A Round of Applause

The Hula's love a good concert. We go to quite a few. Hubby and I went to a George Jones show last night. I'm not a fan, but Hubby is. Remember, he's a little bit country, and I'm a little bit rock n' roll. Hubby says George is a legend and that we needed to see him before he kicks the bucket. I said sure because even though I don't like traditional country music, I do like dinner and a night out. Besides, the people watching at a concert, especially a country music concert, is fabulous. There's just something very down to earth and unassuming about classic country music fans. They come as they are, and I like that. Among all the average Joes just there to have a good time were a few really entertaining folks. Like the fellow in the Farmall tractor T-shirt, painted on eyebrows and large striped conductor's hat. Or the woman in a neck to toe purple trench coat despite the warm weather. Or the gum smacking woman in the lime green cowboy hat, Daisy Dukes and barely there halter top. There was the 60-something woman in the red silk 70's cocktail dress. And the three women who came dressed for a night on the town but forgot to wear enough shirt. Mind you, I'm not judging anyone. I wore parrot flip-flops and flamingo deely-bobbers to the last concert I went to. My favorite folks last night? The two elderly women who had tickets for the cheap seats but slid into unoccupied $100 seats and kept moving over throughout the show until they were right in front of George. They thought no one was watching. I'm sure they would have played the sweet old woman card if the security guard had caught them. They were slick. I'm telling you, the people watching was great. We had a great time.

Even though I'm not a Possum fan (that's George's nickname), he earned my respect for several reasons last night. Musically, he doesn't try to be something that he's not. He's still singing the stuff that made him famous and hasn't tried to change his style to keep up with the Toby Keith's and Kenny Chesney's. He's 76 years old, and he's still touring. Even though his voice cracks a little now, and he gets winded on the fast songs, he keeps going. He obviously loves what he does. I hope I'm doing something I love when I'm 76. He seems to have a great appreciation for his fans and caters to them. At one point he dedicated a song to a couple celebrating their fiftieth wedding anniversary. How many artists do that any more? His T-shirts and CD's were very reasonable. $10 for a CD. That's affordable for most any fan. He was witty, down to earth and pretty honest about his drunken past. He dedicated a song to his wife, and sang an old fashioned gospel song; stuff that just doesn't happen at many concerts anymore. I love that he hasn't given up because radio doesn't play his stuff. Maybe Hubby is right. Maybe he is a legend, not because he had a big string of hits but because he's still doing it his way. For that I'll give him a round of applause. And for all the folks who made the people watching fun, I'll give you a round of applause too, for coming just the way you are and not caring what other folks think.