Ramon Bagadion MUSI 1306.

001 Performance Report 2 On Thursday, March 17, 2011, I attended the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas, a showcase of the best cowboys in the world who participated in events such as bull and bronco riding, calf roping, and various other rodeo events. The night concluded with a performance by the Grammy award winning, country music sensation, The Zac Brown Band, which I will be discussing in this report. Their hour-long repertoire consisted of eleven of their best songs from their three-years of existence including Toes, As Shes Walking Away, Chicken Fried, and one surprise cover of the well-known The Devil Went Down to Georgia. Regarding the music culture, the best way to describe it would be Rodeo-attending Houstonians, those clad in their cowboy hats and boots hoping to have a good time watching the rodeo, riding carnival rides, and listening to country music. They began their performance with their popular song, Toes, an upbeat feelgood song with the lead guitar strumming individual notes rather than full chords in 4/4 meter. What became apparent about the country music culture is that the emphasis is mostly on the lyrics. The more I try to relisten to this song to analyze the instruments, I keep getting drawn to the story being told and picturing a relaxing vacation in Mexico rather than trying to dissect the timbre of the guitar and lap steel pedal. It seems the musicians didnt care as much about creating a musical masterpiece than they did about telling a story. The next song, As Shes Walking Away, was an upbeat ballad, and

contained the same style of strumming as the previous song, but it added the violin as the prominent instrument. The only word to describe its timbre was sweet-sounding, adding a dose of melancholy to accentuate the lyrical content. Again, the song seriously revolved around the lyrics, this time about a girl who the lead singer met in a bar but didnt talk to. By far the most technically challenging song was not one of their own, but a cover of The Devil Went Down to Georgia by The Charlie Daniels Band. A classic country song (lyrics-centered again), it required tremendous effort by the bands violinist, ripping sixteenth notes at breakneck speeds to the delight of the roaring audience. It featured complex rhythms from the guitarist, and at one point an ad lib drum solo that preceded the songs cadence. The band was at the center of the stadium on a rotating stage so that everyone could get a frontal view of the band at any point in the performance. The performance was accompanied by stunning visual effects; directly behind the stage, moving pictures were projected depending on the subject of the song: for example, during The Devil Went Down to Georgia, it was of hellish flames. Additionally, above the band and around the stage was a ring of lights that changed color and moved in sync with the beat of the music. The combination of the lights and pictures accentuated the tone and energy of the songs. As for the performers themselves, the band consisted of a lead vocalist/guitarist, a violinist, a bassist, a guitar/mandolinist, a drummer, and an organ/pedal steel player, each of whom was able to show case his talent at some point during the night. All the members

that didnt sing lead vocals were able backup vocalists, and their vocal harmonies worked well together. The band was also very versatile. Neither performer stayed on the same instrument during the entire performance. The lead singer would switch from an acoustic to an electric guitar, while the other guitarist would play the mandolin on some songs, while the organist played the pedal steel guitar for a few songs. The bass guitarist even played a string bass at one point. The entire performance was as much of a showcase for the band members talent as it was an advertisement for their album. Dressed in green and cowboy hats, and in some cases green cowboy hats, beer in hand, the 70,000+ audience members filled the stadium to capacity and were every bit a part of the performance as the performers themselves. Filled with the spirit of music (and inebriation), they sang along to every song and had the time of their lives. People of all ages attended the performance, either because they were fans of country music in general or the Zac Brown Band or both (insiders), or because, like myself and my girlfriend, they just happened to get tickets to that particular night of the three-week event (outsiders). Although there was no direct interaction between the band and the audience, i.e. Zac Brown jumping into the audience and hugging his fans, there was definitely some interaction in the sense that every single person in the stadium was connected to the music in their own personal way. From the opening verse of Toes to the final chorus of Chicken Fried, one could distinctly hear the voices of the multitude singing along with the music. It didnt matter whether they were in tune or out of tune, drunk or sober, young or old, everyone in the audience interacted with the band in their own way. During their finale and at this point in time their magnum opus, Chicken Fried, not a single

person remained sitting as the music compelled everyone, myself included, to stand up and sing along. Ah, the power of music. Houstons Reliant Stadium is home to none other than the NFLs Houston Texans, and is relatively one of the newest stadiums in the U.S. Though not as magnificent as Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Reliant boasts a magnificence of its own. It is quite large, with concession stands all around the outside and three levels of seating on the inside, all overlooking the expanse of dirt that the rodeo cowboys competed on, with the rotating stage in the middle of it. The sound system was adequate enough to project the sounds of the band into the ears of everyone in attendance, no matter where they sat. As for the time of day, by 9:00 p.m., most of the legal-aged adults were sufficiently inebriated enough to go crazy at the slightest hint of excitement. For the children in the audience, they 9:00 p.m. represented a time of high excitement and energy as well. For one, they were already up past their bedtime, and additionally there was something special about the flashbulbs all around them and the spinning rainbow lights they bought from the vendors. By holding the performance at 9 p.m. rather than 8 a.m., the excitement level was at its peak. The atmosphere of anticipation for this young band from Georgia could not have been any higher. Overall, the concert represented the Houston Rodeo music culture, which naturally consisted of country music fans dedicated enough to show up on a Thursday night of Spring Break, interacting with the band in their own way. The Zac Brown Band is not the most technically proficient band in the world, nor is their style of music particularly challenging; they write their songs in common time and have basic chord

structures that the youngest of musicians can follow along to, but none of that matters with this music culture. With country music, its all about the lyrical content of the song rather than the musical content. There was not a single song on their set list that did not tell a story that we could relate to. Whether it was about relaxing in Mexico with a cold beer in hand, or lamenting the loss of a girl you never had the chance to talk to, or even chasing after a chicken to eat it for dinner (Sic em on a Chicken), the Zac Brown Band provided an hour of country music that spoke from the heart through words rather than notes, proving that for this culture, the pen really is mightier than the sword, or in this case, guitar.

Works Cited Note: There were no program notes to read from, only my own notes, so the only things I can cite are the songs that I talked about. Toes. Comp. Zac Brown. Reliant Stadium- Reliant Park, Houston, TX. March 17, 2011. The Devil Went Down to Georgia. Comp. Charlie Daniels. Perf. Zac Brown Band. Reliant Stadium- Reliant Park, Houston, TX. March 17, 2011. As Shes Walking Away. Comp. Zac Brown. Reliant Stadium- Reliant Park, Houston, TX. March 17, 2011. Chicken Fried. Comp. Zac Brown. Reliant Stadium- Reliant Park, Houston, TX. March 17, 2011. Sic Em on a Chicken. Comp. Zac Brown. Reliant Stadium- Reliant Park, Houston, TX. March 17, 2011.