Colt Ford has a country good time at the Orange Peel

A review by Ashvegas correspondent White Lightnin‘: 

I’ve been to quite a few shows at The Orange Peel over the years, but nothing quite like what I saw Friday night when Colt Ford and company took the stage.

The crowd was clearly there to have fun, drink beer and hear “Mr. Goodtime” belt out his alt-alt-county radio hits. Many were decked out in camouflage baseball caps and Hank Junior T-shirts and were a welcome breath of fresh country air compared to usual group of hipsters wearing hoodies and smart glasses routinely found moping around the venue.

I’m pretty country myself, but I do wonder if any other act playing the Orange Peel included a moment where a Confederate flag is draped across a mic stand onstage or had a singer in the opening act taunt the crowd by asking “How many of you voted for Obama?” to a response of snickering and silence. I don’t want to rekindle the whole “heritage vs. hate” debate about Southern pride, but for me a little more tolerance and more emphasis on having fun would have been appreciated than some of the political overtones mixed in before Colt Ford took the stage. 

Proud members of the redneck nation were out in force for this 18+ age show and most were there to enjoy themselves, but a few of the more juvenile ticketholders members made repeatedly loud obscene remarks to such an extent while in line that I wondered what their mamas would say if they heard their little boys acting like that.

None of that behavior, however, was evident once Colt Ford grabbed the mic. After uttering the instructions “Everybody say, hey… we want some coun-try!” in homage to Miami rapper Luke Skywalker, the 300-plus pound Athens, Ga., native ripped into spirited covers of Charlie Daniels’ “Devil Went Down to Georgia” and his own raucous songs “Cricket on the Line” and  “Ride Through the Country.”

Whether rapping along to country guitars or dancing to the spirited fiddle music played by his band, Ford seemed to be having as much fun as those who were doing the same right in front of him. 

I admit I didn’t stay for the entire show, mainly because those toe-tapping numbers had taken a toll on an already wounded foot, but even the most inebriated audience members seemed to behave themselves before I left.

The Orange Peel may not host this type of redneck fun that often, but I was glad to see everyone had a good time and that there was room for all involved to stomp, dance and sing no matter what country they hailed from.  

Friends of White Lightnin’ say he could easily be Colt Ford’s stunt double, or at least win a Colt Ford look-a-like contest next Halloween.