Lonestar played a series of acoustic dates in late 2004 that they called the "Pickin' on the Porch" tour. They performed their hits, along with several Christmas songs from their holiday album, This Christmas Time.
The show was one of the final shows of the year, and I was lucky enough to meet the band before the show as part of the Fan Club. The guys were extremely friendly and the Meet & Greet was definitely a highlight of my night. They make you feel like their friend when they meet you.
My friends Dale and Dianne and I had seats on the left in the 5th row, but even though that sounds close, the further from the center of the stage you are, even if your row is close, the harder it is to get good pictures. Coupled with the fact that I could have lit the stage better with a flashlight than the horrible lighting the Redding Convention Center has, my photos are less than stellar. But the show itself was incredible, so that made up for the lack of great pictures.
The DJs from the local Redding station came out to introduce the band and as the curtains parted we were treated to the beautiful setting of the "front porch." It was complete with a front door with the "2004 Lonestar Lane" sign. The DJ's rang the doorbell and out came Lonestar.
The four band members sat on chairs on the stage, which the four backup band members sat on the porch, which was decorated in Christmas lights with a starry night sky with full moon backdrop behind the house. On the railings of the porch were stockings spelling out Lonestar, and there was a tree also.
The guys sat left to right, Mike, Richie, Dean with a baby grand piano, and then Keech with a small drum set, and the first song was "Front Porch Looking In," followed by "With Me."
A medley of hits came next including "Smile," "Tell Her," and "Not a Day Goes By."
Richie said how it was so nice to be back in "Sunny" California. This was said jokingly as it was windy and stormy out that day. He went on to tell how he walked from the hotel to the bus and was soaked, even with an umbrella. Dean mentioned that his umbrella turned inside out as he walked with it. Richie joked that Dean looked like Mary Poppins. Dean said, "Yeah, but without the smile." Then, they said "We know you can't control the weather.. or can you?"
"Any mommies in the audience?" Richie yelled before launching into "Mr. Mom." During the song a young girl came to the stage with some flowers for Richie, and she included a crayon, which Richie took and drew a picture while he sang. After the song he finished up the picture and signed it, then had all the rest of the guys sign it and they gave it to the little girl.
Time for some Lonestar kareoke next. Richie sat at the piano and Dean sat where Richie had been singing. Richie mentioned that Dean was the artist of the group and draws a great "Snoopy." So, Dean drew a pic while Richie played on the piano a bit. He started "Piano Man," and only knew one verse. By that time Dean was done with his pic which he gave away to a young fan. Richie asked if anyone knew all the words to "Piano Man," since he only knew the first verse. Then he said the person who could sing the whole song would win something, and asked Dean to tell them what they'd win. This got Dean in "broadcaster mode," and he put his hand to his ear and said, "Let me tell you what you'll win... you'll win a Lonestar t-shirt, magnet, hat..." (He went on and on about all the things they could win.) Then, a guy came up and said "Give me a guitar and I'll play something." Richie said "Wait a minute, this is OUR show. You are supposed to sing "Piano Man." Do you even know that song? The guy said no. So another guy came up and sang some of the song along with Richie. This was all so funny.
Next, since Richie was on piano, he started the intro to "Walking in Memphis," and everyone cheered. Then, Richie said "It's time for the California Segment." The other guys looked perplexed, as they had no clue what he was talking about. What it was, was they'd play songs about California.
He started with "All the Gold in California," then jokingly "It Never Rains in California" and "California Dreamin'." Then, he said, "Ok, enough California songs," but then Mike stars playing the intro to "Hotel California," which the crowd is really getting into, and everyone starts singing along, except Dean, who just looks bored and ends up laying on the piano, cuz he doesn't know the song. After a couple verses, Richie says "That's all I know," and Dean says that's 2 verses more than I knew.