Boots 'n' Rally

Ohhh what a weekend!

Left the ol’ ball ‘n’ chain in the city (just kidding ManBoy, I love you and missed you the whole time, I mean it) and headed out to the country with my girls. (And by the country, I do mean Philadelphia, PA for the Kenny Chesney Concert!) {Can I get a yeee-haw?!?! No? OK.}

Let me just say – don’t let the tough, horn-honkin’, bird-flippin’, occasionally cursin’, city girl exterior fool you...toss on a pair of boots, a sundress, and my aviators, and I might as well be servin’ up home fries and flapjacks down south.

I like to think of it as a split personality (but not in a scary, Sybil, dissociative identity disorder kind of way). The love of all things country affords me the freedom of leaving the aforementioned hard-ass at home to assume the role of a boot-scootin’ cutie.

And so it was, this past weekend in Philly (a rather unlikely setting for a hoe-down of sorts, I know).

Four girls set out from Mantoloking, NJ for Philadelphia, PA early(ish) Saturday morning. The car was laden with coolers packed to the gills with foot-long subs; chips n’ dip; a mini-keg; a six pack; and an unidentified clear liquid that was (not-so) vaguely reminiscent of rubbing alcohol. Our iPods poised and ready, we were geared up for the perfect tailgate and a night to remember (or forget…your prerogative).

Kenny, true to form, promised an all out no holds barred kickass country festival. And boy did he deliver. Having arrived on site at 2:15pm, by 6:00 we were a few deep, had made a host of new “friends”, and were practically charging the stadium with excitement. {In retrospect, the charge seems an unwise decision as it was quickly subdued by the inevitable long haul to the nose bleeds…we’re talkin’ as far from the stage as you could possibly be – the place I like to call The Land of True Fans on a Budget}.

Having missed the performances of Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, and the majority of Montgomery Gentry, we all buckled down to await the entrance of the band we’d traveled so far to see (Kenny is a great time no matter what, but let’s get real, Sugarland was the true draw of this spectacle).

Sugarland TORE. IT. UP! My closest companion on the morning commute, Jennifer Nettles, sang to the rafters (which is convenient, considering our seats). She was fantastic and totally set the tone of the party for Kenny to continue. {If you’re unfamiliar with Sugarland, I’ll work on forgiving your ignorance, provided you go listen to them immediately, if not sooner. Go…GO!}.

Kenny, as per usual, brought down the house. He played “hit after hit!” (a little shout-out, boys) and, quite frankly, looked shocked that at the number of rednecks inhabiting the Northeast who knew his songs, word for word.

Classics like “Summertime”, “Young”, “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy”, and “Big Star” (a favorite of mine) could be heard all the way to the front steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (better known as “The Rocky Steps”). After closing with a somber “Don’t Blink”, he sent us all home, ears ringing, humming his tunes, and anxiously awaiting next year’s soiree.

So, while for some, summer started over Memorial Day Weekend, I consider mine just begun (a rainy June only strengthens my case). It’s just something about a country song…