ALDEAN 13
Thursday, April 11, 2013
The Red & Black
Countless after-party options for Jason Aldean concert-goers BY CHELSEY ABERCROMBIE @comma_freak Athens is always ready for the next party. When Jason Aldean and his opener, Luke Bryan, play a sold-out show at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, it’s sure to be the biggest party the University of Georgia has ever seen in the football off-season. But the party doesn’t have to end — or even start — there. If you’re not planning on tailgating before the show, Loco’s Grill & Pub will have a free pre-show concert at its South Harris Street location starting at 2 p.m. The pre-show concert will feature country artist Scott Brantley and special guest Laughlin. Brantley is a singer-songwriter from middle Georgia who lists some of his influences as George Strait and Alan Jackson. Loco’s has also advertised a full bar along with the pre-show. Whiskey Bent on East Clayton Street will also be open early for pre-show activities. And after Aldean wraps up in Sanford Stadium, concert-goers who plan on heading downtown will find no shortage of entertainment. Music will certainly be the theme of the night. The Bury will host an Athens-based country cover band to entertain its after-party. “We’ll be running drink specials throughout the night,” said Jackson Stout, assistant manager at the Bury. “We’ll definitely be pushing our ‘Malibu Buckets’ and also our ‘Moonshine Margaritas.’” The Silver Dollar Bar on College Avenue will host Colby Dee, another Georgia native, who will take the stage at 10 p.m. to carry on with the evening’s country touch. “I have a very country sound, high energy. We’re definitely planning on rocking the house,” Dee said. “We’re definitely not mellow by any means.” This will be the first time Dee, who also counts herself as an Aldean and Bryan fan, performs in Athens. Her debut single “He Don’t Know” will be released on the radio either in late spring or early summer. “My band and I are definitely going to perform some covers everybody will be able to sing along to and have a good time,” Dee said. “I’ll also be performing some of my original music that hopefully everybody will enjoy. I’ll be performing my single
Colby Dee, a Jason Aldean fan herself, will play at one of the after-parties held downtown after the Aldean concert in Sanford Stadium. Her show is just one of many to choose from after seeing Aldean. Courtesy Colby Dee coming out on the radio. I’m excited to share it with everybody.” Whiskey Bent is also advertising “The Official Dee Jay Silver After Party.” “What we have going here is we have Dee Jay Silver, who is Jason Aldean’s DJ for the Night Train tour,” said Jason Leonard, owner of Whiskey Bent. “He’s their official tour DJ, and he will be coming right from Sanford Stadium, when he gets done with his responsibilities and obligations there, to perform here.” In addition to their usual drink specials, Whiskey Bent is marketing its after-party to anyone who wants an even closer look at Aldean’s “Night Train
Tour.” “This is actually a performer that will be performing at the concert and then performing here that night,” Leonard said. “He’s a great DJ, obviously. He’s good enough to be on their nationwide tour with them and be their DJ, so it really should be a good, crazy night.” If more live music isn’t what you crave after Aldean and Bryan wrap up, plenty of other downtown staples will be open later than usual. However, be wary — Athens may be sold out of coffee and Tylenol by Sunday afternoon.
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Aldean Concert survival tips 1. Be prepared to wait. Sanford Stadium holds 92,000 people. But also keep in mind this is not a football game. This isn’t the typical situation where students are in one area and everybody else is in another. You’re all in this together. So just be patient getting in. Everybody is doing what they can to ensure you have a good time, so appreciate it. That also applies to between sets. Bands take a long time to set up and pack up. It’s required to have a good time. Long story short, deal with it. 2. Don’t be an arse. This one is simple. Don’t yell “Free Bird” between songs. Don’t pick fights with the out-of-towners. Act like you know what you are doing. Nothing gets more annoying at a concert than when some idiot keeps yelling for the same song over and over and over. Or when somebody gets way too drunk and is screaming for no other reason than screaming. It’s a concert, and it is going to be fun — historical even. It’s great to cheer and dance and have fun. Just please, be respectful of others around you. Enough people are going to be escorted out anyway. Don’t join them. 3. Get ready to people watch. There is no finer time to people watch than when you are at a country music concert. I’m not being snobby, I’m just being real. Country fans know how to have a good time — just like Georgia students. Get ready to see the mullets and the tank tops with the American flag and bald eagle on them. Get ready to see the cowboy boots worn with the Nike shorts, but don’t wear that yourself. Seriously, we will laugh at you.
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Country fans party, and they party hard. They’re going to scream every word of every song and dance as though they’re in a honky-tonk. It’s a country show — embrace it. 4. YouTube and Spotify are your best friends. I’m sure some of you were talked into going to this concert and are not Jason Aldean fans at all. Or maybe you’re there for the historical aspect of it. I would highly recommend you get yourself acquainted with the lyrics and the music of these artists. If you have Spotify, every song in Aldean’s and Luke Bryan’s catalogs are on there, and lyrics are a simple Google search away. Of course if you really need the crash course, kill two birds with one stone. Die-hard fans have a tendency to post YouTube videos with the lyrics in them. I guarantee that every song that you need to know for this show has a video.
Attendance for Sanford Stadium's Jason Aldean concert Saturday, the first show in the venue's history, is expected to reach about 66,000. Taylor craig sutton/Staff
5. Enjoy the moment. Act like you don’t want this night to end. The show won’t be under an Amarillo sky, and it won’t quite be a barefoot blue jean night, but this is a once in a lifetime experience. Looking back on your college days you can say that some of country music’s biggest acts came to your school and performed at one of college football’s premiere spots. You don’t want to fly over this state of excitement. In fact, you want to stay there a little while with thousands of fellow fans. While Sanford Stadium isn’t a dirt road, this will be an anthem moment of your college career. - Wil Petty
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