Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder Concert

Where should I start? It was an awesome night!

Helen and I drove to the concert with Ed & Becky Betts and Verna, from Grand Manan.

When we arrived at the school, six friends and I were allowed to enter the auditorium through the back doors and therefore were afforded the luxury of choosing whatever seats we wanted - we were the first people allowed in the building. We chose seats in the center floor section just a little ahead of the halfway mark from the stage. I suggested these seats as I thought we would get the best sound quality in this area. I asked everyone else if the seats I suggested were okay with them and they all said yes, so that's where we planted ourselves.

The Bluegrass Diamonds opened the show and they did some great tunes. I've always liked the Diamond's style of Bluegrass. They rendered a real nice grassed up version of Merle Haggard's I'm a Lonesome Fugitive that I really liked, and I could see it also caught the attention of Reg Gallant. Hmmm... I wonder why?

The Bluegrass Diamonds put on a good show, but unfortunately, I found the sound to be extremely boomy and harsh, all at the same time. I also thought it was a bit loud, and perhaps if the volume was turned down a bit, the boominess might not have been so pronounced. Kenny Innis however, who was sitting in the balcony, said people up there were asking for the volume to be turned up. Overall, I was pleased with the Diamond's performance, but disappointed with the sound.

After the Diamond's finished their show there was a 15 or 20 minute intermission while the stage was being set up for Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder. When they were being introduced the crowd was thunderous, in fact, the crowd was thunderous all night long which really seemed to move Kentucky Thunder.

Several condenser mics were used and Ricky had his own sound man who obviously knew what he was doing because the sound for Ricky's show was clear as a bell and you couldn't have asked for anything better. That definitely made for an enjoyable evening.

This was my first time seeing Ricky Skaggs perform live as a Bluegrass act. What can I say? That boy is a smooth operator. He seems to talk just the right amount with just the right amount of wit and humour.

The entire Kentucky Thunder band consisting of Andy Leftwich on fiddle, Coldy Kilby on lead and rhythm guitars, Ricky Skaggs on mandolin and guitar, Paul Brewster on rhythm guitar and harmony vocals, Darren Vincent on rhythm guitar, mandolin and harmony vocals, Mark Fain on stand-up bass and of course Jim Mills on 5 string banjo are all killer musicians. In my opinion, all of these guys are the cream of the crop as musicians go.

I was sitting in an aisle seat with Helen (my wife), Reg Gallant, Angela Curran, Tom Mason and Eleanor and Ed Blackier to my left. Ed and Becky Betts were sitting in the row behind us directly behind Helen and me on the two outside aisle seats. I had to choose an aisle seat because I had my new banjo with me and needed a place to put it (in the aisle on the floor, tight against my seat) while the concert was going on. I had e-mailed Jim Mills several weeks before the concert and was looking forward to meeting him and having him play a tune or two on the banjo.

As I said before, the sound was excellent and the band just continued to amaze us one song after another. I can't believe how smooth Ricky Skaggs is. He really is a great performer. The instrumental breaks performed by the band members blew me away.

From time to time, I'd look to my left past Helen just to to see the expressions on Reg's, Toms's and Angela's faces. They sure appeared to be enjoying the show and having a good time. At one point I leaned over to Helen and said "I want to marry Jimmy." Of course I was trying to be funny and she leaned over to Reg and told him what I had said to which he replied, "that's okay, I want to marry the guitar player!" Well, that got a good chuckle, but I think Reg was serious. Could it be that both Reg and I need some kind of therapy. Yes, maybe we like good music just a bit too much. When I think about it, I don't even know why I was there in the first place since I've been quoted as saying "I don't even like that kind of music."

This Ricky Skaggs concert experience was one of the best I've ever had - I thoroughly enjoyed it to the maximum possible extent. That means I liked it. Judging the reaction from the rest of the audience, I'd have to say I don't think anyone was disappointed with the performance.