REVIEW: Toby Keith Gives Colt Ford Award and Raises His Red Solo Cup
On September 27th 2014, The very patriotic Ford F-Series Shut Up and Hold on tour made its way into Camden, NJ’s own Susquehanna Bank Center. On the lineup this night was Krystal Keith (Yes, she is Toby’s Daughter), Colt Ford & Toby Keith in just that order. As the norm for a Toby Keith concert, there were songs about drinking, being in love, heartbreak, red solo cups, and Patriotism throughout each bands performance.
Starting the night off was 28 year old Show-Dog Universal music singer Krystal Keith, who is indeed the daughter of Country Superstar Toby Keith. She has a lot of the swagger her dad had when he bursted on the scene in 1993 with "Should've Been A Cowboy.'' Toby has done things his way ever since, and it seems Krystal is following right in his boot steps. Krystal still a tad bit shy on stage in front of such large audiences, but pulls through with a great performance with her amazing vocals filling The Susquehanna Bank Center and interacting with the fans around their cat walk stage setup. Krystal Keith being the opening support for her dads headliner made for a great debut for her new fans she made that night. Performing songs from her debut album “Whiskey and Lace”.
Next to hit the stage was Average Joe’s Entertainment’s own Colt Ford. Colt Ford definitely gained a huge amount of fans this night along with being surprised by Toby Keith giving Colt his first ever gold plaque for his first single “Drivin’ Around Song” that went gold. Georgia native Colt Ford has been combining elements of hip hop and country for the better part of five years now, We have personally never seen him live but wow he puts on a stellar performance filled with a unique country/rap music, two genres of music you would never think to combine but Colt Ford did it and does it very well. Colt greeted the eager crowd on a mic affixed to a shotgun-shaped stand. As he finished the first song, he waved the stand high into the air while an American flag unfolded and waved freely. As if Colt Ford’s own music wasn't enough to get the crowds screaming, Colt brought out Run DMC to the stage to perform “Walk This Way” which got the crowd going nuts, I don't know what it is but the Country/Rap vibe together made Colt Ford so unique and his set just grasped your attention and left you wanting more and more. After performing “Walk This Way” with Run DMC, Colt covered Eminem’s Song “Lose Yourself” which was a phenomenal cover. I was thoroughly entertained by Colt's set and a great majority of the crowd was in the palm of his hand by the time he finished. The combination of dancing, flag waving, and cell phones illuminating the theater showed that Colt Ford has a real place in country/hip hop music.
As it is customary for any Toby Keith show, the set began with a hilarious video filmed in Las Vegas featuring Toby, Carrot Top and the new line of Ford F Series Trucks, Toby's sponsor. Show Dog Universal Music’s own Toby Keith jumped out and jumped right into some high energy songs, “American Ride”, “I Love This Bar”, “A Little Less Talk And A Lot More Action”. Toby used a lot of the stage and his catwalk which is always great to see as he has such a dominating stage presence. The crowd sang word for word with the country superstar, as Toby pumped out hit after hit driving the crowd wild. His 20 song setlist not including his 2 song encore had songs for every fan old and new mixing up all his hits into one big setlist. Toby doesn't hesitate to use every moment he has to interact with the crowd in some way. Toby Keith then playing “As Good As I Once Was”, “Beers Ago”, “Get Out Of My Car”, “God Love Her”, “How Do You Like Me Now” & “Made In America”. Next up on the setlist was a new fan favorite “Red Solo Cup” which Colt Ford helped him out with before Toby Surprised Colt Ford with a Gold plaque for his first ever Gold Single “Drivin’ Around Song”. Nearing the end of Toby’s set he close out the show or what the fans thought he closed out his set with “Haven't Had A Drink All Day” as the stage went dark, Toby exited the stage before the crowd began chanting USA USA USA. Despite the amazing catalogue of hits that Toby has delivered to the masses, year in and year out, a Toby Keith concert experience would not be one without the absolutely stirring encore that he produces each show. Where he then returned to the stage to “American Solider” which he changed the name of that night to American Warrior where he brought multiple vets and soldiers onto the stage to solute them and serenade them with that song and ending his set by thanking the soldiers for serving the country and our freedom, he then played one of his biggest hits “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue”. Ending his set by saying “Never Apologize for being Patriotic, Fuck Em” as the stage then faded to black. Toby's show is truly indicative of what a long lasting mega star in the music business is capable of and I hope he keeps doing it on this scale for many years to come. If you have the opportunity to get out and see any of these country artists, you should as this was a tour to be remembered for years to come.
