One More Song...

If there is one thing that shapes your perception of a concert, it’s the encore. It’s the last thing you hear for the night and it can be the tipping point on whether a show is good or bad. Thursday’s encore from the Turnpike Troubadours definitely capped off their show in a positive way. The first of the two songs was “Whiskey In My Whiskey,” a heartwarming song about shooting a former love on the dance floor, with bassist and bearded American RC Edwards handling the vocal duties.

The second song was the hammer though. After going off the stage briefly, the group returned and fired through a solid version of the Mel McDaniel class “Louisiana Saturday Night,” which happens to be one of my favorite songs of all time. For those of you wondering, the line that refers to “a possum in a sack” is talking about lunch. I’m fond of saying that if a band came out and played nose flute for three hours and closed with “Louisiana Saturday Night,” I’d still be a happy camper.

My only qualm about the encore was the process of the encore itself. I understand the whole “go off the stage and make the crowd shout for more” idea, but I’m not a fan. I’d rather the band just say “Listen, we’re going to do two more songs then we’re out of here. Thanks for coming.” But that rarely happens so I’ll just have to be content with the current process and hold out hope that all will be made alright with the sounds of Mr. McDaniel.