I saw Trace of Lime a few weeks ago in Austin during SXSW and was really impressed by their performance so when I heard they were coming to Waco I was more than elated to go see them. They played at a warehouse about 15 minuets outside the Waco city limit in a little rural area called Gholson. The place is called Old Diggs and was a place I had never heard of before but they apparently host regular concerts out there. Upon arrival the atmosphere was very laid back the inside of the warehouse consisted of some scattered chairs, a hammock, a couch and a border collie named cujo along with about 20 laid back friendly people who immediately recognized a new face and introduced them self to me. The first band to the stage was Makeshift and makeshift suited them very well. It consisted of a washboard, accordion, guitar, gut bucket, a trumpet, and a saw. I was very intrigued by this set up and was quite ready to see how this would all play together.  While I appreciated the passion of the band and its lead singer overall I think this band has a lot of work to do. They often got off tempo of each other the lead singer often messed up and at some points stopped mid performance. However for a mid Friday night concert at a warehouse it made for great entertainment, they had everyone laughing and dancing along even through all their hiccups. A couple of songs they attempted had not even really been rehearsed before so I think that maybe rehearsal time should be added to their weekly scheduled so they are only makeshift by name and not by sound as well.  However the performance of the night goes to Trace of Lime who headlined this Friday nights event. Self described on their Facebook page as Pirate rock and roll they have a style that mixes both shredding guitar solos and bright pop beats and can even make a song as macabre as Nobody Cares if Im dead both upbeat and quite dance-able. Their lead singer will frequently stand up and play from the top of the bass drum and the crowd absolutely loves it. As soon as they went on everyone immediately left the comfort of their seats and danced the night away. Their cover of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is a crowd favorite and just as many of the guys as  the girls cut loose to this song and really start enjoying themselves. The other fun cover of the night was Hey Ya but Outkast. Not a single person during that song was standing still and it was absolutely a joy to watch. In the age of smartphones and people just standing a recording it was a joy to see people put down their technology and just enjoy the moment! I can't wait to see them again and if you get the chance be sure to check them out on Spotify.  

What do you get when you mix a concert sung by an 11 year old and a auditorium full of college students? An absolutely electrifying concert! To be honest when I saw that the 11 year old made famous by yodeling at Walmart was coming to Waco , I was very curious about how his show would be and figured for $10 on a Thursday night why not check it out. Known for his yodeling I figured the crowd would be small and a mix of somewhat eclectic people. However when I arrived I was surprised to see the auditorium filled with Baylor students  and a cowboy hats of every color. People were buying his T-Shirts and as it came close to show time everyone began chanting "We want Mason!".  However Mason did not appear at the 8 pm start time instead he was proceeded by the all girl trio Avenue Beat.  The trio consisted of a very minimal set up just their three voices and a guitar, ukulele, and the ability to beat box. They proved to rock a house you don't need much more than great vocals and a desire to live out ones dream. They utilized close harmonies and hit the upper registers with ease. They were made famous on YouTube for their covers and boy did they cover those songs well. My favorite was their own rendition of  Black streets hit song No Diggity. While they preformed mostly covers they did perform a few original works which I thought for the most part were pretty well written and you could really feel the soul and effort they put into the songs and really helped connect with the audience.  As far as stage presence went with what few stories the told it really had the audience laughing and cheering though they seemed somewhat nervous at first. Overall I think they will be a great band  and hope they come back through the Waco area again in the future.  Upon their finish it was time for the main event what all the students had been clamoring for  since the doors opened at 7:30. It was Mason Ramsey time. If you were blind or sitting outside the auditorium when he walked out on to the stage one might think George Strait or  Garth Brooks had just walked up. The sound in that auditorium was literally deafening.  People made signs, girls were literally screaming and jumping like in the old news reels of the Beatles concerts. For this 11 year old Kid he might as well be George  Strait cause not to many people get this kid of opportunity, not many bands get a crowd like this one, let alone an 11 year old kid. He walked up in a cowboy hat that was almost as big as he was and a rhinestone black suit. His music was covers of alot of classic country from Johnny Cash to Hank Williams but we waltzed the stage like Garth Brooks, high fiving the front row, doing some nice spin moves, and even killing a few solos on his acoustic guitar. I have never seen so many people get this excited for classic country in my entire 22 years of existence. Frat guys were swing dancing with each other in the audience and for quite sometime people were so engaged in this kids larger than life persona that many people forgot to pull out their phones and record it for the sake of social media. I have been to a lot of different concerts.  Numerous indie concerts in Austin, ZZ Top, Credence Clearwater Revival, yet I have never seen a crowd as lively as this kid had.  I hope he continues to love what he does and keeps from getting burned out in the future if he can avoid that he has a very bright future ahead of him. 
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