You know, I wish they'd let you bring a paint ball gun to an outdoor concert.

I was really wishin' I had one with me last Friday night. It would have come in very handy.

Denise and I drove up to Speegleville last Friday to see Al Green, Cas Haley and a local group called Pride and Joy.



If you click on this shot to enlarge it, look at the folks in the bottom left. You see that midget chick standing there in white pants, and her bald fucktard boyfriend there in the blue chair to her right?Well, more about them later.

The concert was held in a big rodeo arena behind the Hog Creek Icehouse. They have a stage set up out behind the place, and put up these dividers between the high dollar seating (those white folding chairs) and the General Admission area where you're expected to bring your own folding chair. Of course, my folding chairs have foot rests, so we were a hell of a lot more comfortable out there than we'd a been cooped up in that pen.

We got there, parked, exchanged our tickets for paper bracelets and took our chairs in to set them up in front of the stage. I was pissed at one point when I realized that I could have brought in a few cigars and enjoyed them, but hey wouldn't let me go back to the car to get them once we'd gotten into the venue. We'd thought we were arriving late, but it tuned out that we got there just as Pride and Joy started their set.



The band is made up of a father and two sons, Tony, John and Chris Castaneda, who've been playing together for about a decade. They play a lot of gigs around Texas, and based on what I heard, they could easily wow a crowd just about anywhere.



They played for about an hour, with their set mostly consisting of their own original, Blues/Rock style of music. Chris, the lead guitar player, is a real talent. According to his bio, his influences include people like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, and both Albert and B.B. King. And let me tell you, you could hear it all in his playing.

In the end the band played a hand full of covers, including a long, Bluesy version of a Michael Jackson number, The Way You Make Me Feel. Considering that the crowd was mostly there to see Al Green, that M.J. number went over pretty well, and their Bluesy rendition was new and interesting.

After getting our chairs set up I went to find refreshments. I had the idea that I'd go into the Icehouse and get some of that good food I posted about last week, but apparently the kitchen is closed during concert nights. What's worse, they hadn't fixed their taps since we'd been there last. I tell ya, that doesn't encourage me to want to return any time soon.



I went back out to get a few beers and a can of soda, but they didn't have cups outside. So I had to go into the bar to get a cup. Tedious! Of course, I needed one so my wowman could mix herself a Shandy. We settled on BBQ sandwiches, chips and a Budweiser. In the end, the BBQ sandwiches were a bit of a mess to eat, but they were quite good. And the beer was cold. That's about all I can say about them. An hour or so later I went back for some Nachos. Now THOSE were great. The cheese sauce was wonderful, with big chunks of tomato and pepper in it.



After eating we sat back and relaxed, listening to the guys on the stage. You can see in this shot that we were sitting in a huge sand box, making every walk back to the beer table like a stroll on a shifting beach. I tell ya, was gettin' some good exercise!

As the sun went down behind the stage we discovered that we had some folks sitting in front of us who loved to jump up and break into their own special dance. By "special" I mean Special Needs. Yea, I'm talkin' about the midget chick and dumbass. Thing is, they were right in line between us and the stage. That's when I started thinkin' about how much fun I could have had with that paint ball gun.

Between the asshat in the flowery shirt and his midget girlfriend, and the three guys behind them who stood up at one point and decided to have a lengthy conversation with a passer by, and the fat assed chick and her guy who were sitting right in front of us, I was steamin'. And what the hell is the deal with people who pay good money to go listen to music and then sit and talk through it all? Shit! People just wouldn't shut the hell up. RUDE!



By the time the sun was going down, Cas Haley and his band Woodbelly came up on stage. The music only got better as they took us through a long set of acoustic and electric Soul and Reggae.

This guy can sing his ass off, and his band is wonderful. Here's an example of what you'd see if you could come to one of their concerts.



If they ever come to a venue near you, I'd recommend you go see them. It was wonderful to sit back in that folding camp chair and take in the tunes. The stars were out and there was a nice, coolish breeze blowin'. But now and then, I'd start to want to use that paint ball gun again.

You know, those two, the goofy dude and his midget friend, would get up and have to flail around some more. I mean, obviously she wasn't the problem. I could barely see the top of her little head. But her boyfriend, with his arms outstretched and his tongue out, with that wide, goofy grin on his face... I mean, I'm not against folks havin' a good time. I was just wishin' they'd friggin' boogy down to the other side of the friggin' sand box and stay the hell out from in front of me!



By about 10PM, Al Green was coming out to a huge applause by the crowd. There was a long lead in, with his band coming up first and lots of smoke and music. Then Green made his entrance and began to sing and toss roses to the women in the audience.

At one point the cops thought they had to stand in to keep the women from jumping up on stage. It was hilarious. He had moves like James Brown, and he can still belt out those tunes. He and his band put on a wonderful show, and the audience loved it.



After an hour and a half of great old tunes, including a few Gospel numbers, Green ended the show with a long rendition of his hit Love and Happiness. With that, the show ended, Green left the stage while his band continued to play. After a while the band trailed off and the lights went up.

I folded our chairs and Denise and I walked back out through the sand to my car. We got home by about midnight, stopping at a Whataburger for a few Taquitos. I could have done with some better food at the venue, and some nicer beer, and i could have done without the sand and the tedious, chatty people in the way. But all in all, it was a great evening.