Toby Keith's Americana hits home

Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Jan 26, 2004 by BILL REED THE GAZETTE

Toby Keith emerged from the back of a Ford F-150 pickup truck onto the World Arena stage Sunday night, looking like the redneck version of Boticelli's "Venus."

The sold-out crowd of 8,000 went nuts.

They were primed for a night of honest to goodness Americana from the "boot in the ass" guy.

Keith started off with his new song "Sweet" (which rhymes babelicious with delicious), "Country Comes To Town" and "Just Talkin' About Tonight."

He mixes Lynyrd Skynyrd, Guns N Roses and Merle Haggard into a country-rock concoction.

The arena smelled like beer and hot dogs. The crowd was armed with red and blue flashing lights, flags and "It's The American Way" T- shirts.

There were cowboy hats and regulation haircuts, Wranglers and baggy jeans, and trucker hats -- both ironic and honest.

"He says what we'd like to say," said Garrett McCulloch, 14, of Colorado Springs. "He represents the little guy."

"I love Toby Keith," said Brooke Butterworth, 25, who was sporting a T-shirt that read: My husband is away protecting our freedom... and I am very proud of him."

Her husband, Spc. Shane Butterworth, is serving in Iraq with the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment based at Fort Carson.

"I love (Keith) because he's a great artist," Butterworth said, "and because he supports the troops and what they're doing."

Many others agree with McCulloch and Butterworth.

Keith, 42, has the best-selling country album right now in "Shock'n Y'all" and the fifth bestseller with 2002's "Unleashed."

Both "American Soldier" and "I Love This Bar" are residing among the top 10 country songs.

Keith may not be a stellar vocalist, but he is a dynamic entertainer. He was backed by a band of a dozen -- three backup singers cum cheerleaders, three horns, drum, piano, pedal steel, bass and two guitars -- that made for a spectacle on the stage.

Keith is at his best as a full-tilt, hollerin' honkytonker.

The concert began to peak when he said "How about we do some beer- drinkin' redneck songs, huh?"

"You Ain't Much Fun (Since I Quit Drinking)," "Whose Your Daddy?" and "Beer for my Horses" worked the crowd into a frenzy. Then "The Taliban Song" and "Weed with Willie" kept them riding high.

Keith wants desperately to be the next outlaw country voice. He'd love the roll call to be Waylon, Willie, Merle -- and Toby.

And the hilarious tune "Weed with Willie" sounds alot like passing the torch (so to speak) to Keith.

He doesn't deserve to be in that company yet, of course, and he may never get there. But at the very least Keith is leading mainstream country into much more interesting territory than Shania Twain and Faith Hill, even if he is uglier than sin.

After another honkytonk trio of "I Love This Bar," "How Do you Like Me Now?," and "A Little Less Talk and a Lot More Action," Keith headed into a big patriotic finish.

"American Soldier" was punctuated by a Hendrix-esque "Star- Spangled Banner" breakdown (my, how the meaning of that has changed).

And then came the big one: "The Angry American." Pyrotechnics shot from the stage and red, white and blue confetti dropped from the ceiling as Keith growled out: "We'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way." It was everything his fans came for. This, my friends, is America.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0276 or reed@gazette.com TOBY KEITH IN CONCERT