I was excited to go to the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT not only to see Keith and Jake, but also to see a couple of my concert buddies Nelia and Leslie. I drove down from Boston in the afternoon, but since my New London hotel was farther from the casino than I expected, I almost missed meeting my friends for a quick dinner before the show. The gambling areas of the casino are so huge that I always get lost and end up walking in circles before I find the exit point that heads out to the mall and restaurants (I actually think that was their plan when they designed the casino!). But I finally found them and downed a quick slice of pizza. Thoughtful friends that they are, they both came ready to share; Leslie gave me several primo photos she had taken of Keith (one became the calendar cover this year) and Nelia gave me a Jake Owen photo card so that I would have something for him to sign. (Shame on me for not bringing anything!) Nelia and I had both won meet and greet opportunities with Jake Owen, so had to be at the arena box office at 5:30. Jake’s current M & G is unusual in that you win a PAIR of passes, so Nelia was bringing Leslie along. I originally thought my M & G was in Boston when I could bring my daughter with, but I had misread the date. I didn’t know anyone else in Uncasville, so my extra pass went unused. A member of Jake’s staff met us at the box office and distributed the M & G stickers for us to wear on our clothes. They took us into the arena about 6:00, scanning our concert tickets on the way. As we walked to the area of the M & G we could hear Jake doing his soundcheck inside the arena (only 90 minutes before the show!!). We lined up for photos to be taken by a staff member but on our own cameras, and were told we could also request an autograph.
Jake came out of the arena, confessing that he wasn’t quite concert-ready in his baggy green cargo shorts, teeshirt and reversed baseball cap. Each person in turn went up and introduced themselves, had their picture taken with Jake, and most had him sign something - even if it was an arm or the leg of their jeans! When I went up and introduced myself I told Jake it was nice to meet him officially but that we had actually shook hands a couple times already since I had been at every show of the tour so far. His eyes widened and he gave me a big grin. I explained that school was out and so I was able to travel. Jake liked the photo card I had gotten from Nelia and addressed his autograph “To Linda”. He called over to his number one man and said “Linda has been to all of the shows!”. After my time with Jake ended (we just get a minute or two) the staff guy chatted with me a little about my concert experiences and asked if I would actually be going to all the shows this tour (no such luck!). Nelia and Leslie then each had their time with Jake and our M & G was too quickly over.
We wandered the still empty arena concourse (since it wasn’t yet 6:30) and were able to make early purchases at the merchandise booth. I also signed up to subscribe to the Sunday NY Times because they then gave you a tour teeshirt for free! (My hubby and I had actually talked about subscribing recently because a Sunday NY Times is $6 if you buy it at an Iowa newstand.)
By coincidence, my riser seat was 2 rows behind Nelia’s while Leslie’s was down on the rear floor; I have to say that, even though the Mohegan Sun is a nice small size arena, it has the most uncomfortable cramped riser seats with less leg room than any other arena I have been to. It was torture for me - ever since my knee surgery I need to be able to extend my leg to be comfortable. So I ended up perched on my folded up seat even when I might have sat elsewhere. Another thing - when everyone started rocking to songs like Days Go By, we on the risers almost felt like we were in an earthquake (because the risers were shaking so much). I think in one of my videos (YLGIMS) I was sitting perfectly still but you can see the video jumping up and down because of the movement of the risers. A little scary!
Jake had cleaned up nicely and was wearing a good looking black button down shirt for a change. The Mohegan Sun crowd was a little more sedate than usual, so he had a hard time getting them up on their feet until Barefoot Blue Jeans.
I stretched my legs out on the concourse during the break and noticed that Samsung has added a new video opportunity. Whereas previously you had the opportunity to be videotaped in front of their green screen and then you became part of the street crowd in the Better Life video, now you can create a video of yourself next to Keith singing Kiss a Girl. I am terribly unphotogenic, but gave it a whirl anyway - I haven’t seen my video yet.
Keith and the guys seem to be coming out a bit earlier lately - 8:45 rather than 9:00. I don’t know if that is by design or whether the stagecrew has just gotten their timing down so the stage is ready sooner.
Tonight Better Half was back as the third song after KAG and ITYS, with an extra “I hope you know that you are!” added at the end. Then on to Only You Can Love Me, with Chris first setting the cadence with his drums, then Jerry coming in on his bass, then Danny on his bouzouki, then Keith chimed in with Hey Connecticut - you’re in a good mood tonight!” before going into the song. Then on the final verse we got what sounded like a little slide guitar added.
During the Boondocks interlude Keith came in particularly strongly (giving me goosebumps) and with such a strong rhythm you just had to move your body with the song. They keep the lights dimmed though when he is accompanying this or the later Waylon Jennings video, so it is a little hard to catch it on video.
At the Mohegan there is a railing above the last row of the lower risers (the row where I was sitting). The area behind that railing is used for handicapped seating. When Keith was greeting the audience he commented that the folks up there looked like they were waving from the railing of a cruise ship : )
After Stupid Boy Keith must have been noticing (like Jake) that this was a more subdued audience than usual (certainly more subdued that the over-the-top participatory Boston audience), and actually said “Its a little bit quiet tonight” in addition to his usual “Are you still with us?” question. His trip to the back stage (which was at rows 14-16) got the audience up though - with much of the floor gravitating to that location like moths to a light bulb. Keith scolded security for trying to hold back some of this rush “Security - let them through brother!” I’d like to give that back stage an up close inspection. Have you noticed in the videos of I’m In that it appears there are fans built into the stage to make Keith’s hair blow wildly during his big guitar finish on that song? I noticed tonight that one or more of the guys is accompanying Keith on the choruses of Jeans On - has that always been the case? I’m loving his big “Ha!!” exclamation after “I’m king of the road again.” He changed up the melody a bit for the final motorbiking verse and changed “got a tiger in my tank” to “got a Nascar in my garage.” Is CT a big Nascar state? Might Keith really have a Nascar in his collection?? Here is a bit of You'll Think of Me .
They have added an outrageous new special effect during the Til Summer Comes Around guitar solo. The short plastic barrier that had been placed on the end of the catwalk is now gone and a little “treadmill” or moving belt has been built into the center of the catwalk. I didn’t noticed this until during TSCA the catwalk was flooded with roiling mist and Keith appeared to be constantly WALKING during his solo (but not moving forward). Cool effect!! The applause went on for a long time after that song.
Once again 2 young ladies and a guy were selected for the Kiss a Girl competition. Keith actually approached a couple others before he got those participants but the individuals did not know the song or did not want to sing (another indicator, I think, that the Mohegan audience is a more mixed, not-all-Keithers group). (One woman actually asked “What song?” when Keith asked if she knew the song.) I appreciate Keith’s extemporaneous singing as he walks around looking for contestants. The guy that was selected told Keith that he loved him : ) and took control of the stage momentarily, asking the audience to give Keith and the band a big round of applause, after singing. He became the eventual winner. Keith was blown away by all this and ended this segment with a big “Connecticut rocks!!!”
In his final thank yous (to those up high, to those who traveled, to the road crew) and then “I just want to say one more thing - this year and last couple years have been very difficult for many people and I understand a lot of people can’t go to see as many concerts as you want to and you have to choose your concerts. To see so many people here tonight is just unbelievable. Thank you so much!” And then Keith said something that we all know to be true but have probably not heard said outright: “That’s why I give you everything I’ve got.” We know you do Keith!
For the final song Keith brought out and introduced Hunter Hayes to play with them and to feature a little of his guitar skills. It is nice the way he supports new artists.
Here is a mystery for you. After the stage had emptied and while the audience was leaving, there was a giant #1 on the big video screen. #1??
