Keith and I met up with Sharon, Christy and YES…fellow Frat Brother Bill prior to the show. The Rodeo was being held at the Thomas and Mack Center. …but Chris’s show was in the Cowboy Corral, located within the same venue within the Cox Arena. Lucky for us, we managed to get in early to secure a table in the front row : ) Frat brother Bill didn’t think it was close enough, so he moved it forward so that it was almost on the dance floor that separated us from the stage. AND, with a spotlight right on top of us. Chris couldn’t miss us, even if he wanted too. : p Chris’s show started around 430ish and as people started to come in, I started to hand out signs and the Fan Club cards. This was an interesting crowd…Rodeo folks are not your usual fans. Their main objective here was to see the Rodeo and this show was part of the price of admission. Chris was new to a lot of people. Many I spoke too had not heard of “our” Chris as yet, but I knew that once they heard him that he would have a whole new set of fans after the night was over : ) You see, as a Street Team Member, I LOVE talking to people about Chris, prior to him actually hitting the stage. The best part is when the people come up to you AFTER the show and tell you, how AWESOME Chris and his band are and that they really like him!!! Some woman actually came up to us after the 2nd show and wanted to know if we were family (not sure why she thought that)…I replied no, not blood family, just part of Chris’s fan-family and I highly recommended being a part of it. Were we a little too enthusiastic ??? : D Chris and the guys started the first show off with YGLM, Bar Band, Don’t Close Your Eyes, Keep Your Hands To Yourself, Small Town Big Time, DML, Get You Home, One Straight Tequila and Who’s Gonna Take Me Home. *If I forgot a song or two here forgive me. I was so busy dancing, singing (off key, of course) trying to take pictures and sign handling that I may have missed some. Even Keith, who told me in the car coming to the event, that he was NOT going to hold up signs, changed his tune. Yep, even the once “reluctant” fan was spotted a time or two holding up a sign. I even coaxed him out to the dance floor a few times and we actually danced to Chris’s songs. It was awesome!!! In between beers of course!!!! Another cool part and the highlight for me. was to see and hear Chris sing the National Anthem. WOW!!! Chris sang for a packed crowd at the Thomas and Mack Center of over, 18,000 people. What an impact that was…I had chills when he started singing. I’m telling you, Chris is sooo gifted. What an honor it was to hear him do tribute to our country’s anthem. Chris kicked it off and then Charlie Daniel’s opened up the actual Rodeo by playing Drinkin’ My Baby Goodbye! What a surprise he was..coming out there with smoke, some pyro-tecnics and his fiddle. What a legend!!!! Then the Rodeo commenced. It was so exciting and action packed right from the get go. We started off with Bareback bronc’s, Steer Wrestling, Team Roping, Saddle Bronc’s Barrel Racing and then of course Keith’s favorite the BULL RIDING!!! I think Keith’s real highlight was meeting Chris’s sister Dot and getting a picture with her. What a sweetheart : ) Keith was smitten right away!!! Another fun part of the Rodeo, is when they put people on camera from inside the arena as they play music. These people felt compelled to get up and dance for some reason..LOL. In some cases they should have just kept to their seats..it was that bad. But they were having fun and that’s what counts. Keith was smiling from ear to ear when the cowgirls got up to dance. Again, I’m thinkin’ another highlight for my Keith. Almost Hooter’s Like….some of these girls. You know the song…The More I Drink, The More I Drink…..In some cases I was expecting Girls Gone Wild…LOL…But hey, it was a family show!!! After the Bull Riding finished, it was time again to go see Chris at the Cowboy Corral. Lucky for us, Christy and Bill had secured our spotlighted table and we managed to get back in right as Chris was kickin it off with Beer or Gasoline. This round of songs were very up tempo and got a lot of people on the dance floor (including us again) LOL…. Chris also repeated Bar Band, YGLM, Get You Home and One Straight Tequila. In addition, he sang, Lay It On Me, Here’s A Quarter, Jose and 21 Candles and MY favorite…A Christmas Song. All in all, another GREAT show that in my opinion could have lasted ALL night. After, Chris was over at the merch table signing and being his fantastic sweet self. We got a kick out of watching the “new” fans want to take pictures with Chris and get his autograph. I finally dragged Keith over so we could “officially” say hello…and get a picture. Loved meeting Becky and Dot...and had the pleasure of chatting with Kevin and Billy for a bit. You all are terrific. Thanks for the memories.

Kari this was an awesome review you did. I feel like I am still there. We had so much fun. I can't wait to see you again at the next show. I hope Chris can come to California on the tour. If not I may see you next at the ACM's. Can't wait to see if they nominate Chris for new male vocalist again. Thanks again for the great review.