night. EVER!