On Friday, November 6, 2009 the CMT On Tour 2009 hit Puyallup, Washington (about 45 minutes south of Seattle) and the Emerald Queen Casino. Featuring Randy Houser and Jamey Johnson, the show kicked off at about 7:30 pm with Randy Houser opening up the show with his soulful southern country rock. The first song of the evening? “My Kind Of Country,” a song which basically lays out exactly what Randy is all about. He loves traditional country music, he loves rock and roll and he loves soul music so he mixes it up all together in a way that he proclaims as “My Kind Of Country.” Randy then followed that song with a song about people who are poseurs on the country music scene. This is a new track called “Waylon Would Kick Your Ass” and it pays homage to one of Houser’s heroes by proclaiming his befuddlement to the way some bands go about their business, much in the way Waylon sang “I Don’t Think Hank Done It This Way.”
Randy then broke into a very traditional-sounding new track, one he just wrote and was playing for the first time. It was called “Man Like Me.” It featured a solid Walyon-like groove. Next up was Randy’s first hit, the soulful “Anything Goes,” which is the title track to his first album. The advance word on these shows did let me know that both Randy and Jamey may pepper in a choice cover or two and Randy delivered with a solid rendition of “Mama’s Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.” Next up was another new song that retained the outlaw country bass-line and groove in “The Door.” Randy’s band was outstanding and featured Keith Gattis on lead guitar. “Call Me Cadillac” was another fun new song. A cover of Hank Williams’ classic song “Kaw-Liga” garnered the greatest response from the crowd, which featured a lot of military folks from around the country (there are multiple military bases in the Seattle/Tacoma area). Next up was another Wayon-esque new track called “Hard To Be A Hippie Anymore.” It was humorous and certainly should be on the upcoming 2010 sophomore release from Randy. During the whole set, Randy kept being grateful for the 4,000 or so folks in attendance. He also managed to show off his trademark laugh here and there as well. Another brand new song he sang was called “Addicted” which equated love of a woman to a drug. “Whiskey River” was next before Randy broke into his Top 2 hit “Boots On” and then ending the show with “Whistlin’ Dixie.” 
Advance word said that Jamey Johnson wouldn’t talk much during his set, instead he’d just sing his songs. He not only sang his song but he pretty much kept a track-for-track pacing to the set that rivaled his album That Lonesome Song. The amazing thing about this show is that the crowd is singing along to every word of virtually every song, from “High Cost Of Living,” to “Sending An Angel To Hell” to “Place Out On The Ocean” to “Mowin Down The Roses.” The crowd, which obviously came more for Jamey Johnson than Randy Houser, listened and sang and hoot and hollered so much that it felt like we were in the church of Jamey Johnson. These were fans that clearly knew the album from front to back and were appreciative of Jamey’s approach to letting the tunes, and not his own quips and comments, speak for themselves. The first new song in the set that gives fans an advance into the upcoming third album from Jamey Johnson is the wonderful track “Nothing Is Better Than You.” In fact, this song felt right at home in between the songs from That Lonesome Song that I didn’t even realize that it was a new song until about halfway through it.
“The Door Is Always Open” was next and like the album, it featured a stellar steel guitar solo from "Cowboy" Eddie Long, a musician who plays the Steel Guitar in some ways that really leave you feeling as if it’s a regular guitar, not a pedal steel. “Mary Go Round” and “The Last Cowboy” came next but it was “That Lonesome Song” where the crowd really opened up and sang so much that there were times when Jamey sang but was drowned out by the audience. Like “Door Is Always Open,” “Dreaming My Dreams” is a song originally recorded by Waylon Jennings and the amazing thing about the songs is how much Johnson’s own fit in with these classics. Another new song, the moody, “Get Back To Macon” fit within the set as well. An interesting aside about this whole affair is how Johnson left off not only his first BNA Records album The Dollar from the setlist but also his most recent single “My Way To You.” By the time that the band played the first notes of “In Color,” the whole crowd was on its feet and singing back, again in a hymnal-like mood, each and every word of the song which just won CMA’s Song of The Year for its songwriting.
With two band’s worth of equipment on the stage, Randy Houser and his band were brought back on stage for the encore set. With about 12 people on stage with doubles of everything, the two friends who came up into Nashville’s songwriting community together, Jamey Johnson and Randy Houser broke into the songs that they broke into some of their favorite songs, where they swapped verses for songs like The Marshall Tucker Band’s “Can’t You See,” Charlie Daniels Band’s “Long Haired Country Boy” and “Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes,” a classic George Jones song that sure feels as if Randy Houser and Jamey Johnson, in particular, are the men to keep traditional country music (if not in melodies then in attitude and lyrics) alive.
If either of these two artists is heading your way for a show you should most definitely find a way to see them. While Randy Houser works the crowd and gets fans pumped and off their feet, Jamey Johonson’s approach, where the songs speak for themselves, is not only a great way to enjoy a night out but it’s also like you’re there experiencing something that you know will not happen too often. It’s a special, musical equivalent of being in a church of country music and Jamey Johnson is the preacher
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