Photography & Review by Alain Cruz
I was given these tickets super last minute and had absolutely no idea who Old Crow Medicine Show was going in. Usually, I at least recognize a name or a song or something, but this time it was entirely foreign, and honestly, I think that might be the best way to experience music. When you walk in without expectations, without pre-judging the band or music, everything hits a little better. You’re not comparing it to anything, you’re just experiencing it as it happens. If you really think about it, that is the best way to do anything new.
I brought a friend along, because anything becomes better when you have someone to share it with, especially concerts. There’s something about reacting in real time, looking over mid-song like “wait…this is awesome,” that just makes the whole thing that much more fun. Before getting into the actual concert, I’ve got to talk about the venue. The show was at the Georgia Theatre, which is easily my favorite spot in Athens. There’s just something about the history of the place that adds weight to every performance. I did end up grabbing some merch, a shirt with a really cool cowboy design on the front.
Now, the performance itself completely caught me off guard in the best way. The first thing that grabbed my attention was the slide guitar. I love the slide guitar (thank you Ms. Faye Webster). There’s something about the way it bends notes, like it’s speaking instead of just playing. Seeing someone not only use it but actually play it well was a highlight of my night. And that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the band. Everyone on stage was incredibly talented, and what stood out even more was how effortlessly they switched between instruments. It never felt forced or like a gimmick, it just showed how deeply they understood their sound.The fiddle player was another standout. A sign of a great fiddle performance is where the more intense it gets, the more the bow starts to fray and come undone. Watching that happen in real time felt like a visual representation of the energy in the room.
They also had a really fun presence between songs. One running joke the singer kept coming back to was, “I don’t remember, I smoked a lot of weed,” which somehow never got old. It made the whole set feel loose and personal, like you were just hanging out with them instead of watching a performance. At one point, they talked about how unique this tour was because they were playing two albums back to back, including songs they hadn’t performed in a long time. One song in particular, “Don’t Ride the Horse,” stood out to me almost immediately. They even mentioned it as being kind of a weird one in their catalog, and maybe that’s why it clicked so much for me. It had this charm that stuck with me and ended up being my favorite of the night.
Overall, the entire experience was great. Going in blind turned into one of the best decisions, and it reminded me how music can be when you let it surprise you.
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