Matchbox Twenty

On Tuesday night Jay and I drove up to the Midstate Fair in Paso Robles to see Matchbox Twenty. We were hoping to get an early start and spend a couple of hours at the fair and grab some dinner there before the concert started at 7:30, but Jay had an insance week at work and wasn't able to get home until a little after 5:00, so we ended up grabbing McDonald's and literally eating in the truck on the way there. The drive is a little less than an hour and traffic wasn't bad, so we made good time. I had only been to the Midstate Fair once and that was last year to see Little Big Town and Martina McBride. The fair is HUGE and there is a lot to see. Parking is an outrageous $15 and the concert tickets do NOT include admission to the fair, so it really does make more sense to get there early and get the most out of your parking and fair admission dollars, but there are some things you just cannot control. So, we accepted that we would be a little rushed and not have an opportunity to see the displays (personally I love the photography, landscaping, and artwork exhibits) and were just happy to get an evening out and take our minds off of all of the insanity we have been surrounded with lately.

Vanessa Carlton was supposed to be opening for Matchbox Twenty, but when we got there a guy named Hodges was opening instead. We had never heard of him and were very impressed. He is on the same label with Matchbox Twenty and if he gets enough exposure, I think he's going to be big someday. He's very good looking (which was evident by the screams of young women throughout the audience) and has a really strong voice and plays good music. If you like Matchbox Twenty, you would like Hodges. I haven't done so yet, but I am considering downloading one or two songs from Itunes. Hodges played for about 30 minutes and then there was a short intermission before Matchbox Twenty came on. They were great! Jay didn't realize how many of their songs he had heard and I think he enjoyed it even more than he expected to. Our seats were not the greatest, but the sound was great no matter where you were sitting and the whole evening was very entertaining and just what we needed. I am already looking forward to seeing the line-up for next year!

Hodges