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So like I said, very cool show. Dierks Bentley (who I am not familiar with at all) opened for Robert Earl Keen in Reliant Stadium at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. It was certainly not what I expected. Not so much the concert, which was awesome, but the entire rodeo experience. I have never seen so many cowboys, cowgirls, and their respective wannabes in one place before. The entire park smelled like hee haw. There were people of all walks and talks of life... from little kids dudded out from western head to western toe to women determined to display their technologically enhanced "parts" with the skimpiest cowgirl outfits allowed by law to big, burly, real bull wrangling men. Scary men. The seats we had were so close to the action that when they opened the gate, you could hear the bull's snorts and stomps as the ride unfolded before you. There were other events like trick riding and barrel racing, but the bull riding was the coolest to see up close. The only thing that sucked was the $10 beer. I mean, the beer was excellent... paying ten bucks per bottle was not. After R.E.K. finished his set, Sam and I headed for Keneally's Irish Pub for some pre-St. Patrick's Day Guinness. All said and done, it was a great evening. "Mom got drunk and Dad got drunk At our Christmas party We were drinkin' champagne punch And homemade eggnog Little sister brought her new boyfriend He was a Mexican We didn't know what to think of him Til he sang Feliz Navidad Feliz Navidad Brother Ken brought his kids with him The three from his first wife Lynn And the two identical twins >From his second wife MaryNell Of course he brought his new wife Kaye Who talks all about AA Chain smokin' while the stero plays Noel, Noel, The first Noel Carve the turkey turn the ball game on Mix Margaritas when the eggnog's gone Send somebody to the Quik-Pak store We need some ice and an extention cord A can of bean dip and some Diet Rite A box of tampons and some Marlboro Lights Hallelujah everybody say cheese Merry Christmas from the family Fran and Rita drove from Harlingen I can't remember how I'm kin to them But when they tried to plug their motorhome in They blew our christmas lights Cousin David knew just what went wrong So we all waited on our front lawn He threw the breaker and the lights came on And we sang Silent Night Oh Silent Night Carve the turkey turn the ballgame on Make Bloody Marys cause we all want one Send somebody to the Stop 'n Go We need some celery and a can of fake snow A bag of lemons and some Dite Sprite A box of tampons and some Salem Lights Hallelujah everybody say cheese Merry Christmas from the family Feliz Navidad."