Eric continued on by also giving us a little taste of his next album by performing, "Ophelia" and "Julia" before he blasted his way into the finale with "How Bout You." Him leaving the stage was gonna be out of the question with this very loud and appreciative audience. It was only for a few minutes, but the crowd was stompin' so hard I thought the speakers were gonna fall over and ruin the beautiful 60-year-old hardwood floor the dancers love so much. Back he came, and pretty quickly, performing the Waylon Jennings favorite, "Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way." The last song of the night was a very rowdy version of "Livin' Part Of Life." With lyrics that everyone can relate to, I'm sure Eric is gonna relate to them more than ever with his career going to places so high he's probably never even imagined. Eric's music is real, it's honest and most of all it's passionate. He sings and writes from the heart and has an uncanny ability to relate to anyone listening to his music. I think, and have thought since last February, Dave Steele was so right when he introduced Eric, as the next Superstar of Country Music.
Now, back to the Meet and Greet. Eric had been spending hours after his shows signing autographs and posing for pictures with the fans. With his touring schedule so heavy now, there just isn't time to do that for the mile long lines that form after the shows. During this show, if you purchased a CD or a T-shirt, you were entered into a drawing that would allow five lucky fans to join Eric on his bus after the concert. I just about flipped when the second number they called was one of mine. I scooped up my t-shirt, camera and picture of Eric and hurried to the side stage where me and four other lucky winners were escorted outside and onto Eric's bus.
Eric was there waiting for us and we all introduced ourselves to Eric one by one and Eric asked each of us where we were from. Most of us were pretty local and one girl asked Eric where he was from originally. He replied, "Granite Falls, North Carolina but lately, Nashville and the bus we are sitting on." He told us he would be touring Canada soon with Bob Segar and was not looking forward to the cold weather but was very much looking forward to performing there. He spoke very highly of Bob Segar and had mentioned again about the fiasco with his last touring buddies. He said he had never been fired before and just couldn't believe it had happened the way it did.
He also spoke very highly about the guys in the band. He said he isn't an artist with a band, he is one of them. I can see that as I watch them all perform together and very much agreed with what he said.
I wish I could remember all the things we talked about. The time flew, and I'm sure each one of us was just trying to absorb our luck for the evening. The bus was beautifully decorated. Leather seats, granite like counters, top to bottom in the kitchen area and so much room we felt very comfortable even though there were seven us in that one room. Although I can't remember much about what we talked about I can tell you that Eric was very warm, very humble and very passionate about his music and his career. He genuinely cares about his fans and their thoughts of what he does. He autographed whatever we had brought for him to sign, asked us if we'd like to take a picture with him and when one girl didn't have a camera, Eric had his road manager take a picture for her and promised to have it sent to her.
I did ask Eric if he would be releasing "Lightning" as a single and much to my dismay he said he didn't think so. Because of the dark nature of the song it might not be acceptable to some. I don't agree with that and I hope whoever makes those decisions reconsiders. It's beautifully written and is about forgiveness. I think that's something the whole world could use a good dose of. There are so many other songs on this album that will do fantastic on the charts, so I'm sure this is one song that will never be heard on the radio. It's really a shame. It was written by Eric after he watched the movie, The Green Mile, and if you haven't heard it yet, make sure you give track 8 a special listen.
As we all said our goodbyes and walked back into the Dusty, it all seemed like a dream. I wanted to pinch myself to see if I had been dreaming, and if so, I didn't wanna wake up anytime soon. What is probably my last concert for this year, turned out to be the best. And Now I'm Flyin...........
Set List:
- Before She Does
- What I Almost Was
- Guys Like Me
- Pledge Allegiance To The Hag
- These Boots
- Take It Out On Me ???
- Two Pink Lines
- The Hard Way
- Tulsa Time
- Rolling Stone
- Ophelia
- Can't Take It With You
- Julia
- Sinners Like Me
- How 'Bout You
- Encore:
- Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way
- Livin' Part Of Life
