I'm Going Off the Rails

So, here’s how it went down at the rock show Saturday night, Part 3:

I’m going off the rails.

When we punched our ticket to climb aboard the “Crazy Train” mid-way through the first set, I couldn’t stop smiling. Natasha Nix, of Ghost River Revival, blew me away with her take on this Ozzy Osbourne classic. The thing about Natasha is, she’s legit. Not everyone could handle this Ozzy masterpiece the way she did. Holy smokes at Mitch Mann burning through the Randy Rhoads solo, too. Whew. This performance takes the prize for the Bang Your Head Moment of the night.

The Most Sentimental Moment of the entire glorious 80s night came for me when Marie Lewey and Gary Baker performed Ronnie Millsap’s “(There’s) No Getting Over Me.” This song means so much to me. I swear, I was born a writer. Some of my earliest memories are of writing stories and poems but spinning this song as a kid was the first time I recognized the magic of words. I just knew it was a really good song — better than most out at the time — and it felt so right. Simply being in Marie’s presence was exciting but her performing this Walt Aldridge Muscle Shoals classic with THE Gary Baker singing alongside her brought tears to my eyes. I am so proud to be from our magical neck of the woods. Thank you, legends.

The most surprising Soul Infusion Moment of the night came when “Rosanna” by Toto met Doug Stokes. It may be 80s sacrilege but I have never cared for this song. For those of us raised on radio/MTV, this song was played to death back in the day. But, you know what? Doug’s beautiful voice combined with those funky Fiddleworms (horns!) left me wondering, “How did I not realize this is such a funky song?”

The Superstar Moment of the night goes to Rob Aldridge’s rendition of Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” When I saw this on the set list I was excited because I love this song and I love Rob but I had mixed feelings about the pairing — I just couldn’t see it in my mind’s eye, you know? I should have known better, though, Rob can take on anything and make it shine. His voice was so on point, y’all. He’s just absolutely magnetic. My favorite part was when Rob just stood and watched Mitch play guitar. Good, good stuff.

Oh my goodness, y’all, Lenny LeBlanc playing bass and giving us his take on The Police’s “Every Breath You Take” was a little surreal. I’ve loved The Police almost as long as I’ve been alive. Quite frankly, this pairing served up the most Satisfying Moment of the night. Of course Lenny can do The Police justice, duh.

My heart sank when Gary Nichols took the stage. I had forgotten about his natural rockstar presence. Gary covering John Cougar’s “Hurt So Good” was the Most Anticipated Moment of the night for me. I knew it was going to be a good performance because, um, Gary Nichols, y’all, but it was next level. I could just drown in his voice. What an outstanding way to close out the first set.

Stay tuned, friends. More to come soon.