Anyone that knows me personally or reads my blogs should know that I am a fan of Outlaw Country. If the music is a costume party for you, you’re probably not for me. Jamey Johnson Live at Anderson Sports & Entertainment Center was a fulfillment of something my wife and I have wanted to do for a while. Jamey Johnson is one of the few current artists that I consider to be an “Outlaw”. He writes and sings real music about a real way of life that he really lives. That way of life often comes with bad publicity. For instance, one of shows was cancelled after he refused to disarm. Your opinion of the 2nd amendment aside, this is what I mean. He doesn’t pretend to be someone he’s not. My wife and I have wanted to see him live for a while live and we finally did. Let’s talk about Jamey Johnson Live at Anderson Sports & Entertainment Center.
We’ll talk about the venue, The Anderson Sports & Entertainment Center, first. This is an outside venue with no seating so, I encourage you to bring your own chairs. Although I will say that you need to be near the center. Our choice of seating (for quick exit) on the side was a bad decision. The beer line stretched across our field of view. If you were sitting down, you got to watch drunk people buy beer and hear singing. So if you choose to sit on the side, you should keep your $50 per ticket and go to a bar instead. You’re better off this way. Anyway, I think that Anderson should consider controlling the beer line in the future so that people can see. At an Outlaw Country show, you can rest assured that the beer line stays long. This aside the venue was up to date and nice. The stage area has recently been updated and has a fresh clean look to it. On to the music – what really mattered because I would have preferred to see Johnson in a small honky-tonk bar anyway.
Jamey Johnson is unmistakable from a distance. From 50 yards away I recognized him due to his long hair and equally long beard. Musically, he sounds as good in person as he does on record. This to me is a test of a real musician/singer. So many people sing through computers now that you can’t tell who can sing anymore and who has a good sound engineer. To me, finding someone that sounds as good in person (or better) as they do on record is awesome. I like several songs from Jamey Johnson’s catalog but, “High Cost of Living” was the one I wanted to hear, and I got to. In between the 2nd and 3rd verse, he added a bridge and solo which was great. Verse 3 is the climax of the story and at first, I thought he wasn’t going to sing this verse. When he ended the solo and went on to start singing about cops kicking in his door, I was excited. For several reasons, mainly to beat the crowd, we had to leave early. As we were leaving, we heard “See it in Color” which is another classic from Johnson’s catalog. I would have liked to have heard “Between Jennings and Jones” as well. Had we stayed, we might have gotten this opportunity. I’m sure it was on the set list.
When you pass people wearing Unknown Hinson shirts and even better shirts that read “George F#$@ing Jones” in huge letters, you might be at an outlaw country show. I had to give respect points and a pound with the hand to both fellows wearing this attire. I’ve seen Unknown live 9 times and seeing “No Show” Jones in high school helped to kickstart my love for this genre. What I hate most about Outlaw Country is that is seems to be dying out so quickly while Pop Country is thriving. I suppose this makes one value the artists keeping it alive that much more though. My wife and I will surely try to see Jamey Johnson again one day if possible.
You can follow Jamey Johnson on social media at the links below:
The links below to Song Kick and his website will help you track him if you want to see a show: