Post #166869 by ikitnrev on Sun, Jun 19, 2005 8:39 PM

The following has nothing to do with Tiki Bong - but Merle Haggard doesn't show up too often in these threads, and I wanted to share my Haggard experience with you.

I was finally able to see Merle perform live last year while on a business trip - at the old Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. I was so looking forward to it - I had got my tickets early, and had seats on the lower level, near the stage.

Unfortunately, I ended up sitting two seats away from some guy in his early 20's, who was the biggest jerk I've seen in a concert setting - the type who would often stand up, lift and wave his white cowboy hat in the air, and yip out a loud yell. That is fine now and then, but not for every damn song, especially the quiet ones where you just want to appreciate a brief pause of silence. Accompanied with some other behavior, he was truly the most obnoxious fan I had ever met in my life - and I have attended lots of concerts. That behavior might be expected at a punk show, but not for a country show at a classic country auditorium.

By the end of the concert, that guy had brought out the 'fighting side' of almost everyone else sitting around him in the auditorium. People don't pay big bucks for a show to have their experience ruined by people like that ... but everyone gritted their teeth, knowing it would be of bad form to punch somebody out at a Haggard show.

I had two co-workers, who did not attend the concert, who ended up encountering this guy at some other bar later that night -- and they also said he was a big asshole.

I still like Merle Haggard - it could have been a great show, as he was bringing out many elderly country musicians to share the stage with him. But, due to the presence of one obnoxious guy, that whole experience has made me considerably more wary of some of his fans.

Vern