Joe Nichols @ TK I Love This Bar & Grill

Joe Nichols @ TK I Love This Bar & Grill , a set on Flickr.

“Why do you drink… to get drunk” and they did in Foxboro, MA for Joe Nichols!

My friend and I went early to grab some dinner at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill in Foxboro, MA. The food was pretty good though the experience wasn’t as wonderful for my 2nd visit. The spinach dip was cold and they sent my friend a Cowboy Burger rather than the Cabo Burger he ordered – to make right for the error, they gave him a free mason jar of beer, but as he drank he noticed inside the rim of his mason jar had very sharp and jagged edges. The staff was fabulous and made every effort to make up for the few mishaps. Apparently, the Cowboy Burger was delicious though, because my friend inhaled it in less than 5 minutes. I had the Turkey Melt, it was fulfilling, but I should have stuck with my original plan of ordering the American Soldier Burger – juicy and delicious.

Once we finished eating, we moved our way to be closer to the stage. The mass of people crammed up there was intimidating and I didn’t really want to fight our way to the front, so we stayed in the back near the DJ booth at the end of the guitar shaped bar. From the number of beers spilled (on me, my friend, the floor and others), large guys knocking us over to get through, small girls spinning and dancing with a drunken lack of steadiness, the couple that really needed to get a room (or at least move to a dark corner somewhere), well, it was an interesting experience, for sure. I go to shows to see the singer perform and these people immediately surrounding us were complete distractions. Don’t get me wrong, I laughed at them, but I’m there for the show and I am always astonished how drunk people get at a show they paid to attend…will they even remember any of the show? I just don’t comprehend this behavior. There should be a scientific study…wait, back to Joe…

At 10:45pm, Show-Dog Universal recording artist, Joe Nichols took to the stage singing What’s a Guy Gotta Do… this was my 4th time seeing Joe live and there are 3 things about Joe that always amaze me when I see him: 1. His performance is always dead-on. His voice is exactly what you hear on his recorded tracks. Though he excels singing traditional country, he transforms into the newer country style with ease as he works through his set list. There is a quality to his voice, he’s pure country yet has a soulful uniqueness. 2. After seeing him a few times, you’d think this wouldn’t faze me anymore, but he’s so much funnier than you expect. In photos, and a few of his songs, there is air of seriousness about him that just doesn’t exist live. He gets up there and is just so goofy and fun. He has become one of my “must-see” performers – meaning I’ll drive 2 hours just to see him. 3. He’s so darn hot. No explanation; he just is.

The crowd went insane. No really! There were bottles being thrown, people. I’ve never been to a Honky Tonk, but I imagine this was New England’s best attempt at one last night. Joe encouraged this by singing such songs as Family Tradition by Hank Williams, Jr and Let’s Get Drunk and Fight. I think my favorite part of the night is when he sings music that he grew up listening to and proceeds to sing a countrified version of Sir Mix-A-Lot’s I Like Big Butts.

He maintains a connection with the crowd and makes everyone feel like part of the party. He really seems to appreciate his fans for coming to the show and country radio for playing his music. Recognizing why the fans come to see him, he performed a collection of his old and new fan favorites: Cool to be a Fool, She Only Smokes When She Drinks, I’ll Wait for You, The Impossible, The Shape I’m In, Gimme That Girl, It Ain’t No Crime and Take it Off. The ultimate Joe Nichols fan favorite was his last song of the evening… Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off. The crowd does love this song… and as Joe said “what we see over the next 3 minutes stays here,” so I won’t mention any of the things I witnessed while that song played… let your imagination take over. Joe’s set ended about 12:15am and he was once again well worth the drive – Toby’s is about an hour and 15 minutes from where I live. Great show, great guy… if given the chance, you should see him… you won’t regret the good time you will have - even if you have to be to work at 7am.