To Club or Not To Club?

We're against fan clubs. There, we said it and we meant it.

Fan clubs are supposed to be inclusive, bringing fans closer to the artists they support. In actuality, they do the opposite. When you consider that membership in an average fan club costs approximately $25 a year, being a member isn't feasible for most people. After all, we're fans of more than one person - big fans! So even if we pick only our top four artists, that's about $100 per year per person. The majority of us cannot afford to throw away $100 or more like that, particularly in this current economic downturn.

And, what do you get for your $25? Depends on the club. Usually a fan pack which includes some autographed material, a shirt and other knick-knacks. Access to a video or unreleased track. Maybe a chance at VIP tickets or meet-and-greet passes. Sometimes you don't even get any of that, just the "prestige" of being a club member.

The fan pack is generally comprised of items you can pick up individually and get signed by the artist personally, rather than pre-signed. A "special" video or track only stays that way for so long, thanks to the age of YouTube. And, notice, you only get a chance at VIP tickets or passes. You're not even guaranteed to get to meet the artist who you just gave even more money to!

That's what really gets us, the money. Fan clubs are not about the fans, they're about the money. Membership doesn't even give you a discount on ticket prices, although you might get a chance at a presale. So, let's see, if you're paying $25 a year for a fan club membership, then upwards of $75 per ticket for a good seat to see a major artist (not including fees, service charges and other bogus crap), and then factor in merchandise like CDs...we're talking like $200 for one musician. Those four we mentioned earlier, you're looking at easily $800 to $1,000 a year.

For some people, that's not a big deal. For the rest of us, however, it's a serious dent in our pockets. Some of you are saying, "You don't have to have the best seats in the house." You'll pay for a fan club but not to see the artist up close on stage, where they are typically at their best?

Please Take Our Advice!!!

We are big fans of music and concerts. With summer quickly approaching we will be bringing you plenty of concert reviews of acts like Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley and George Strait. But until then we need to let you know about some of the artists we've seen recently that we ABSOLUTELY recommend you go see.

First up, Jason Aldean. Aldean has been opening for major acts like Rascal Flatts and Tim McGraw for years, but only recently has he begun to break out on his own with his smash hits such as "Hicktown", "Johnny Cash" and "She's Country" off his newly released album, Wide Open (which we also highly recommend). If you've seen him in an arena, you know he's great, but you can't know the full experience of a Jason Aldean show until you see him in a small venue.

We saw him in a bar. While the sold-out show certainly wasn't the number of people he has performed for as an opening act, you would never have known we weren't in an arena. He had his full-stage setup and he owned that crowd. There literally aren't words to describe how awesome he was. Go see for yourself!

Next up, Eric Church. He appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, even though the late-night market isn't exactly a hot spot for country artists (aside from Garth Brooks or Carrie Underwood). He recently released his sophomore album, Carolina, and his latest single, Love Your Love The Most, is poised to be another hit.

On the night of his show, Church was suffering bronchitis, but the audience would never have known. It was another sell-out, and the crowd knew every word to every song. Given the mellow sound on his albums, you would never expect Church to come out, bass thumping, and rock a stage like he did that night. He rarely stopped moving; even while playing guitar and singing, his body was thrumming with energy.

Opening for Church was another name you need to know: Jonathan Singleton & The Grove. You already know Singleton's work: He is one of the premier songwriters in Nashville, penning hits like "Watching Airplanes" and "Don't." But JS&TG need to be experienced for its own merits. Singleton has kept his most genius writing samples for his own career, including the single "Livin' in Paradise." A release date hasn't been set for the album yet, but we'll be first in line picking up our copies.

While the headliners are important, let's not forget their supporters: The bands! A lot of mainstream acts don't give props to their bands, but country artists always do. Each of these guys has an amazing ensemble behind him that are just as much a joy to watch as the artists themselves. Special shout out to Tully Kennedy!

Brand New Music

Here is a preview of Luke Bryan's brand new single "Do I". Luke co-wrote the track with the members of Lady Antebellum. "Do I" is set to begin impacting radio stations on May 4. We like the new song but we want to know what you think. Comment below and tell us!!

It Was Only A Matter Of Time

While, unfortunately, Jessica Simpson still has a record deal, she is no longer "on loan" to Columbia Nashville. In a sense, it does mean she was dropped from Columbia, which hopefully means people's hearing has returned and they have realized that Jessica cannot sing and this whole crossover to country was just a publicity stunt.

According to her team:

Jessica is and always has been an Epic artist. She was on loan to Sony Nashville for her country album. She continues to be on Epic's label.

Now she has a reason to forget her lyrics.

ACM=WTF

Did you watch? We did! Did you scream at the TV? We did! Here's a recap and our take on the 2009 ACM Awards.

Well, on the plus side 6 out of our 9 predicted winners took home the trophy. Unfortunately, there were several of those predicted winners we didn't want to win. And, inexplicably, Julianne Hough robbed Jake Owen of the Best New Artist award! Never underestimate the voting power of reality TV-watchers.

The show opened with a weird multi-act performance, anchored by Brooks & Dunn singing "Play Something Country" and featuring Sugarland, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts. We're fans of most of these acts, but the truncated performances just didn't flow. It was also superfluous; except for B&D, all of the acts performed separately later in the show.

Some kudos for Carrie Underwood: Last night's performance of "I Told You So" was the best she has ever done that song. That's not saying a lot, but still, better than nothing. But, seriously, what was with that dress? Was it alive? Pretty sure it was once related to Jabba the Hutt. It moved of its own accord. It was bad.

Song of the Year went to Jamey Johnson, deservedly, but Album of the Year to Taylor Swift? Granted, categories like this are based mostly on number of units sold. But, the ACM changed the criteria in order to include Johnson's That Lonesome Song in the nominations. Seems like a shoe-in for a win, right? Alas, wrong. Song for song, Johnson's album far surpassed the quality of Swift's.

Swift did receive a Crystal Milestone Award for selling the most albums this year (not sure if they meant 2009 or in the year since last year's ACMs). For a 19-year-old girl, that's a hell of an achievement. Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles also grabbed herself a Crystal Milestone. Nettles is the first female songwriter on Song of the Year since 1972 for last year's "Stay." Totally deserved.

One of the lowest moments of the show: John Rich performing "Shuttin' Detroit Down." Of course, we wouldn't have recognized Rich if he hadn't been introduced beforehand. He was missing his massive, blinged-out wedding ring and his Muzik Mafia ring. He was also as dressed down as he's been since he was in Lonestar. A denim jacket? What, his fur coat was at the cleaners? Here's the problem: John Rich is one of those "fat cats" he is singing out against. His pared down appearance last night was his feeble attempt to relate to the "regular folk" that make up the majority of country music's fans. Sadly, there are people out there who believe John Rich is on their side. But, Rich just isn't believeable as a Joe Schmo and he isn't entertaining on his own. Bring back Big Kenny!

Near the end of the show, Trace Adkins and the Westpoint choir performed a moving song, "Til the Last Shot's Fired" in support of the Wounded Warrior Project. While it was a great performance, it wasn't as resosnant as Tim McGraw's live performance of "If You're Reading This." (BTW, McGraw was noticeably absent for last night's show after pulling out at the last minute over "major disagreements" with the producers. What's that about?)

Now, on to the disappointing finale. Carrie Underwood for Entertainer of the Year? WTF? Like we said, never underestimate the power of reality TV-watchers. However, our sources say that the fairly new fan-voted aspect of Entertainer of the Year was used as a ratings ploy. So, is it really a win if the whole thing was just a trick? The only plus side is that voters are relegated to one vote per computer.

On the whole, ACM 2009 was kind of disappointing. But Matthew McConaughey was funny. We want to see the boots, Matthew!