The last really big country show we’ve had here was George Jones at Carnegie Hall back in 2005. Oh we’ve had shows and I’ve been to them, Keith Urban is playing MSG January 29th, 2014. Indeed, early this year I caught Jason Aldean at the same venue and he is not only a real big country star, live he kicks like a mule.
But George Strait? 20 minutes from the heart of Manhattan at the Prudential Center? That is a biggie. Strait is the biggest country star alive (Vince is the best, but that’s a different subject). And while I have heard that Strait is a moody cuss on stage who doesn’t speak to the audience or indeed acknowledge the audience at all, he is still a classic country star.
I don’t know how or why Strait got like that, I guess he had his reasons, and when you’ve had 60 hit singles you can essentially do anything you want, right?
In country music, even if nowhere else, the musicians tend to be very audience friendly. I met Lady Antebellum a couple of years ago and it was all home time cooking and good ol’ boys (and gals) stuff, attitude is sincerely frowned upon . But apparently George doesn’t much care.
There is something somewhat “Listen here, Pilgrim…” about him, something John Wayne, all rifles in the back of pick ups and hunting is for real men. Strait has been married since the 1970s, George has two children, one of whom, his daughter Jennifer, died in a car accident at the age of 13 in 1986, and a son Bubba, who George is writing songs with during this somewhat prolific moment in his history.
Strait is now 61 years old and I have yet to see him on stage. I am not sure what to expect. But one thing I know, his last three albums have been as good as he has ever been. Twang, Here For A Good Time and Love Is Everything, all three of them, are worth the investment, and I doubt there will be a more important musical experience in 2014.