Jo Dee Messina - April 26, 2008 - Derrick's Review

Photos by R. Giacomino/COD

Rock, Rap, and Rawhide. That was the theme for Saint Louis University 's “Spring Fever.” What do you think of when you hear “r*awhide?” Country, cowboy, tough, action. Well Jo Dee Messina fits all those and more. And she brought all she had to SLU last Saturday (April 26).

I'll admit, when I heard they booked Jo Dee, I was thrilled. Who better to show college kids how country can kick ass? And let me tell you – she did not disappoint! If there were any naysayers in the crowd, chances are their eyes were blown open by the rockin' country Messina brought to the new Chaifetz Arena.

Messina was cool to play off her big hits and mix in new music from her upcoming album, Unmistakable . In fact, she opened with a tune that asks the crowd to “Get Up,” and that's exactly what they did. And, in fact, they never sat down. Messina twirled on stage, worked the crowd, and made the atmosphere feel like a kegger.

From there it was into the hits, and the crowd ate up every minute of it. Messina also did well to intertwine stories – she had the crowd laughing after taking a leah from a young man but said, “I'll take it, but I'm not taking anything off.” She also let us know that she, too, is obsessed with “Greek.”

I was shocked just how into the music the crowd really was – are there really that many hillbillies in college? I sure didn't think so. But, they danced, they cheered, they swayed, and, most importantly, they sang along. They sang loud. They sang on time. I felt like I was at Fan Fair. I was blown away. And the energy put off by the crowd was matched by Messina . You could tell she literally fed off the crowd. She even had a student on crutches dancing in the isle.

Jo Dee rocked with her up-tempos, but she also slowed it down and put the crowd in awe with the title track from her upcoming album. The crowd fell in love with “Unmistakable,” reacting with the awe and adoration that Alan Jackson receives when he belts “Remember When.” A truly spectacular response, considering the crowd that had just rapped with Chingy. This is a hit in the making, y'all. Let's hope it gets to see the light of day.

I wish I could be unbiased, but, well, I have to admit I've always been a Jo Dee fan. But in all honesty, Jo Dee was the perfect choice to showcase just how fun “rawhide” can be. The crowd loved her from the first note, through the confetti, to the very end, when the singer dared the audience to do something nice for a stranger. Jo Dee was a huge hit at SLU. That was unmistakable.

SET LIST:

Get Up!
Let Me Entertain You
I'm Alright
Heads Carolina, Tails California
Life Is Good
Bye, Bye
Stand By Me
Lesson In Leavin'
Delicious Surprise
Unmistakable
I'm Done
My Give A Damn's Busted

Jo Dee Messina has a new album in stores August 5, and she sat down with Country On-Demand before her show at Chaifetz Arena.

COD: What does it mean to come here, and play for college kids?

JDM: I love it. I love all the energy. We're gonna go out there and have fun. (laughs)

COD: Is there a difference between playing in front of an older crowd versus a college crowd?

JDM: Definitely a lot of energy in the room, so I'm excited about that. I mean every audience is different. But, um, I love to get in to the college crowds because that's such a huge fan base. Most people don't think that, because country isn't normally geared towards the younger crowd, but that's not the case with my stuff. That's because it's so cool. (laughs)

COD: How do you answer to that, the young people saying country isn't cool?

JDM: Yeah, they say ‘I like everything but country.' That means they haven't listened to it. I mean, there's something for everyone. We have the traditional stuff, the pop stuff, the rock stuff, there's something for everyone.

COD: 8 years ago I saw you play here in St. Louis and you did a medley of songs and did Britney Spears. So where do you get your inspiration from for your shows?

JDM: Well, (laughs) there's a story behind that. We did “Doctor, Doctor,” we just did a ton of stuff. It was a story about the progression of music. And it was good too! (laughs)

COD: It was! And it was fun!

JDM: Yeah, it's just whatever inspires me at the time.

COD: What's your earliest recollection of going to a concert?

JDM: My first concert was a Rush concert. My mother made me go see it with my older brother. It was insane. And then I went to AC/DC three nights in a row. Drove an hour to the venue, had crappy seats. It was massive, it was chaotic. It was massive. You know, there's something about a concert, you get lost in the atmosphere. It's like a movie. You're there, it's like you're living that movie for two hours. That's kinda like a concert. You lose yourself while you're here.

COD: How would you describe your show to somebody? If you sat in the audience, what do you think you'd see?

JDM: Oh man, a red-head running around like a crazy maniac. Oh, I don't know.

COD: Do you ever watch them back?

JDM: No, well, we listen back every night. We listen back ever night, but we never watch them. I guess we should start doing that. I might want to take a look at the show (laughs). I would say there's something for everybody. You're not coming to see us, you're coming to be part of it.

COD: Do you have a favorite performer right now?

JDM: No…not that I know of… no.

COD: Are you too busy to go to shows?

JDM: I don't think I've been to a concert in years. Um. I don't know. I don't know who'd I go see. And no, I mean, I am busy but we're more ‘weekend warriors.' Leave on Thursday play Friday and Saturday and be home Sunday.

COD: The new music is being well received by crowds that haven't heard it before

JDM: Yeah, wait ‘til you see tonight. We get great response.

COD: Can you play the new music even if it doesn't get released?

JDM: Yeah, I mean, that's something I can do. It'll get released. (laughs) We've been doing these songs for over a year, and it's always fun to get out there and do the new material.