The Hang Cool Tour was an absolute blast for me. The first time I saw it was in Hershey, PA which was like the 8th show of the tour. This was the only time I got to see the show with the video screen and all the pyro effects, oh and there was that little thing called a Meet and Greet. It was an honor to meet my favorite artist and despite claiming to be a little ill that evening he came out on that stage and kicked major ass. Also made some new friends along the way in Caryl and Sue K.
Also got to see meet in Orlando, FL a few months later at the Hard Rock Live. Meat played to a sold out crowd that evening in what was a spectactular performance. The crowd was also especially hot which earned encores of Mercury Blues and Why Don't We Do it In the Road. My first time to hear those two songs live, when I saw Meat back in '07 they were doing Gimme Shelter as the encore. 2 days later, myself Caryl and Carole made the 3 hour treck down to Hollywood, FL to see the show yet again. Again great show, but it was a dull casino crowd, but Meat did not let that affect him at all, still giving a stellar performance.
Now, to my favorite of the Hang Cool shows, Norman Oklahoma. This was the next to the last of the Hang Cool shows before they went to Australia. The stage was stripped down because much of the staging was already headed to the other side of the pond. Due to lax security, I was able to stand leaned up against the stage right in front of Paul's foot pedal. Now this was a year to the day since the last time I saw the tour and I can safely say that it got better with age. Meat and the band were absolutely on fire and Dave Luther gave some of the best sax solos that I have ever seen. Meat was also in a jovial mood and playing to the crowd, even going so far as to head into the crowd to make a guy stand up during Took the Words. Crowd was hot and begging for more and Meat gave it with encores. I loved every chance that I had to see this tour and each one of them were uniquely special for a different reason.
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