Stagecoach Music Festival ‘08: Day One

The Stagecoach Musical Festival was a three day event that, on a grand scale, showcased what country music is today. It’s estimated that over the three day period 150,000 people showed up. I arrived on Friday with very little idea of what to expect.

As I walked into the festival, The Randy Rogers Band was playing the Mane Stage (get it?) but I didn’t have the time to catch their deal because Shooter Jennings was playing over at the Palomino Stage (the cool stage).

He really surprised me. Despite being one of the early acts at the festival, he wasn’t phoning it in. My opinion on him had always sort of been, “well, it’s alright I guess, but it’s not really country.” But, when he hit a big 70’s rock chord and the bass player played one of those Hank Jr. bass licks, his act really came alive, and for the first time I “got it.” Though the outlaw influences are recognizable, that’s not what’s really moving about his act; it’s rock and roll baby, it’s super cool to jam out to, and it really suited the festival atmosphere. Compared to much of what was to come, Shooter’s brand of “Hank Jr. and Waylon music minus the hillbilly and with the 70’s soul-rock turned up to the max” was a more than welcomed addition to the festival.

After catching Shooter it was off to catch Star De Azlan’s set. Star’s first single “She’s Pretty”, was one of the most traditional songs to hit mainstream radio in a while and I was more than excited to see her act. Would it be overall as traditional as “She’s Pretty?” Would she sound good live? Would she sing in Spanish and English? Will she be my new favorite? To make a long story short: No, yes, yes, and no. The set was full of her own material, which, outside of “She’s Pretty,” finds her trying to carve out a Gretchen Wilson meets Taylor Swift sort of niche. Songs like “What You See Is What You Get,” which features lines like “don’t send an invitation if you don’t want to party,” and “I like me a cowboy,” which is as over the top as it sounds, don’t do her any favors.

On the other hand, when she sang Mexican music, covered Freddy Fender, or performed her own “She’s Pretty,” she was completely engaging and really stood out as a great act.

It seems to me that due to her talent, her beauty, and her heritage, that Star can actually make quality country music marketable, which could ensure a long and prosperous career for her. The success of “She’s Pretty,” though limited, showed that radio in big markets will come to her party. I think that pandering, and thus eliminating what differentiates her, would be a big mistake, but we’ll see what path she decides to go down. You can read more about her plans for the future in the interview she was kind enough to grant me; it’ll be published in the next couple of days.

Next I decided to make my first real trip to the Mane Stage to catch Trisha Yearwood. First, let me say that seeing a country music act on the main stage of a big festival is really bizarre. I’m used to catching acts in honky-tonks, dive bars, music clubs, or even the occasional casino, so seeing a sea of people camped out (for what seemed like miles) in front of a stage to watch an artist perform tame radio hits via enormous video screens really tripped me out.

Trisha really is a great singer; her set consisted of tunes like “Heaven, Heartache, and the Power of Love,” “XXX’s and OOO’s (An American Girl),” “Perfect Love” and “The Song Remembers When,” and she performed them all expertly. The songs sounded like the record, which I guess they are supposed to. The people sang along, and a good time was had by all.

Some fans up front hollered for Garth Brooks, and Trisha had some cute banter and responded, “Thank you so much for asking about my husband, nobody ever does.” All and all though, I’ll disagree with the masses on this one and say that though Trisha sang well, and all the songs are sort of “good,” this was boring. Everyone there seemed to be having a good time, (read: it was a nice day and they recognized Trisha as a famous person) but I can’t imagine that even one of the thousands upon thousands of people watching her was amazed or felt more alive for having seen her perform. This would not be the last time I felt this way about a Mane Stage act.

Next up I decided to take a risk and check out Mike Ness back at the Palomino stage. It was a long walk. Seriously, so far away. But, ultimately, well worth it.

Mike was like the antithesis of Trisha Yearwood. Both of them were taking country music and “updating it.” Trisha by pulling it towards the center and using adult contemporary pop songwriting conventions, and Mike by adding a hard edged punk-rock aesthetic to traditional songs and sounds, but Mike’s take was better. I know, folks are going to tell me that it’s subjective and it wasn’t that Mike was better, it’s only that I liked Mike better. They’ll say that I’m inclined towards punk rock and prejudiced against “mainstream” country. I’ll disagree with those people. I have no allegiance to either artist, but Mike was better at doing the things that country music, or even live music in general, is supposed to do. His audience was more engaged, his songs hit emotions more sincerely, the musicianship was more compelling and exciting, and his music honored the tradition in a truer way (country music is, after all, a traditional music).

Being able to compare artists like Trisha Yearwood and Mike Ness in close quarters was probably the best part of the huge festival, and in this case, I can say that Mike Ness handily blew Trisha Yearwood out of the water. He was the biggest surprise of the festival and in my top three favorites. He’s an unlikely steward of the country music tradition, but that’s what he proved himself to be. He is on the road with Jesse Dayton right now. Don’t miss it.

On my way out I caught Michelle Branch and John Fogerty. Michelle Branch didn’t grab my attention, but John Fogerty was rad. It’s not country in any way really, so I don’t have much to say about it, but John Fogerty is not to be trifled with as far as rock and roll goes. Man oh man, he was stoked to be there, and made a believer out of me.

Well, that wraps up day one for me. Check back for the rest of my “reporting” on the strangest country music experience of my life, The Stagecoach Music Festival!