Posted: Wed, 7 Jul 2010 10:12 AM - 161 Readers
By: Michael Corcoran
"All you need this time of year/ Is a pair of shades and ice cold
beer/ And a place to sit somewhere near the water"
- Brad Paisley
'Water' (2010)
In the dusty days of country music legends
Hank Williams and Lefty Frizzell, large inner tubes were strictly
'inner,' inflated inside tires of 18-wheelers. Nowadays, when you pair
country music and tubes, you think of partying on the Guadalupe River
with a floating cooler and singing along to Merle Haggard or Jason
Boland.
When the Sons of the Pioneers recorded 'Cool Water' in
1947, they were singing about liquid refreshment after a long day on the
cattle drive, not swinging into spring-fed pools or doing tricks on
water skis.
Another thing we can hang on Jimmy Buffett: Country
music and water fun go together like tequila and triple sec. Ushered in
by such Buffettarians as Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson and, most recently,
Brad Paisley, and taken to Texas extremes by collegian country acts,
there's water, water everywhere and not a drop is drank.
Nashville
comes to Lake Travis big time this week with Aquapalooza, a free
concert headlined Saturday by Paisley. The catch is that you have to own
a boat or know someone who does in order to attend. (Or you can go on
Craiglist and buy your way onto someone's boat for around $85 a person.) There is no land access to the show, which runs from noon to 7:30 p.m.
and features such support acts as Jerrod Niemann, Lee Brice, Joanna
Smith and Matt Stillwell trying to make a splash.
Aquapalooza is a
nationwide theme at almost 100 locations, but the Paisley concert is
the signature event. Alan Jackson headlined last year in Alabama and
drew about 30,000 fans.
This year's show is hosted by Sail &
Ski Center of Lake Travis, along with Sea Ray boats. The stage will be
set up at Calcasieu Point at mile marker 22. Rafting lines open at 7
a.m. About 5,000 boats, carrying roughly six people each, are expected.
Paisley
is the perfect choice to headline, not just because he's terrifically
talented, but his tour is named 'H2O' after his current hit 'Water,' his
13th consecutive No. 1 single.
Water wasn't such a good thing
earlier this year when Paisley lost several guitars and amps in May
after Soundcheck Nashville filled up with 5 feet of water from the
Cumberland River. Luckily, Paisley's favorite guitar, the '68 Fender
Telecaster nicknamed 'Old Pink,' was safely at home. It should spray the
James Burton-inspired licks all over Lake T on Saturday.
Those
who can't wait until then can have boatloads of fun Friday, when
Aquapalooza hosts a Battle of the Bands, with the winner to come back
Saturday. Land sharks might chose to pay $30 cover to see the
bubbling-under Eli Young Band at Carlos N' Charlie's Friday. Originally
from Denton, EYB hit the top five on the country album sales chart last
year with 'Jet Black and Jealous,' but they've yet to have a breakout
single. Could new song 'Crazy Girl,' a crowd favorite, do the trick?
An
idea for the video: The crazy girl of the title is just hating her job
as a receptionist. It's just one jerk after the next coming in to the
office (Little Jimmy Dickens cameo alert) and she's about to tear her
hair out. Then a smile comes over her face. Dream sequence finds her
tubing down a river, splashing a shirtless male model in a cowboy hat.
She gets up from her desk and starts shedding her business attire until
she reaches the front door wearing only a bikini. She gets in a pickup
with an inner tube in the back and peels out.
Yeah, that girl's
crazy, but nothing a little float down the river won't cure. The last
shot, of course, will be two large black inner tubes in the back of a
pickup truck driving away at night.
The Brad Paisley show
on Saturday at Lake Travis is the signature event of Aquapalooza, a
series of concerts across the country. There are activities on Friday,
too. (Saturday's schedule is from noon to 7:30 p.m.) It's free, but
access is by boat, and you must register at www.aquapalooza.com,
where you can find all the details.
