Last night me and my bro went honky tonking, a southern ritual of drinking and bar hopping that usually ends in fights or jail. This evening was neither instead we found that the legendary David Allan Coe, was back in Kennesaw for the first time in 5 years. The last few times I had seen DAC, was at the 
famous Georgia theater, in Athens. While that was a really slumming way to see some heavy country, the performances were pretty lackluster, with Coe mostly flipping off the college kids and 30 minute sets. Not tonight, we got the full hour of high power Coe!
Cowboys is a bar/venue in Kennesaw that was previously an old grocery store so it is huge inside, with a stage in the center and rear and a large hardwood dance floor. When we rolled in at 22:00 the place was dead. I couldn't believe it, the guy who wrote Purple Rain was going to be here and the place was empty. We milled around a little bit and realized quickly that ugly girls aren't allowed to sell beer here, they also strategically line up the beer tanks like slot machines in a casino. We grabbed a few beers and found a nice leaning rail to claim, and leaned on in and got ready for the show.
The lame DJ who had the strip club vibe going, kept announcing how many minutes til Coe. 23, 24, 30, 15, 14, I don't know what clock he was using but it was screwed. I started feeling the air turn off and the fans stopping, I knew it was almost time! Coe doesn't play in the AC ever. In classic form Coe came out later than shit and pissed. He walked into the beginning of "The Ride" and walked right through half the song without a guitar in his hand, just preaching the good stuff. He was walking! Animated! This was going to be a show.
Some crowd notes, because I am a huge people watching fan. Cowboy bars in Athens and Atlanta tend to be filled with cute little pole dancer girls and richie girls playing cowgirl for the night. Not so at Cowboys, there is no middle ground whatsoever. There are only two archetypes at Cowboys: lunchroom 
ladies/bus drivers and super hot porn stars. I will say this also, political correct politeness has invaded the cowboy scene as well, when being ran into I was told not to fuck off and die, rather excuse me. There were even lots of gay guys dancing on the floor, nary a stool was thrown in anger or a wad of chew deployed in hostility at all... Where have all the cowboys gone? To Lenox mall it seems to buy $400 jeans...
The show carried on with not even a breath between songs. Coe crunches his set list all together and his band watches him nervously for cues on what's about to spill out. "Sunday morning come down" and some rare Coe stuff I have never heard live, including an updated "If that ain't country." He made a touching tribute to his own son during this song who had joined him on stage. Other rares including "please come to Boston" Some rare Waylon, Kid Rock, even "would you lay with me in a field of stones" "get a little dirt on your hands" and the extremely rare hit "Jack Daniels if you please." This show was a rare occasion with so many greatest hits thrown in.
The only white trashy moment to be had was Eric turning down a dance from a pretty hot old lady cowgirl biker thing. Eric explained hey its late, I'm white and I don't think your husband would like it. She stomped off angrily and then returned with a feisty: "fro your information that's my landlord!!" Haha The usual in between songs talking was entertaining with the standard mentions of future events and miscellaneous info no one needs. He also mentioned that on Adult swim they would be featuring him in a Squidbillies episode where the cast would be going to a DAC show, he gruffly said: "you can check that out on the 18th" I will be tuning in.
Media (the other white meat)
Driving and blogging entries:
- http://www.lastfreeman.com/driving_and_blogging/2008/05/09/index.html
- http://www.lastfreeman.com/driving_and_blogging/2008/05/10/index.html
Video:
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Posted by: Gerald A. Andrews | July 29, 2011 at 08:59