Ok, ok, sorry. I'll stop. There's a very good reason why I don't get paid to sing. Quite to the contrary, I've always said I could probably make quite a killing getting paid NOT to sing!! And by "killing" I mean almost LITERALLY!! Hehe...
So, anyway, back to Lola's... I brought a friend with me this time. I've told so many people about Zac, and this time I convinced one of them to come with me. She was actually pretty excited about it, so it wasn't like I had to chloroform her and drag her to my car, put her in the trunk, and not let her out til we got there or anything. She came of her own accord... even though we were in an Echo, not an Accord... and you thought you could only HEAR an Echo. Nope. You can see one, too... AND you can even be IN one!
*giggle*
Ok, so we got there... made our way through the crowd... found a nice comfy little spot near the far corner of the bar, to the side of the stage. I wasn't going to be happy there through the whole show, though, and I wanted to go see if a couple of my friends had arrived yet, so I wandered a bit. I eventually made my way back over to where my friend was standing, still near the bar/stage area... Just as I did, Zac actually came right by us... No, he didn't see us... BUT... After he got over to the side of the stage they had blocked off for all the musicians, I was looking over there to see who else was over there and he saw me. He actually smiled and waved at me, too! Imagine that... he wasn't terrified and instinctly turned to run the other way. He actually SEEMED happy to see me... It's either that, or he was relieved that he at least knew WHERE I was... so he knew where to go/stay away from. LOL! Ya know "Keep your friends close... and your enemies closer" This would also explain why he actually looked at me a few times during the show... Just checking to see where I was... always on the ready! Hehe...
When the show finally started, Jaime Fox came out with friend/guitarist/singer/songwriter Kevin Ray (of the country group Hot Apple Pie --- they had that song about "Hillbillies Lovin' in the Hay"). She did a 9-song set... 2 of which she let Kevin sing/perform his own material. Jaime's set started out with "The Long Way" followed by "Already Gone". Ironic, if you think about it, because if you GO the long way, maybe that's why they're already gone by the time you get there!! Hehehe... I really like the song "Already Gone", though, so I was pretty pleased that she chose that as one of the songs that made the final cut to her set list for the evening. She did a new song for us, too, entitled "The Rest of You" which was really really good. If I remember correctly, she said it would be available on the new CD she's got coming out soon. She followed that up with a great cover of "Black Velvet"... That's her most requested cover at her shows, she said. Kevin took a turn next, playing a song entitled "It's Killing Me" (I think that's the title, anyway), and said that it was a song that he and Trent Tomlinson had written (again, I'm relying on my memory here... so I'm pretty sure that's what he said, but it could have been the 2nd song he later played... and I'm also pretty sure he DID say it was w/Trent that he wrote the song... but I'm not 100% positive there, either... probably about 90% sure, though). After Kevin's song, Jaime played her "one night stand song" called "Just One Night". In case there was any doubt what the song was about, she dismissed that immediately by TELLING the audience that it WAS, indeed, a song about a one-night stand. She decided to follow that up with her own rendition of "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" made popular by KT Tunstall. She coerced an unsuspecting audience member to join her on stage, too, and do some background vocals with/for her. I believe her name was April. She was actually really good, though... so she has nothing to be ashamed of. Perhaps she has good reason to beat her friend that volunteered her... but at least she did well. =) Jaime passed the show over to Kevin for another song, which I'm not sure of the title --- it was something to do with either "The Smartest Thing" or "The Dumbest Thing". I tried to look on his myspace page for a song title, but to no avail. Jaime then concluded her set with her title track from her self-released album, "Crossing Over". All in all, I think she was probably pretty pleased with how it went. The audience was great to her... and we were successfully all pumped and psyched up for Angela and Zac to take the stage... which they did after just a few short minutes.
The first song of The Hackers set was Zac's crowd-favorite "Memphis Women and Chicken" which definitely set a good pace/mood for the ensuing show. They jumped right into "Love Me Wild", which is a great cut from Angela's CD "The Winner Is..." If you don't have the CD yet, pick it up. There are some really great tunes on there, including that one.
Zac took the spotlight next with a new song from HIS upcoming CD (which will be available once the Nashville Star Tour starts --- pick up a copy for yourself... and for a friend... or two... or three... hehehe)... The song is entitled "Big Red Balloon" and is a bit of a milder/mellower song, so Angela followed suit with HER next song --- "Total Loss". She said that radio won't play that song, but she's gonna be doing her own thing for years, whether or not radio cooperates. I shouted up to her that it's not a total loss if they don't... cuz we're all fans regardless... we all know how good she is... We certainly can expect a lot from The Hackers... as a duo... OR as solo artists for many years. Anybody who brushes past the opportunity now... ?? It's THEIR loss!
Next it was time to pick things up a little bit with Zac choosing "Call It Anything But Love" next... "Call it wild... call it fun... cuz if we call it what it is somebody's gonna run... and if we take it too fast, we could run out of gas, and that would be the end of us... before we mess it up, let's call it anything but love!" Now, I've said it before, and I'll say it again... This song really IS wild... it's lots of fun... and shhhhhh, don't tell Zac, but I really do LOVE it, too!! Hehe...
Then, Angela did another song from her album, entitled "Emotionless", which is another great song on the CD. Like I said, if you don't have it yet, go get it. It's fantastic! Zac followed up "Emotionless" with "Never Been Loved" and I'm sure he got a lot of women thinking about "How is that even possible???" Hehe...
Angela did 2 songs to pick things up a bit --- "Little Pink Houses" and "Me and Bobby McGee" to which Zac retaliated with "If It Wasn't For The Whiskey". You could hear the crowd singing along with him on this one... and you could see it meant a lot to him. He connects so well with the audience at his shows, he really DOES have a great chemistry on stage. It just pulls everyone in... He then chose to counter "Whiskey" with a little livelier number, "Any Bridge Worth Building (Is A Bridge Worth Building Right)". My friend said that this was her favorite song of his (that she's heard), so it was really really cool getting to hear him play it that night. She said she thought it was even better, after being able to actually SEE him sing/play it! It's kind of a 'theme' song for her, she claims. Hehe...
Aretha Franklin's "Do Right Woman/Do Right Man" that Angela covers on her debut CD was next, wowing/impressing those who'd never heard her sing that song. My friend, as well, was duly impressed. She thought Angela's performance was phenomenal...
Zac introduced another of the songs that will be on his new CD to us next --- "Lonely Town". I really, really like this one... but then, that's pretty much a given. I like them all! Hehe... but I'm anxious and eager to get his new CD so I can start listening to IT 'too much' too! Hehe...
"I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" was next for Angela, followed by the fun 'man song' "Monkey Around". If you've never heard "Monkey Around", check out the videos in my myspace profile to see/hear it for yourself (www.myspace.com/samara_elaine). I recorded Zac performing that song at the Hall of Fame show back in May.
Angela's next song was "I Can't Make You Love Me", which I find hard to believe. I would venture a guess that most guys there that night wouldn't have minded the chance/opportunity. Hehe... After that, "Santa Monica Blvd" followed closely behind... then Zac's "Get Your Love On".
Angela did another cover next... "Fire"... and that song really WAS on FIRE!! It simply was AWESOME!!! Her and Zac totally rocked that one out!!!! You could see they really were having a great time on stage... and how could we not join them?? Zac slowed it down, by the request of some fans, and played "Emily". He's getting tons and tons of requests for this song... at most shows, he ends up playing it by request, even if it wasn't originally worked into the set list.
They then decided to take a short break, and would come back to play a few more songs for us... Angela started the 'encore' set, but I was too focused on taking pictures during this song that I forgot to pay attention to the song itself, so I'm not sure what it was called... but it was a song I don't think I've heard before. I DID, however, pay attention to the next song... which Zac sang... "If You Can't Lie No Better" (you might as well tell the truth!). Sadly, the show was almost over, and only one song remained... "Hard To Handle". They ended this show, ironically, how the last episode of the contest ended --- with them singing a duet, showing the remaining audience just 'zactly WHY they were the top 2 finalists in Nashville Star this year.
I had such a great time at the show... and was able to get a few fun pics even AFTER it was over. I've got memories to last me for a while now... Thank goodness for that, since I have to wait about a month to see him again. Even then, it will be so short by comparison to what I've gotten used to, it'll just be a teaser. After that show, too, it'll be a while AGAIN before I get to see him play... close to 2 months. I may need a little support from my friends and fellow fans.
Are ya there for me??
