http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFub1hNly1s

Zach, Ashton sings very well live. I’ve seen her twice. Once with her full band and one other time acoustically (@ CMA/Fan Fair).

His show, on the other hand, was pretty disappointing. I expected a lot more from the one-time entertainer of the year. His stage set-up was small with a pretty typical light display and a trio of vertical screens. He showed up, sang his songs, and went home. Even the intro was a little awkward, as he simply walked out and waved to fans before opening up with one of his new songs on the upcoming album.

For a week, I was convinced that I thought poorly of it because my last three concerts (prior to Tim) were the return of Garth Brooks and a pair of Keith Urban shows, but I was proved wrong yesterday when I went out to see Adam Gregory, Ashton Shepherd, and Lonestar at a free concert yesterday.

Has anyone seen the new Lonestar yet!? I’ve been a doubter the past year after Richie McDonald (lead singer) left, but wow.. they put on a show. Dean Sams alone makes the show worth going to. I was expecting Cody Collins to be a pretty-boy, stuffed with cockiness and arrogance, but he wasn’t, and he actually sounded pretty great. They played a few new songs but stuck to a lot of the classic Lonestar hits. They didn’t play a single song from their latest non-Christmas album (not even “Mountains”), which probably isn’t a bad thing.

I was hoping Tim McGraw was in the crowed somewhere, as even Adam Gregory showed more life in his show than Tim did.

Last thing: I know you all love Ashton here, and not sure how many have received the opportunity to see her perform live, but she sounds awesome live. Her twangy accent is nine times better in person!

Artists are limiting the songs because their labels are AFRAID that these songs can be pirated off of myspace and other flash-based players. And while it can be done with some software, the results often remind me of when I used to tape songs on the radio as a child. Not good quality at all.