Y108 Hot Country Jam 2007 Review

On Saturday, my boyfriend and I attended the Y108 Hot Country Jam. We had VIP tickets at the event that was performed at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette Pavilion. The show was sponsored by Turkey Hill and Y108.

When entering the crowded parking lot, everyone was given a free baggie full of interesting things. There was a Family Guy Whoopie cushion, along with many flyers for soon to come concerts and a large coupon booklet for those of us that shop at GetGo. The parking lot opened at 2 p.m.; however, we didn't arrive until close to 4 p.m. when they stated that the gates to the even would open. But, unfortunately the gates didn't open until around 4:30 p.m. which left hundreds of people ranting and raving at the gates to be let in.

During our wait in line, Turkey Hill came around passing out their ice cream for free. The parking lot was full of random booths handing out as much Turkey Hill ice cream as people wanted to eat.

The show was to start at 5:15, opening with Little Texas, but before we found our seats, we wanted to check out the concession stands. Altmeyer's Western Wear was there and selling black, pink, or brown cowboy hats, straw cowboy hats were also scattered around the Pavilion. T-shirts were a little expensive; $30 would get you any size shirt.

As for food, there was a lot to choose from. Chicken fingers and french fries were around $7, a plate of nachos with cheese and jalapeño peppers were $5, we did try the $3 soft garlic parmesan pretzel which was out of this world. My boyfriend got a 24 oz. beer that cost him $7.50. In my opinion, it's a lot cheaper to get some beer into you in the parking lot before the show.

Onto the show! Opening was Little Texas at around 5:15; they played for over an hour and performed many of their hits including "God Blessed Texas" and "Kick A Little". Next up was Pittsburgh's own Poverty Neck Hillbillies... now, I'm not a big fan of them, however they did play their well known hit and a song I love called "One Night in New Orleans."

Mark Wills performed next and was amazing. He took the time to talk to the crowd as well as joke around and just not perform and leave. He performed "Jacobs Ladder", "I Do (Cherish You)", "Don't Laugh at Me" and many more songs. He performed for over an hour and a half and had the entire crowd up dancing and singing.

Clint Black was next and of the previous acts, I think I enjoyed this the most so far. Clint Black was solo. Just himself, and his guitar and harmonica; no band. Clint Black told some stories, talked to the crowd, and played a few oldies but goodies such as "Killing Time". I really hand it to Clint Black for coming out on stage without his band with him. I know I wouldn't be able to do that in front of a full house full of people.

And last but certainly not least, headlining the show was Mr. Travis Tritt. This man is the most exciting, and enthusiastic performer I have ever seen. He performed from 9:15pm to 11:35pm. His band was complete with steel guitar, violin, mandolin, drums, keyboardist, bass, and acoustic guitar. But before Travis came out on stage, an announcement was made requesting people to not throw quarters on the stage during his performance of the song "Here's A Quarter, Call Someone Who Cares." Apparently people had done that during a past performance and hit Travis with a quarter. I really don't blame him for making the announcement before hand.

When Travis came out on stage, he was neatly dressed, and took the time to talk to the crowd and joke with the crowd. He opened with "Put Some Drive In Your Country" and had to wait about five minutes before moving onto the next song, because the crowd was ecstatic, including me! Some other songs he played were; "Country Club", "I'm Gonna Be Somebody", "Anymore", "The Whiskey Ain't Workin", "T-R-O-U-B-L-E", "Looking Out For Number One", "Between An Old Memory And Me", "It's A Great Day To Be Alive", "Love Of A Woman", and "Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde".

Travis left the stage at 10:50pm, only to be called out for an encore that lasted until 11:35pm. The encore was incredible! Travis sang songs from Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. You could tell Travis really loved his job and loved performing.

This was the most awe-inspiring concert I have ever seen and I commend all of the performers for their wonderful work that they had put into the show to make it what it was.