Randy Rogers at Billy Bob's

Dave and I have been following the Randy Rogers Band since moving to DFW. Dave is not a country music fan, but since living in Texas, he has grown to like a few Texas artists. It started with Pat Green, then moved to Cross Canadian Ragweed, then to Wade Bowen. Now Randy Rogers has been added to the very select list of country artists Dave likes.

One benefit of living in DFW is the access to concerts. We certainly missed that living in Austin. Last night, we treated ourselves to a night at Billy Bob's to hear Randy Rogers. This is the band's fourth sold-out crowd at Billy Bob's.

The show didn't start until 10:30, so at 9:00, we decided to head to the Stockyards to Billy Bob's Texas: The World's Biggest Honky Tonk. We've been there several times, and I am always amazed at how big it is. There's a gift shop, an arena for bull riding and other rodeo events, an arcade, a restaurant, a dance floor complete with a saddle-disco ball (it's a saddle covered in tiny little mirrors suspended from the ceiling, and the reserved seating area. The walls are adorned with neon signs, caricatures of artists, and stones bearing the handprints and signatures of artists. But with all of this to see, the biggest show is the band. Coming in a close second is the people there.

Last night we were entertained by two of the couples sharing the long table for 14 with us. The men were around 60 and slightly overweight. I found neither strikingly attractive. The ladies were blondes, in their 40s, attractive, and clad in tight jeans and tiny shirts. When they first sat down Dave made a comment about the men and their trophy wives. Being the girl I am, I started checking left hands. None of them were wearing wedding bands or engagement rings. Believe me, these ladies are the type that would have multi-carat rings and wear them proudly. (Not that there's anything wrong with that, I would proudly don a multi-carat ring.) Nonetheless, watching them was even more amusing realizing that they were divorcees on dates. The dorky man closest to us didn't play air guitar with the band; he played air keyboard. His date, however, would strum along with her air guitar. The other guy had on a huge black Stetson hat, which kept obstructing my view. At various times in the evening, they all had out cell phones or Blackberries, taking pictures and sending messages. Dave chuckled when he heard one of the blondes exclaim, "This is so much fun."

Crowd watching aside, the show was great. The band played for two hours, including an encore of three songs. We were able to sing along and have a good time relaxing.