Rascal Flatts and Darius Rucker Concert in Atlanta, GA

For the record, let me state that in general, I'm not a fan of country music. That aside, when I was given a cheap ticket for a Rascal Flatts and Darius Rucker show in Atlanta, the journalist in me couldn't refuse.

Said concert took place at the Lakewood Amphitheatre in downtown Atlanta. On this particular night, rain was beating the asphalt in a torrential downpour that may have discouraged some drivers from heading this way. True fans of these bands, of course, were not deterred.

I watched the crowds with all the fascination of a foreign exchange student on his first sojourn to the United States. There were busty, blonde, blue-eyed women in cowboy hats and Durango "Western" boots, complete with blue cutoff jeans and flannel shirts. Their male companions, in many cases, looked like characters out of The Dukes of Hazzard (the show or the film). This isn't to say that they weren't fun; I simply felt like the quintessential city slicker.

In any case, once inside the arena, I took my seat on the grass with the hundreds of other concertgoers who had "general admission" seats. Luckily, I was fortunate enough to meet a pleasant family who had the generosity to share their picnic blanket.

There I sat, practically boxed in on all sides by Georgians, Tennesseeans, and other Southerners, many of whom proudly bore their Rascal Flatts and Confederate flag t-shirts. Their Budweiser cans were firmly in hand, and the strange, indescribably bittersweet scent of beer seemed to fill the air.

This native New Yorker, however, was in for a surprise; as a former fan of Hootie and the Blowfish, I thought I might enjoy this show after all. That's right: the man who had once appeared on MTV with hits like "Hold My Hand" and "Only Wanna Be With You" is now completely countrified. As strange as it feels to say this, I like his work even better this way! As Darius himself said at the show, "I've been writing country music for many years," before launching into a beautiful rendition of the classic Hootie tune, "Let Her Cry."

Yet another crowd-pleaser among Rucker's set was the twangy, distinctly Southern "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," to which it seemed the entire audience knew the words. While listening to the song I could hear some echoes of his early '90s work. Mr. Rucker...maybe, just maybe you'll make a country fan out of this Yankee.

The gently rolling "Alright," too, had the crowd swaying back and forth, joining together in the chorus as the blue and violet stage lights swept across the arena: "I got a roof over my head/The woman I love layin' in my bed/And it's alright, alright."

Then, of course, what would a country show be without its drinking songs? For Rucker, that particular song was "Drinkin' and Dialin'," which starts off: "Last thing I remember/I met the boys down at the jamma/We had a few beers a few shots."

Between acts, of course, was a brief intermission, but given that I hadn't come with any friends, I figured there wasn't much chance I'd find my way back to my "seat." Therefore, I stayed put as long as possible.

Finally, when Rascal Flatts (who famously performed with Carrie Underwood on American Idol) took the stage, the crowd went wild. Now, perhaps you've heard the phrase "crowd went wild" in almost every concert review you've ever read, but it honestly doesn't do this experience justice. Perhaps "exploded" is a better verb; the relative calm erupted into a thunderous mix of screams, whistles, and applause.

Once again feeling like the greenhorn in the crowd, to me the music called to mind the phrase: "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" Even for someone who barely knew the band's lyrics and melodies, the songs seemed relatively easy to pick up.

Take, for example, "Prayin' for Daylight":

I've got the lights turned up
The door is locked, the bedroom TV's on
Doing the only thing that gets me through the night
Since you've been gone

For those that don't know the band, they do incorporate a surprising amount of rock influences into their pop-country blend. Even hardcore fans of such innovators as Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and Ray Charles might find some elements of their music in a few of Rascal's works (though it's clear that all those artists have highly mixed fan bases).

Most surprising during the show were several of the covers that the band performed, including Bill Withers' "Lean on Me" and Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On." Who would've thought that soul and country could be heard in the same concert? Well, perhaps die-hard Ray Charles fans would!

And speaking of Bob Dylan, Darius Rucker, for his final number, included his own personal nod to the Father of Folk Rock. In "Only Wanna Be With You," Rucker sings:

You ask me what I meant by
Said I shot a man named Gray
Took his wife to Italy
She inherited a million bucks
And when she died it came to me
I can't help it if I'm lucky

Clearly, the inclusion of the lyrics was meant in tribute to Dylan, but in fact, they settled out of court over it back in the day. Still, it was thrilling to hear Rucker sing it as his finale.

Rascal Flatts also performed another crowd pleaser in "Fast Cars and Freedom," which, according to them, they wrote in tribute to NASCAR. Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and his "redneck" dummy Bubba J would've had a field day with that one, no doubt.

Despite all the redneck and country jokes made here, it was a fun show to attend. Perhaps, in their own way, nearly all concerts can be fun, if you go in with the right attitude. It doesn't matter whether your skin color is black, white, tan, or blue; just keep your ears open and put your dancing shoes (or boots) on.