When you chalk up seeing 53 concerts — sorry it just turned 54 — you can write the book on an artist. Even though, fair comment, Gary Allan has not done quite as much, musically to listen to by volume if not overall weight, as say Brooks and Dunn. But at eight studio albums, and that’s just studio, still very good. Lots of chapters.
That magic number is much more than once a year of your entire life, if you average it out, for both Gary Allan and chiefly his ultimate fan, a longtime fixture behind the bar at the Wild Badger in New Richmond, with her own resume. Call her Madam M.
And follow them to wherever in the upper Midwest — or beyond? — they are playing. Cross the country to see this country band.
— Or Pop Syndrome at Ziggy’s in Hudson who while still on tonight held court with a fine-plucking ending to a classic song, then came back with another that was much more up-tempo. Too busy in the next few hours? There is always Pop Rocks on Saturday night at Ziggy’s. And on that word theme, a nursery-style ditty I wrote as a child while in the bathtub — of course pen and paper where not available until after I dried off — a play on Pop Goes The Weasel: Pop Goes the Weasel, the weasel stole the washcloth, I’ve got the washcloth, because I’m the weasel. Who says that quality lyrics don’t exist these days.
And Where there’s a pop there’s a pony. And the acts of this auction are not necessarily a horse of a different color — with Xmas near though, reds and greens prevail.
Wild horses could not drag you away from the source of the horse gear, and if you have a hobby farm, take heed … Its a new and used, and more or less, tack auction at the GasLite in Ellsworth on Sunday. Starting right at high noon with auctioneer Dave Bontrager in this the heart of horse country pastures. New and used bridles and maybe bits, saddles and such, with horned knobs or not so much, buckets and blinders and burly stuff, and more accompanying add-ons. Lotsa leather.
We don’t know about horseshoes. We do know consignments are welcome! —
Back in the fall, hence No. 53, Ms. M and her entourage and I think I can safely use that word, were already planning their next chance to go see him, on Dec. 2 in Vegas. So Ms. M has now freshly navigated home, although a little tired and maybe even a bit subdued. (She attributes that mostly to a red-eye return flight). Gotta get back to serve thirsty folks, so cannot just kick back at home and take the experience all in, even further. Now two shifts under her belt, can finally rest and reflect.
The draw? Allan’s voice calling is especially, of course, a calling card.
And if you are a bartender, playing just the right tunes on the jukebox can be part of your job. And you can arrange concerts around your work schedule. Or vise versa?
So you become familiar with the jukebox and its functioning. Hit those keys like a keyboard player.
So take over that box, Ms. M, on a special occasion, like my birthday, in the same month as hers. Next-up for Allan, when we first talked about this, was a a date in Baton Rouge on Sept. 23, the birthdate of both my mother and brother. And not long after getting that disposed of, lingering thoughts of shows in Vegas, so what stays in Vegas … if you don’t recall what you saw in the first show, try as best you can do get into general admission for the coming night. (These shows have been selling out). But Ms. M has the rep to get in, I assume, if it would come to that, and both would bring her tally to 55.
On ID, his official last name is Herzberg (born December 5, 1967) so thus also having a birthday, and with a name like that, my diehard German family would likely get into his music just as much as if it were polkas, me-thinks.
Overall, Allan’s studio albums and Greatest Hits package have produced 26 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including four that reached Number One: “Man to Man” and “Tough Little Boys” in 2003, “Nothing On but the Radio” in 2004 and “Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain)” in 2013.
Because if you’re like him, you know the best songs, and can somehow manage to slide them in to your concert, despite their volume.
And what is their best of the bunch? And just what about the songs intrigues you?
“It’s all good,” conjures Madam M.
But to pick one, you have to love an album intro, vintage county, called Every Storm (Runs Out of Rain).
His songs are short but very punchy, each weighing in at about four minutes, or less. Hence more weight quickly, versus fluff in lyrics, as referenced above, than a lot of country, although as it gets older it tends to get better.
Madam M has met the man of that name, although getting backstage has eluded her. But what about the also important side stage?
But she does have a bunch of their cool gear, and presumably just added to it. Bunch of bling from your Vegas trip?
And so its good to have a group of girlfriends to travel and road trip with.
Back in Wisconsin, the best you can do locally is the band Good For Gary, but they are more rock, although a bit of country, and back at a gig in downtown Hudson in a couple of weeks, (Ziggy’s on the 17th). And with that is my own story or two, but that in a later post.
Allan hit the United States country music scene with the release of his single “Her Man”, the lead-off to his gold-certified debut album Used Heart for Sale, which was released in 1996 on Decca Records. A second album, It Would Be You, followed in 1998 on Decca. Allan’s third album, Smoke Rings in the Dark, was his first album for MCA Nashville (to which he has been signed ever since) and the first platinum album of his career. Its successors, Alright Guy (2001) and See If I Care (2003), were all certified platinum as well, while 2005’s Tough All Over and 2007’s Greatest Hits were both certified gold. A seventh studio album, Living Hard, was released later in 2007. That last one could describe Madam M’s job.
As long as we are at that country thang, Hitchville and its hotties can go GQ or SI, but are accessible to the masses. As with this guy shown on the go-to GasLite website with the fabulous blonde singer, who (he not her) has a non-descript, light yellow baseball hat, like colored hair flaring out on each side, and also such hues in his rugged attire below neckline. The big beard is scruffy, but not in the much better way of the guy half of the main Hitchville duo, which will again be back at the GasLite later in the season, bookends of the month.