While Camdenton got a date on his 2024 What A View tour, I opted instead for Chesterfied instead. The main reason was this date was three weeks later and likely to be cooler than August. I think both of those venues have been the closet he's been, maybe minus an odd county fair in the area over the years.
After a bit of running around, my wife and I arrived with about 30 minutes before start time at 6 PM. From where we were, after Googling the location, it was a simple four minute drive. This was a new venue for me. I'd looked up pictures and knew it was pretty small. But it is very scenic with tiered terraces for Lawn Chair GAs, along with a pit up front. I chose seats which were in the third row in on the "south" side. It was still an amazing line of site and proxmity to the stage. Plus to boot they had food trucks. Being right in the middle of eating time, we wound up getting gyros. My wife commented all shows we see should be at this venue.
Of course the weather was off and on changing all day, with rain forecasted at various times. The bad thing was that this venue doesn't have a pavillion. But thankfully the rain held off, or maybe unfortunately. A slight rain might have helped cool the night a little more, but it was still tolerable.
After a very minimal 20 minute set change, Jamey Johnson took the stage at 7 PM. For the opening number, he brought Roberts back out and they did 9 to 5, and giving her praise, before launching into his tradiational opener, High Cost of Living. That song was one of the few that he stretched out and let the band flex their muscles. He was backed by a 10 piece, that included three horn players and a backing female singer. I'm assuming the horns are maybe influenced from him doing the Last Waltz, playing the music of the Band tours over the last few years. But his backing band was sharp and knew when to cook or when to lay back on the playing. Not to mention Johnson's guitar picking as well.
The real highlights were the new songs that he's written, after catching the writing bug over the last year and unleashing some of them on the road. It's been 14 years since he's released an album of original songs. After slipping on the ice and getting a concussion around that time, he couldn't find the right focus to write new songs. I enjoyed the wryness of Bad Guy in This Song as well as a strong beat. The same thing with one that might be named What You Answer To. Though that could be a cover. He did play several cover songs from Easton Corbin and Chris Stapleton, among others. Apart from the opening song, he didn't play many classic country covers like I've seen him do in the past.
While the beard has gotten longer and the hair grayer, Johnson was dressed all in black. After a minute it hit me, he kind of reminded of Kris Kristofferson in appearance. And he did give a couple of introductions to his songs throughout the night in addition to the praise he gave to Roberts. He did have a few funny quips to the song shouters. After one girl in the pit was screeching for a song, he replied, "What did I miss?" and another one was "Don't you wish you could sometimes put a face and see who the Hell that was?"
Another standout to the night was, Flying Silver Eagles off his debut album. I'm not sure I'd ever seen him do that one. That was one my wife enjoyed. And he did my favorite of his Give it Away, which is always welcome and which he's played every time I've seen him. During Heartache he did an ad lib, where he was mentioning famous tragic couples and added Kendrick and Drake to their recent feud. My wife had to explain the joke to my deaf ass.
Overall it was a solid two hour, 21 song set that delievered as Johnson always does. My wife enjoyed it, even though she's not a country fan, especially with the emotion and feeling in Johnson's songs striking a chord. (It made her cry.) It's not the long two plus hours shows full of covers, that I've seen in the past, but it was still an awesome time. I also noted to my wife, this was the first time I didn't see any fights at his concert. Of course not being with drunk college rednecks, probably helps a lot.
As always I'm up for seeing Jamey Johnson. And to boot the show was over at 9, there's not 10,000 people you're fighting to get out and we were home well before midnight.
Jamey Johnson Set List
1. 9 to 5 (With Emily Ann Roberts)
2. High Cost of Living
3. Bring on the Neon
4. Can't Cash My Checks
5. Someday When I'm Old
6. That Lonesome Song
7. Heartache
8. My Way to You
9. Bad Guy in This Song
10. Sober
11. What You Answer To
12. The Last Honky Tonk
13. Whiskey and You
14. Fying Silver Eagles
15. More of What Matters
16. If I Could Hold You One More Time
17. 21 Guns
18. In Color
19. Trudy
20. Give It Away
21. Lead Me Home
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