A Seam Splittin' Good Time

If you’ve been keeping up with this blog, you know that in early February, I went to a Bill Gentry and Christian Kane concert in Winston Salem that was officially declared the Best. Night. Ever.

Last night gave the BNE a serious run for the money.

I heard Bill Gentry was going to be in Lynchburg and since my Kaniac friends, Blane & Patsy, live near there, a road trip reunion of sorts was planned and I convinced Jaime, my sister (who has endlessly endured hearing about how much fun we had in Winston), to put an up-close-and-personal face with Bill, the band, and my Kaniac friends. She was less than convinced of her pending fantastic night… at first.

(We should have taken this photo before we were hot & red-faced; that's what three hours of dancing & screaming does to you!)

We met Blane and Patsy at Phase2 in Lynchburg for dinner and had a great time catching up and reliving our previous adventure.  When we were ready, we headed into the club and found a spot near the stage. We made some friends almost immediately; members of the Gentry Nation came from as far away as Boston, Mass., and are quite the friendly bunch! As the DJ announced the concert’s start, we grabbed perfect viewing spots. And by that I mean center stage, front row, nothing but air and less than one arm’s length standing between us and Bill Gentry. A little bit of heaven, right here on the East Coast.

(Front row sometimes makes photos difficult but I thought this one was fun and different so I like it! And, since catching Bill standing still is pretty much a Mission: Impossible, some of my full-body photos were blurry. I decided to abandon the camera so I could focus on getting my front row groove on!)

Before he finished the first song, Wild Bill's Rock and Roll Revival, we had a convert in our midst! Jaime had suddenly become a card-carrying, bead-wearing, jumping, screaming, cheering, sing-it-like-you-know-the-words member of the Gentry Nation. Just when I thought Bill Gentry couldn’t be any more fun than he was in Winston, I was proven absolutely, completely wrong.

If a party is what you're after, Bill Gentry is the man to light your confetti cannons! His energy is infectious and he makes everyone from the front row to the back wall feel like they received a personal invitation to the bash. He moves, he grooves, he completely ROCKS! He threw it in Drive, never hit the brakes, and took us all for one heck of a wild ride!

He poured gasoline on country music for almost three hours. Three hours! That’s a long time to belt out most of my favorite Gentry tunes plus some Alan Jackson, Nickelback, Def Leppard, and Bon Jovi. He kicked it up to the point of busting the seam in his pants and having to have adorable guitarist Eric sing a few songs while he went to change.

He took it in stride and proved he is a consummate professional with a fantastic sense of humor (and an even more fantastic smile). He lavished the crowd with beads, shirts, CDs, and koozies. And when it was over, it still wasn’t over!!! He invited everyone to hang out getting photos and autographs. I think he stood around talking with new friends for about an hour. AND… he recognized us from Winston and seemed genuinely excited to see us. And the fact that he called me “baby” in that Southern gentleman way, waited patiently while Jaime figured out my camera, squeezed me up tight more than once, and came back over to our group to say good-bye just before he left the venue just makes me heart him even more. The jury is still out on whether he’s available so I say- if he is, he should look no further and if he’s not, she’s one lucky lady (and I’m a smidgen jealous!).

(That's one fun lookin' pair... I'm just saying!)

As genuinely sweet, excited, and humble as Bill Gentry was, his band members were equally fantastic. They grinned and laughed at our front row antics, and took the time to sign autographs (on the set list for the show I may or may not have stolen), take pictures, and talk with us after the show. They clearly love what they do. I think they’d be great people to hang out with; and how much would I like to be a ladybug on the wall when these phenomenal artists have a jam session?  

 

(Left: Steve, awesome guitarist, showing me some love; Right: Crazy amazin' on the fiddle, Matthew told me he could get lost in a moment with me. Awww, blush! Bottom: a happy little me sandwich with Eric the guitarist & Chris the drummer, both of whom are bending down to love me up.) (Sorry, Gary, I missed a photo op with you- but thanks for the autograph!)

Because we’d done our research and we’re true followers of this rockin’ rising star, we knew well his affection for Waffle House and we invited him to join us there after the concert. He couldn’t last night BUT we did talk about making a plan for doing it another time. I would tell you when and where but I’m not prepared to share the yummy scattered, covered, and smothered goodness with the masses. We went without him and took a photo in Waffle House hats- when you’re getting tired, you do strange things sometimes, I guess.

There really aren’t enough words to capture just how much fun we had or to explain to you how much we genuinely love Bill Gentry and want him to succeed in a global phenomenon sort of way. I think Jaime summed it up perfectly on the ride back to the hotel last night. After dancing our heads to a few Gentry tunes in the car, she said, “The best concert I’ve ever been to was Garth Brooks… until tonight.” I think that simple sentence speaks volumes.

While I'd love to keep all things Bill Gentry to myself, I also want to scream about him from the rooftops. You'll love his music so check out his website. From there, you can hear some of my favorites, including 19, a hauntingly beautiful tribute to our military personnel, Drive, I Want What You Want, and Who's Gonna Take Me Home? (And, it goes without saying, if Bill Gentry has THAT question, I could be the answer.) You can also join his mailing list and get a free download of 6 fantastic songs including Yeah But and Ice Cold Beer, Red Hot Woman both of which will have you dancing your head, tapping your feet, and drumming your fingers on the steering wheel.
   

I don’t know what adventures your weekend held but I hope there was something so amazing that it split your seams, something so fantastic that it rocked your socks off, something so wonderful that it was simply... Something More.

PS- Bill Gentry will be at Coyote Joe's in Charlotte on April 9 and at Johnny & June's in Winston-Salem on April 16- Hope to see you on the front row!