Corb Lund had a series of shows in Vancouver and in my hometown. Jenna got a four pack of tickets and the night of the concert it ended up being Jenna, her sister Katherine, their uncle Dave and myself going to the show. The tickets said that the show started at 7 but that was actually when the doors opened. We lined up at 6:30ish anyways and were first in line. That gave us the opportunity to get a table for those who wanted to sit and a place right by the stage for those (me and Jenna) who wanted to stand.
The opening act was a new comer named Ridley Bent. I've only heard his two singles “Buckles and Boots” (which he opened with) and “Heartland Heartbreak” (which he closed with). Both songs are kind of overplayed on the radio and I have to be in the mood to hear them but I actually stopped and listened to the lyrics a few weeks ago and realized, I really like this guy!
I was excited to see him live and I wasn’t disappointed. Well, I was a little, but it wasn’t his fault. The sound was really bad. I’m not sure if the base was too loud or what but even standing right there beside the stage (the picture above is taken with no zoom to show you how close I was) I still couldn’t understand all the lyrics. I suppose if I knew his music it wouldn’t have been too bad but even Corb was clearer.
Ridley had himself on acoustic guitar, a bass player, an electric guitar player, a fiddler, drummer and another guy who cycled between steel and other instruments. 
There was quite a break between Ridley's set and when Corb took the stage. I waited for a bit and then went for a bathroom break. On the way back I noticed that there was only one person still in line to get Ridley's autograph (I wasn't going to bother until I saw that) so I slipped in. He signed a picture for me and then posed with me. He's very sweet and I wish him luck.
Once Corb Lund took the stage, the crowd was ready. Jenna and I saw him in February 2008 but we were quite a bit further back and I can honestly say I didn't realize how CUTE Corb is! :) Especially when he smile and the dimple comes out. And when he's playing his guitar with his tounge sticking out a little bit.
Anyways, aside from the fact that he was *very* nice to look at, I love his music and it was fantastic to hear him live. He played a LOT of songs. In no particular order, and not necessarily a complete or correct list, this is what I remembered when I wrote out a list after the concert:
Hair in my Eyes (like a highland steer)
Shine Up My Boots
Short Native Grasses (Prairies of Alberta)
No Roads Here
Buckin’ Horse Rider (dedicated to his uncle who’s in the hospital)
Truck Got Stuck (forgot the lyrics)
Hurtin’ Albertan
Big Butch Bass Bull Fiddle
All I Wanna Do is Play Cards
The Truth Comes Out
Good Copenhagen
Little Foothills Heaven
I Wanna Be in the Calvary
Horse Soldier, Horse Soldier
Lament for Lester Cousins
The Horse I Rode In On
Hard On Equipment (Tool for the job)
F
amily Reunion
Chinook Wind
This is My Prairie
Game in a Town Like This (Losin’ Lately Gambler)
Long Gone to Saskatchewan
End
Rye Whiskey
Time to Switch to Whiskey
Encore Alberta Says Hello
Counterfeit Blues
The picture of him with all the pink lights is just before he sang what he dubbed his "gunfighter ballad". His all time favourite cd is Marty Robbins' "Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs" so the pink lights were appropriate. 
He's not a super active performer. Preferring to mostly just sing, play guitar and have a blast. He was fun to watch though.
I was skeptical about the venue when we first arrived. They call it the "Showbarn" and it really is just a barn. It's where the flea market happens on Sunday morning's and during Agrifair, that's where the 4H club sets up shop. This night, they had the stage on one end, a makeshift bar on the other, and that was it. It kind of reminded me of being back in Texas. Raw, live music, performed the way it should be. 
Someone mentioned that Corb would be signing autographs so during the last song of the encore, I ducked out of the crowd and went and lined up. It worked out perfectly because it meant I was first in line. I got Jenna to take this picture of the two of us and on one hand he looks like he's kind of not ready for it but on the other, we captured that little, tounge half out thing that he does when he's playing so I thought it was cute :)
Bottom line, awesome concert. I highly recommend him if you're looking for true "country western" (a term I refuse to let my dad use, but applies here) or "roots" or "Americana" if you prefer.
Good music. A Great night. For that, I am thankful.
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