I’ve always considered myself a classic Rock N Roll fan – big guitars, crazy drums, powerful vocals, catchy hooks – never a big fan of pop, rap, classical, or country. I just don’t get the appeal of that music. You can scratch country off that list for me – I now get it. Dierks Bentley was showcased as another top act celebrating The Mohegan Sun’s 15th Anniversary bringing his fresh brand of country music to the Den on Saturday night. I’ve seen my share of shows at the Wolf Den over the years, but I must say I was in awe of how many people showed up for this concert. A few years back Ace Frehley put on a show that drew a crowd that exceeded all others. Dierks blew the KISS guitarist out of the water on the attendance front. Best of all, it had to be a 3 to 1 ratio of girls to guys.
Chazbo & I arrived 2 hours before showtime and got a decent standing spot, stage right. There was eye-candy everywhere and you knew it was going to be a good night when we were witness to a stunning 20-something year old brunette who was “Sharon Stoning” off to our right at the slot machine. Never seen quite a sight like that in all my days of Denning. I physically had to put my counterpart’s eyeballs back in his head.
Then the Tennessee native took the stage on time with no opening act – (that’s +1 in my book). He played for 75 minutes of not-so-twangy country music. His band did have the signature fiddle player, but also had plenty of guitar and drums. Thank god Chazbo prepped me a bit for this show because I seemed about the only person there who didn’t know every lyric to every song. There was fist pumping, cowboy hat waving, boot tapping going on all around us. This dude is a babe magnet to the nth degree. I mean if we had a FingerHut booth set up next to the merch booth – we would have sold out in 10 minutes with or without a coopin.
He even came prepped for the anniversary night by adding a third verse to a song that referenced the Wolf Den – (another plus in my book). My pre-show research on this guy had me watching his videos to become familiar with several of his songs – and to my surprise they were pretty damn good. And to top it off this country boy loves to sing songs about girls in white tank tops...how can you not appreciate the artistry of this guy.
I’ve learned that many country songs are pretty short in duration (in the 3 minute range) and he performed a bunch them. The 75 minutes went by pretty quick but a couple of highlights included the song “Sideways” and the drinkin tune “Am I the Only One”. All the while he was high-fiving those fortunate to be stage-side and signing some mid-show autographs. He finished with his popular “What Was I Thinking” and left to a huge ovation.
Not pursuing country music over the years....What was I thinking, indeed.
Randall
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